One day after horrific political violence, let’s pray for peace and seek answers | Opinion

On Saturday night, a 20-year-old gunman tried to assassinate former President Donald Trump.

On Sunday morning and the days to come, we must come together as a nation to pray for Trump, the people killed and wounded at his rally, and for this country.

Today, we must abhor blame and finger-pointing.

Today, we must turn down the rhetoric and political temperature of all political parties.

And in the shock of the moment, we also must ask this imperative question: How did this happen?

We salute the FBI and to Kentucky Rep. James Comer, who chairs the House Oversight Committee, for quickly pledging to investigate the unfathomable situation that unfolded on live TV shortly after 6 p.m. Saturday.

Just hours after the images of a blood-splattered Trump being rushed off the stage in Pennsylvania flashed across the country, the Kentucky Republican was spot-on in his Saturday night statement: “Americans demand answers.”

Tough questions must be asked. Explanations must be given in full transparency, with no obfuscation.

When we know better what happened, we can calmly assess the next steps forward.

Undoubtedly, the nation, even the entire world, must learn how a gunman armed with an AR-15-type semiautomatic weapon set up his firing line from a rooftop about 100 yards from where a former president was speaking to supporters.

Less helpful is social media chatter about what might have prompted this horrific event.

Little is yet known about the alleged shooter. Early Sunday reports indicated he was a registered Republican, just two years out of high school with no criminal record. In January 2021, he apparently gave a $15 political donation to a to a liberal voter turnout group called the Progressive Turnout Project.

But what is certain is this: Political violence is a problem for all Americans.

It has plagued this nation since its early years —and it is up to all of us to tamp down the passion and channel the pragmatism and compassion that makes this country great.

The Republican National Convention begins Monday in Milwaukee. Let’s hope that amid this shock and anger, Trump will use his leadership to calm his followers as we move into the final four months of the presidential campaign.

Equally important was President Biden’s statement Saturday night: “There’s no place for this kind of violence in America. We must unite as one nation to condemn it.”

In a country that trumpets its patriotism and in Kentucky, with its “United we stand, divided we fall” motto, Americans have become too quick to anger and divisiveness.

Let’s use this near-tragedy, the attempted assassination of a former American president who could potentially ascend to the White House again, to embrace what brings us together.

As former President Barack Obama said in a statement late Saturday, let us “use this moment to recommit ourselves to civility and respect in our politics.”

Civility and respect. They are two words that for nearly a decade have been missing from America’s political scene.

Let us as Kentuckians and Americans recognize the collective horror at this moment — and then pursue a more civil future in which we don’t work out our problems with guns.

This story was originally published July 14, 2024 at 8:50 AM.