US: second attempt on Donald Trump’s life
There has been another apparent attempt to assassinate former president and presidential candidate Donald Trump. Bodyguards noticed a gun muzzle in the bushes near Trump’s golf course in Florida and fired immediately. The suspect fled but was arrested shortly afterwards. The press analyses causes and consequences.
Another distraction from the campaign
Security issues will now dominate the presidential election campaign, writes The Economist:
“The momentum and media focus that Vice-President Kamala Harris has enjoyed following her strong debate against Mr Trump on September 10th will compete now with wall-to-wall coverage of the suspect’s background and the confounding question of how another rifleman could have approached within several hundred yards of the former president without being detected. ... The formidable challenge will be to seek accountability and further strengthen efforts to keep Mr Trump, Ms Harris and other candidates safe while minimising politicisation.”
Divided and armed to the teeth
When the gun cult meets extremism things get very dangerous for politicians, La Repubblica observes:
“The election campaign continues to be defined by the direct clash between two camps that are no longer prepared to reach a consensus. Psychological warfare experts at the FBI and CIA are trying to answer the question ‘who might shoot the candidates’ to prevent new attacks, but in a nation armed to the teeth with organised extremists of all stripes the answers elude them. ... Thomas Crooks, the 20-year-old who took point-blank aim at Trump on 13 July, had no political affiliation. His profile resembles that of a mass murderer rather than a political assassin.”
