EDITORIAL: Trump assassination attempt highlights fact that Australia is not immune to political polarisation
Assassinations and attempted assassinations are sadly nothing new in American politics. Nor are conspiracy theories or disinformation.
When that bullet grazed Donald Trump’s ear, he became the third president to have been the target of a gunman since John F Kennedy was cut down in Dallas in 1963. Thankfully, Mr Trump escaped largely unharmed. Tragically, a bystander was killed by the would-be assassin’s bullets.
As shocking as the events in Pennsylvania were, they weren’t surprising.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.It felt like the US had been hurtling towards this operatic end point for some time, driven there by increasingly toxic rhetoric and intensifying disinformation campaigns.
It took just minutes from the time the first shots were fired for the conspiracy theories to flood social media.
Many accused Mr Trump or his team — or even Russia’s Vladimir Putin — of masterminding the whole affair to further bolster his electoral chances in November.
As usual, the simplest explanation is likely to be true. That this was the act of domestic terror, perpetrated by gun-obsessed young man who spent too much time online. FBI investigators are however still working to establish a motivation for Thomas Matthew Crooks’ murderous actions.
If there is a kernel of positivity to take out of this tragedy, it’s that it has brought into glaring focus the consequences of unregulated nonsense on social media, as well as the dangers of stoking political divisions.
Already, Mr Trump has said he has rewritten what was going to be an aggressive convention speech focused on the perceived failings of President Joe Biden. Instead, he says he will now focus on calling for national unity.
“This is a chance to bring the whole country, even the whole world, together. The speech will be a lot different, a lot different than it would’ve been two days ago,” he told The Washington Examiner.
Australians would have watched the chaos unfold on their television screens and felt thankful that the political climate in our country is markedly milder than that of the US.
However, we aren’t immune to the problems which plague our great ally. We too have been suffering from increasing polarisation. Hostile protests have kept MPs and staff locked out of their own electorate offices. Just a fortnight ago a 19-year-old was charged with offences related to planning a terrorist attack. His 200-page manifesto is alleged to have included threats against Anthony Albanese’s family.
As the Prime Minister said on Sunday, it’s time to lower the temperature.
“There is nothing to be served by some of the escalation of rhetoric that we see in some of our political debate, political discourse, in the democratic world. It’s a phenomenon that’s not unique to the United States,” Mr Albanese said.
We need Mr Albanese, and others across the political spectrum, to lead by example. We need to re-learn how to disagree and debate, without resorting to the pettiness that has sadly become the norm.
