On Sunday, at his West Palm Beach, Florida, golf club, former President Donald Trump narrowly avoided another assassination attempt when a Secret Service agent opened fire on an armed suspect. Just yards from where Trump was playing golf, the would-be assassin is said to have been spotted forcing the barrel of an AK-47 rifle through the plant-lined fence enclosing the property.
This was Trump’s second attempt on his life in a short period of time. Fortunately, a tragedy was averted by the Secret Service agent’s prompt action. Threats against the former president have increased, which Trump and his allies blame on the more antagonistic language used by well-known Democrats.
Trump didn’t take long to assign blame, charging prominent Democrats with encouraging violence against him by making hostile and frequent public remarks. He said that Democrats and media personalities had been stoking the hostility that sparked this attack, and he published a list of several dozen divisive quotations.
Vice President Kamala Harris, who has opposed the former president vocally, was at the top of the list of people listed by Trump. On multiple times, Harris has called Trump a “threat to democracy and fundamental freedoms.” Trump’s followers have criticized her remarks, saying things like “It’s on us to recognize the threat [Trump] poses,” since they see them as more than just political hyperbole and as demands for action against the former president.
Joe Biden, the president, is another well-known person accused of inciting violence. Trump’s list includes numerous quotations from Biden that characterize Trump as a threat, such as “Trump and MAGA Republicans are a threat to the very soul of this country” and “Trump is a genuine threat to this nation.”
