Pledge to pray for Donald Trump after assassination attempt: Sign now

(LifeSiteNews) — It goes without saying that the recent assassination attempt on President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, was an act of evil. One man was killed, two people left in critical condition.

Trump himself was, literally, less than an inch from losing his life. It can surely be considered a miracle that he came so close, and yet survived only because he turned his head at just the critical moment.

All the relevant questions are being asked, the first: How did this happen?

I’m no expert on security. But I can’t see how a shooter (or anyone, for that matter) could have gotten onto the top of a building located so close to where President Trump was to speak – much less why so many warnings by onlookers who had spotted him up there were dismissed by authorities at the scene.

Security for a president, a former president, or a major presidential candidate is usually (and necessarily) extremely tight. We’ve had too much experience with assassinations and attempted assassinations for it to be otherwise. Security specialists must identify every possible avenue of attack, and then take appropriate measures to ensure that these can’t be used.

Something went horribly wrong at this campaign site. The congressional investigation that’s been called for is absolutely essential. A security breach like that must not be allowed to happen again.

The second question being asked is: Why did this happen?

The internet is abuzz with conjecture about secret high-level plotting, CIA psy-ops operations, and government cover-ups. But you don’t have to be a “conspiracy theorist” to be reminded of the famous line from Hamlet about something being rotten in Denmark.

Clearly, there’s something rotten in our political environment, and that rot goes deep. In the days since the shooting, Trump-friendly commentators and TikTokers have shared video clips of wild Democrat accusations against Donald Trump.

He’s a racist, a fascist, an incipient Mussolini. He encourages violence. His secret plan is to impose a Christian Nationalist regime.

He wishes to undermine our electoral system. If Trump gets back into the White House we’ll never have elections again.

How many times have we heard that Trump is a “threat to our democracy”?

READ: Catholic priest who gave blessing at Trump rally told attendees to ‘pray for his protection’

Such imputations come from politicians all along the Democrat pecking order, right up to Joe Biden himself. They’re echoed by the “talking heads” of the so-called “mainstream” or “legacy” media.

There’s even a video circulating online that shows women dressed in the red robes and white bonnets of “The Handmaid’s Tale.” Its not-too-subtle message is that if Trump is elected, females will be reduced to abject domestic and sexual servitude.

We’re way beyond simple political mud-slinging here. This drumbeat of unremitting slander has gone on, in one form or another, for nearly a decade, ever since Trump first announced his candidacy back in 2015.

What is the cumulative impact of such a litany of accusation? Isn’t it possible (even likely) that these repeated allegations could incite someone who is an anarchist, a political radical, a potential terrorist, or whose mental stability is tottering, to commit some desperate act?

Insane people are inclined to act in insane ways. Often very little provocation can bring it about.

For that matter, it’s not unthinkable that someone whose motives or sanity aren’t in question might decide it’s perfectly rational – even patriotic – to take action against a political figure who’s an enemy of the nation. Look at how many ethicists over the years have debated the question of whether it would have been proper to kill Hitler before he began his murderous rampage.

The left-wing New Republic has featured a cover rendering of Trump as Hitler. Similar representations circulate online all the time. Following this logic, to what moral conclusion does such imagery draw us?

In the wake of the shooting, there’s much talk now about “lowering the temperature” of political rhetoric. President Biden, himself, has called for moderation.

Is this an authentic insight drawn from the incident, a sincere oh-my-God-what-have-we-allowed-to-happen realization, one that might make a difference?

Or is it just a social expedient, something politicians are expected to say at an awkward moment?

My guess is the latter.

We need to do our politics differently. And there is precedence for a higher-road approach.

I can recall when Bob Dole ran against Bill Clinton back in 1996. Accepting the Republican nomination, Dole struck a gentlemanly note in speaking about Clinton, observing that “he is my opponent, not my enemy.”

Well, we can’t ignore the fact that Dole lost that election.

Nevertheless, he made an important statement about our unity as Americans. It should not be forgotten, nor its relevance minimized.

Maybe taking the high road isn’t always a winning strategy. But things are getting dangerous down in the mud.

This essay is based on a homily delivered by Fr. Orsi. A priest of the Diocese of Camden, New Jersey, Rev. Michael P. Orsi currently serves as parochial vicar at St. Agnes Parish in Naples, Florida. He is host of “Action for Life TV,” a weekly cable television series devoted to pro-life issues, and his writings appear in numerous publications and online journals. His TV show episodes can be viewed online here.

Pledge to pray for Donald Trump after assassination attempt: Sign now