COLUMBUS, Ohio — “It's really a first in modern history that this happened actually in a general election period,” said Baldwin Wallace political science professor, Tom Sutton. 

What You Need To Know

  • Former President Donald Trump was rushed off the stage during his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania because of an attempted assassination

  • Baldwin Wallace political science professor, Tom Sutton, believes this could potential increase Trump's votes this election but a lot can happen between now and the early voting in October

  • Ohio politicians posted on social media their condolences and condemnation of political violence

A historic moment in America occurred Saturday in Butler, Pennsylvania. A bullet grazed the right ear of former President Donald Trump during what the FBI is calling an attempted assassination at his rally. A Baldwin Wallace political science professor, Tom Sutton, says the polarized political climate could have led to former President Trump’s attempted assassination. 

“It tends to create an environment where someone who has extreme views combined perhaps with some kind of mental illness or something else that relates to extreme views. I think to drive this think that they need to take radical, violent action to change things for the better, or at least to get what they think is satisfaction of their own concerns,” Sutton said. 

Sutton shares with me that, historically, assassination attempts usually make people of all political beliefs rally around the victim. He also believes that Trump’s attempted assassination won’t impact Ohio voters, but if anything, it might increase Trump’s voter turnout.

“It might increase turnout in favor of former President Trump. A lot, though, can happen between now and then. Up until yesterday, all the talk was about age and infirmity on President Biden. Now the talk is all about this attempt on former President Trump’s life,” Sutton said. 

Ohio politicians on both sides of the aisle are condemning political violence. Democratic senator Sherrod Brown posted on X:

“We are praying for the health and safety of president trump, his family, and all those attending the rally in Butler, PA tonight.”

Although both Democrats and Republicans condemn violence, they disagree on the gunman’s motivation. Potential Trump running mate and Ohio Sen. JD Vance posted on X criticizing the rhetoric of Biden’s campaign saying.

“The central premise of the Biden campaign is that former President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs. That rhetoric led directly to president trump’s attempted assassination.”

Trump himself posted to Truth Social Saturday evening thanking law enforcement, secret service, and everyone for their prayers. But he also took this opportunity to say he is not afraid and that he is resilient. Although GOP leaders are saying Biden’s campaign rhetoric led to this moment, President Biden reached out to Trump to make sure he was okay, and he condemned political violence.