Trump Assassination Attempt Creates Calls For Unity, Civility

Barely 48 hours since a would-be assassin took aim at former President Donald Trump, reaction and concern continue to pour in over the apparent security lapses that made the incident possible, and over the political climate that may also have played a role in bringing it about.

One former politician says the current moment brings to mind, for him, the words of President Abraham Lincoln as he took office in March 1861, with the nation on the brink of civil war. He says Lincoln's appeal for unity in his inaugural address is a sharp contrast with what comes out of the mouths of many of today's elected leaders and candidates.

"They don't talk about lifting people up, which is what this business is supposed to be about," said John Delaney, "you know, the 'better angels,' as Lincoln said, in ourselves—you don't hear as much of that."

Delaney is a former Maryland congressman who ran for president in 2020. He says he was shocked at what happened Saturday in western Pennsylvania.

"Such a horrific, not only attempted assassination on President Trump," Delaney said in an interview at his home in Rehoboth Beach, DE, "but also an assassination of our democracy."

Delaney says it's not his place to comment on whether those assigned to protect Trump and the venue Saturday did or did not make mistakes, but he says, as someone with experience on the campaign trail, he knows, he understands how vulnerable candidates and elected officials can be.

"You're trying to be out there in front of people, you're trying to convey your message, connect with people, and you do have to do that live, in person," Delaney said. "So, it creates a very difficult challenge for people who are trying to protect that person."

Still, he says that's no reason not to make it a higher priority. He says security measures should be increased.

"If you think about all the money this country spends, right, there's no cost too much," Delaney explained, "that we shouldn't spend to protect our elected leaders so they can do their job, do the people's business."

Perhaps more important, though, he says, is addressing what many see as the underlying cause of safety concerns: the heated political rhetoric from people on both sides.

"What you hear is...'the other side is the enemy. They're evil. They're not patriots, they don't love the country. Everything they believe is wrong,'" said Delaney. "This wouldn't be the country—the amazing, extraordinary country it is—if half the population were entirely wrong about everything they believe. We all know that. And so, we definitely have to kind of take the temperature down.

"I mean, we all have neighbors who are in different political parties who we love, who we think are wonderful people," Delaney continued, "they just think about tax policy differently."

Of course, John Delaney is not nearly alone in calling for more civility and less agitation, in the wake of Saturday's assassination attempt. President Biden has urged unity in three different speeches since learning of the attempt on Trump's life. Even Trump himself has said he is rewriting his acceptance speech at this week's Republican National Convention to reflect a calmer tone.

Delaney says the tribalism has to end and that it's time for a return to civility, to respectful debate, and the understanding that we're all Americans.

"Maybe this tragic event of [Saturday] will be a wake-up call to people on both sides of the aisle to tone it down," he said, "and maybe start talking to the...to the better angels in people, again, as Lincoln says."