On Reaping What Is Sown

For eight years, Donald Trump has repeatedly invoked or encouraged the threat of political violence against his opponents. On a hot July day at a Pennsylvania fairground, he escaped a final reckoning when a would-be sniper's bullet missed its mark by mere inches. The choice to de-escalate national political tensions or double down on them is Trump's, and ours. For President Biden, he now faces the greatest crisis of his presidency.

Publisher's note: This is a special Sunday version of The Republic Sentinel and will take the place of the usual Monday morning edition. Please also note this is a corrected version, and apologies for the duplication.

In the hours after Thomas Matthew Crooks' failed assassination attempt on former President Trump on July 13, a number of people on various social media platforms began posting stories from the 2016 presidential contest in which Trump encouraged Hillary Clinton's security detail to disarm so everyone could "see what happens to her."

I don't think I need to rehash in detail the fact that Trump faces multiple felony charges for his January 6, 2021, attempted coup, or his recent success in convincing six Supreme Court justices to agree with his position that if he as president ordered a political opponent killed, he'd be immune from criminal prosecution. That Trump has through his words and threats created a political tinderbox ripe for political violence at scale is to many Americans self-evident.

Some of the online reactions from people on the left to Trump's brush with death have been, to put it mildly, less than charitable. And the fresh conspiracy theories about "deep state" involvement in the assassination attempt offered by Trump's supporters are predictably unhinged and fact free. None of this is helpful.

As of this morning, whether the gunman's motive was political or whether he was mentally disturbed is unknown. We will learn more about Crooks, his online habits, and the rest of his personal life in the coming days. His political orientation appears muddled at best (registered as a Republican but contributing a small amount of money to a left-leaning group via the ActBlue platform).

In the end, none of what we learn about a now-deceased young man who tried to kill a former and prospective president may matter. What does matter is that Crooks has set in motion events that could alter for the worse the course of American history.

That the building that Crooks fired from was not secured by the United States Secret Service (USSS) or other law enforcement elements before the Butler fairgrounds rally is simply incomprehensible. It represents a catastrophic breakdown in event security that not only nearly resulted in Trump's death, but did result in the death of at least one attendee, with two others hospitalized.

Within hours of the shooting, House Republicans were promising investigations into the Secret Service's handling of the event, with House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) sending a letter to USSS Director Kimberly Cheatle requesting her appearance before the committee on July 22. It should be noted that this is the same James Comer who has used his committee to conduct partisan political "investigations" of President Biden, and his son, Hunter. If Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) wants a professional investigation by a House committee of jurisdiction, it should go to the House Homeland Security Committee.

Multiple Senate GOP members are demanding hearings and testimony as well. Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee (HSGAC) Chairman Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) expressed his condemnation of the assassination attempt but otherwise has said nothing publicly as yet about a possible HSGAC investigation of the incident. As of this morning, there was no statement on the assassination attempt on the website of HSGAC ranking member Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) or in his X feed. My prediction is that the pressure on Peters to open an inquiry will be impossible to resist.

I would imagine that the Department of Homeland Security's Inspector General will likewise either on its own or at the direction of DHS Secretary Mayorkas initiate an investigation of the security breakdown at Butler. Mayorkas and Biden will face intense pressure to fire USSS Director Cheatle and perhaps other senior USSS officials as well.

What all of this means is this: an assassination attempt against a political rival took place on President Biden's watch.

It will not matter that Biden condemned the attack, called and spoke with Trump to express his concern and condemnation of the attack, and had no role whatsoever in Secret Service security preparations for the event. The GOP political machine will use this tragic episode for maximum political, public relations, and fundraising effect. The controversy over Biden's terrible June 27 presidential debate performance will seem trivial by comparison.

President Biden now faces the single greatest crisis of his presidency less than four months before what's likely to be the most contentious national election in decades. Given Trump's stated intentions for another term in office, it's hard to imagine how the stakes could be higher.

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