The Squiz 

The man suspected of an assassination attempt on former/hopeful US President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania yesterday morning our time has been named as 20yo Thomas Matthew Crooks from Pennsylvania. Not a lot of detail about him has been released, but he is the man accused of taking to a rooftop next to the rally venue in camouflage gear with a semi-automatic rifle. The FBI says the investigation will take a while but they are “working feverishly” to establish Crooks’ motive. Before the shooter was shot dead by Secret Service agents, he also allegedly killed a rallygoer in the bleachers near the stage Trump was on, and 2 other people remain in critical condition. It’s the first assassination attempt like this in the US since Ronald Reagan was targeted in 1981. 

What happened?

Trump was speaking at the open-air event when shots rang out just after 6pm local time. He says he heard a “whizzing sound” before feeling a “bullet ripping through skin” of his right ear. The 78yo immediately ducked down as his Secret Service agents moved to protect him. After hearing “shooter’s down”, they told him “we’ve got to move” – but Trump told them to “wait” as he asked for his shoes and shouted “fight, fight” with a fist in the air. The pictures are quite something… Two men who know something about working with the Secret Service are former Presidents George W Bush and Barack Obama – they praised their fast action, as did Trump. Despite narrowly avoiding being killed, he says he’s “fine” and was seen walking off his plane unaided in New Jersey. 

What happens next?

There’s still a bit of reacting to do… For his part, President Joe Biden said the nation needs to “unite as one” as his campaign paused all outbound communications and ads – which leads nicely into a huge talking point about the high political temperature in the US at the moment… Commentators were quick to point fingers at both candidates for the combative tone of the presidential campaign that has seen Biden talking about Trump as a “threat to democracy” while Trump has warned of a “bloodbath” if he fails to win in November. It’s a lot… As for this week, Trump’s campaign team says he will attend the National Republican Convention in Milwaukee that runs from today until Thursday where he will be confirmed as the party’s election candidate.