Did Donald Trump Just Win The Election?

BREAKING: Donald Trump injured in shooting at rally; “he is fine,” says spokesman; suspected shooter dead

“Trump just won the election.”

That was the WhatsApp message I received shortly before 7pm from a friend in the UK. “What on earth is he talking about?” I wondered to myself, as I logged back onto Twitter, confused and concerned. 

Within moments, like tens of millions of people around the world, I was staring aghast at a video on my phone from a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. 

There is Donald Trump, in his red MAGA hat, ranting and raving; there are the three or four popping sounds; there is Trump grabbing his right ear; there is Trump ducking behind the podium; there is the crowd screaming and crouching; and then there is the former president, surrounded by Secret Service agents, re-emerging from behind the podium, blood dripping from the side of his head, pumping his fist in the air, as the crowd cheers.

At least one rally attendee is believed to have been killed, as was the suspected shooter, while another attendee is reportedly in a serious condition in hospital. Thankfully, Trump is “fine,” says his spokesman, and is being “checked out at a local medical facility.”

The instantly-iconic image, from Associated Press photographer Evan Vucci, of the former president being carried by Secret Service agents under a U.S. flag, fist still in the air, blood spattered across his face, has gone around the world tonight. And the reaction to it from a whole host of Very Online folks from across the political spectrum? Trump just won a landslide victory in November, they say. 

To be honest, I’m not sure I agree that Trump has ‘won’ the election because of the violence today. We are in a chaotic moment, a truly historic and unprecedented moment, on multiple levels. Anyone who makes predictions about our political future right now risks making a fool of themselves, in my view.

Nevertheless, right-wing billionaire Elon Musk, the owner of Twitter, decided that today was the day to “fully endorse” Trump for president:

Some Republican activists have also been rather quick to point the finger of blame at their political opponents:

Jason Meister, a member of the Trump 2020 Advisory Board, told the UK’s Sky News that “the media and the Democrats have blood on their hands.”

They should be careful where they go with this particularly partisan and cynical line of argument. Remember the people who died on, or shortly after, Jan. 6, 2021 including multiple police officers, after a mob incited by Trump assaulted the Capitol? Does Trump have “blood on his hands”? Are we really going to play this (political) game? 

If so, the list goes on and on. Remember the two different men, both Trump supporters, who were convicted of trying to kill Rep. Ilhan Omar, a constant target of Trump’s vicious abuse and (false) accusations? Remember the election denier who was convicted on assault and attempted kidnapping charges, after breaking into the home of Paul and Nancy Pelosi? Remember the Trump superfan who sent pipe bombs in the mail to a bunch of prominent Democrats ahead of the 2018 midterms, including Joe Biden, Barack Obama, and Hillary Clinton?

Look, to be clear, unlike the conservatives - including Trump! - who shamefully mocked Paul Pelosi when he was assaulted and badly injured, I for one am grateful that the Republican presidential candidate isn’t dead and wasn’t seriously hurt. I am also so sad that an innocent has been killed in Butler tonight - another tragic victim of gun violence. And I am, perhaps above all else, worried for the fate of my country. 

These are dark times for the United States of America. Political violence has been normalized. There are more guns than people in this country. And the most consequential and divisive election of our lifetime is less than four months away. 

Whoever the shooter was, whatever their motive may have been, once again, American democracy is the loser.