There was supposed to be an event in Kew Gardens Hills this week featuring real estate for sale in Israel. This was the same type of event that caused problems in Los Angeles and Teaneck. The anti-Semites and anti-Israel crowd found out about it and planned a protest near the shul where it was supposed to be held. The advice given by community leaders, elected officials, and the police was to not show up and counterprotest.
The community leaders said to show our support, we should sign up for the event. We were told that because so many people signed up, the venue had to be changed. However, instead of another venue, the presentation was done virtually. Meanwhile, the protest occurred. The protestors will look at the change as a victory in that they forced the event to be virtual. It will only encourage them to continue to intimidate the Jewish community because it appears that we backed down. It may be a false narrative, but it is a reasonable conclusion based on the facts.
Now to my main topic. Recently I wrote about a conversation I had with a historian as to whether the current division in America is worse than in 1968. My argument was that in 1968, there were assassinations of leaders such as Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Senator and Presidential candidate Robert Kennedy, which we had not had today.
Just a few days before this writing, there was an assassination attempt on former President and Republican candidate for President, Donald Trump. It was a miracle that he was not killed. I can only imagine what the reaction would have been from his supporters if he had been killed. It would have made the riots after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. seem like a minor disturbance in comparison.
Right now, you have competing views. Some say let us lower the temperature (of political heat) while others are in blame game mode even before there was anything indicating the shooter’s motives. Some assume that the shooter was a left-wing Democrat who was inspired by the party’s rhetoric about Trump. The Trump base and some Republican officials have argued that the Democratic Party tried to get rid of Trump through impeachment and that failed. They tried to use the Court system to get rid of him and that failed. Now they hinted that someone should eliminate Trump. As of the time of writing this article, there was no determination of the shooter’s motive. The shooter was a registered Republican who was a member of a gun club. He was wearing a tee shirt from Demolition Ranch, a YouTube channel known for its firearms and demolition content. Yet he had donated funds to a left-wing group. It is possible that politics had nothing to do with it. He may have wanted to be famous just like Lee Harvey Oswald, who assassinated President John F. Kennedy, and John Wilkes Booth, who killed President Abraham Lincoln.
Trump is not the first president who was shot by a person who had a direct line of sight to the president. In 1963, JFK, riding in a motorcade, was shot by Lee Harvey Oswald, who shot him from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository. You would have expected sixty years later that the Secret Service would have made sure that no one could have such access. I expect heads to roll at the Secret Service. They may try to shift the blame, but do not be fooled.
As to the political fallout, this will help Trump politically. Even after Trump was shot, he gave the impression of a person who is strong and in charge. Some people will focus on this and not on Trump’s negatives. Trump’s base will be even more energized to go out and vote. Also, it will help keep Biden, Trump’s preferred opponent, in the race. It is hard with all the turmoil to force out the President from being the nominee.
Any showing of unity will be short-lived. Within 48 hours after the assassination attempt, Trump, on Truth Social, made the following comments: “As we move forward in Uniting our Nation after the horrific events on Saturday, this dismissal of the Lawless Indictment in Florida should be just the first step, followed quickly by the dismissal of ALL the Witch Hunts — The January 6th Hoax in Washington, D.C., the Manhattan D.A.’s Zombie Case, the New York A.G. Scam, Fake Claims about a woman I never met (a decades old photo in a line with her then husband does not count), and the Georgia ‘Perfect’ Phone Call charges”. “The Democrat Justice Department coordinated ALL of these Political Attacks, which are an Election Interference conspiracy against Joe Biden’s Political Opponent, ME. Let us come together to END all Weaponization of our Justice System, and Make America Great Again.” Trump is referring to Judge Cannon’s dismissing the case because she found that the appointment of the Special Counsel was unconstitutional, which is contrary to how other courts have ruled on the issue.
We live in a polarized country where about 10% of Americans from both parties believe that political violence is justified. Additionally, there is easy access to weapons. This toxic brew is a recipe for attacks on a candidate for President. It is naive to believe that this is a one-off and there will not be a copycat who will try to assassinate Trump or someone who blames Biden and wants to assassinate him. Law enforcement has to be on top of their game.
Warren S. Hecht is a local attorney. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
