The recent shooting of former President Donald Trump is the latest instance of political violence in US history. Trump was grazed by a bullet during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The attacker was killed by Secret Service agents, and another person at the event also died. Authorities are treating it as an assassination attempt.
The assassinations of Presidents Lincoln, Garfield, and McKinley led to the creation of the Secret Service protection. John F. Kennedy’s assassination led to even stricter security measures. Gerald Ford faced two assassination attempts within 18 days, and Ronald Reagan was seriously injured by a gunshot early in his presidency in 1981.
Also read – From Abraham Lincoln To John F. Kennedy, How Many U.S. Presidents Have Been Assassinated?
Most modern presidents have been targeted, but the Secret Service has successfully prevented nearly all attempts, with few resulting in injuries. Political violence has also claimed leaders globally, including Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme.
Before the recent incident, a Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll showed that voters were worried about possible violence during this year’s presidential election. About half of the swing-state voters surveyed in May expressed these concerns, with similar levels of worry among Democrats, Republicans, and independents.
Here’s a look at some previous attempts on US presidents’ and presidential candidates’ lives:
Donald Trump
During Trump’s 2016 campaign, a 20-year-old British man tried to grab a gun from a Las Vegas police officer at a Trump rally. He later told police he intended to kill Trump and pleaded guilty to federal firearms and disruption offenses.
Ronald Reagan
On March 30, 1981, John Hinckley Jr. fired six shots at Reagan in Washington, hitting the president and three others. Reagan was seriously wounded but recovered after emergency surgery. The other three victims also survived. Hinckley was arrested immediately and kept in institutional psychiatric care until 2016, 12 years after Reagan’s death.
Gerald Ford
Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme, a follower of cult leader Charles Manson, attempted to shoot Ford in Sacramento, California, on September 5, 1975. Three weeks later, Sara Jane Moore fired a shot at Ford in San Francisco. These incidents made them the most prominent female would-be assassins in US history.
Robert F. Kennedy
Sirhan Sirhan shot and killed Kennedy, a candidate in the Democratic primaries, in Los Angeles on June 5, 1968, less than five years after his elder brother’s assassination. Sirhan was sentenced to life in prison. Kennedy’s son, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is running as an independent presidential candidate in 2024.
John F. Kennedy
On November 22, 1963, Lee Harvey Oswald shot and killed President Kennedy in Dallas, Texas. The assassination still sparks debates about whether Oswald acted alone, as he was killed by Jack Ruby two days later.
Theodore Roosevelt
Former President Roosevelt was campaigning to return to the White House when he was shot during a speech in Milwaukee on October 14, 1912. The 50-page text of his speech and a glasses case in his pocket slowed the bullet. Roosevelt continued his address and recovered, but lost the election to Woodrow Wilson. John Schrank, the would-be assassin, was found legally insane and institutionalized until his death.
William McKinley
McKinley was shot in Buffalo, New York, on September 6, 1901, and later died from his wounds, making Vice President Roosevelt the new president. Anarchist Leon Czolgosz was convicted of the assassination and executed.
James Garfield
Garfield was shot in Washington on July 2, 1881, and died from complications two months later. Charles Guiteau, a writer and lawyer, was convicted of the crime and sentenced to death.
Abraham Lincoln
Lincoln was shot and killed in Washington on April 14, 1865, by John Wilkes Booth, a well-known actor and Confederate sympathizer. Booth was killed after a nearly two-week manhunt.
