Donald Trump – victim and martyr?

It is not every day that one gets to be an eye-witness of an assassination attempt, but that is what happened to me and to thousands of Americans on 13 July as we sat watching the evening news.

Donald Trump was holding a political rally that the networks were covering, when suddenly shots rang out and blood started flowing from his right ear. It soon became clear that one man was killed, two others were injured and that Donald Trump himself had come within inches of losing his life. What motivated the shooter will probably never be known, since he was soon dispatched by security forces - but his action changed the American political landscape almost instantly.

Up until then, Donald Trump had been proclaiming himself the victim of malign forces that were out to destroy America, and the bullet that grazed him gave substance to that claim. Suddenly the dubious victim was turned into an obvious martyr for the cause of Making America Great Again and the country has not been the same since.

The greatest turnaround though was not in Mr Trump but in his rival, Joe Biden, who had been basing his flagging electoral campaign on the claim that Donald Trump was a threat to democracy that had to be eliminated. Video clips showing Mr Biden speaking in terms that, with hindsight, could be interpreted as an incitement to violence were soon doing the rounds, and he was forced to suspend his campaign in an outpouring of general shock and grief – led, as was inevitable in the circumstances, by no less a person than himself.

Evangelical Christians, many of whom had been hesitant to endorse a convicted felon, had their consciences suddenly cleared by the sound of bullets, and were set free to pray for the victim’s recovery, which, thanks to Joe Biden, became a bipartisan act of patriotism.

Tragically, there was a real victim, a fireman called Corey Comperatore, who was killed while trying to shield his wife and daughters. The totally innocent Corey was revealed to the world as a working-class family man who went to church every Sunday – just the sort of person whom Donald Trump claims to be supporting in his struggle to stem the rot of liberalism in the USA. Naturally, many evangelicals could identify with Corey, whose sacrifice gave added weight to the whole affair.

Biden's response

By contrast, Joe Biden’s response appeared lame and uninspired. He denounced political violence as un-American, and insisted that Americans resolve their differences at the ballot box, and not by the use of guns. Unfortunately for him, as some commentators were quick to point out, that is historically false. The USA was birthed in violence, and only survived thanks to a bloody civil war. Since then, presidents and other prominent people have been assassinated, and many others have had close calls. The truth is that violence is endemic in American society and that the gun is often used to settle scores. I watched the Trump incident from the apparent safety of Birmingham, Alabama, which is roughly 1,000 miles from the scene of the crime. But on the very same day, there were no fewer than 17 shootings in Birmingham, seven of them fatal. Nowhere is safe, and random acts of violence are regular occurrences almost everywhere.

Outsiders can see that the only remedy for this situation is strict gun control, but that cannot happen in the USA for constitutional reasons and nobody is suggesting it. What we are left with are thoughts and prayers, and here the churches come into their own. Not one of them is trying to stop violence by legal means. They may approve of placing the Ten Commandments in every schoolroom but, with a few exceptions, ‘Thou shalt not kill’ has never been a major emphasis in their preaching and teaching ministry. Self-sacrifice in battle has always been more to their taste, and this is what is coming to the fore at the moment.

Donald Trump’s bid for martyrdom may fade over time, but if that happens, we may well see the shade of Corey coming to the rescue. His name will not be on the ballot in November, but Americans are unlikely to be bothered by that. Many, and this will include a large number of evangelicals, will vote for Donald Trump, who appears to them as the living embodiment of everything that Corey the martyr stood for.

A week is a long time in politics, and predictions are risky, but if Donald Trump wins in November’s election, much of the credit may have to be given to the ordinary fireman who came to his rescue. He and scores of people like him, will have done their bit to Make America Great Again, and many evangelicals will be among those cheering next January when the victory parade makes its way down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC.