Voters in Michigan said they were worried about the country’s political climate as they reacted Saturday evening to news of a reported assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
Elaine Donnelly was at her home in Livonia, watching the Pennsylvania campaign rally on her phone when the shooting occurred. She said she was horrified to witness it, saying she could instantly tell by the sounds that it was gunshots, not firecrackers.
“It’s horrible that there is this level of violence and hate,” said Donnelly, president of the Center for Military Readiness and a former appointee of Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush to presidential commissions on issues dealing with women in the military.
Her and others’ focus on Saturday night was more on the national state of affairs than the November election, which Michigan is expected to play a pivotal role in. They mostly expressed shock and sorrow for the status of American politics, public safety and unity in light of the incident.
Donnelly, a Republican who plans to vote for Trump, said the incident quickly reminded her of the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy. She said she was grateful Trump was all right and that she would have been equally horrified if there had been an attempt on President Joe Biden.
Bryan Vliem, 44, of Grand Rapids said he “knew things would be heated” due to the national political climate and presidential race. “But not that bad.”
Vleim said he found out about the shooting from looking at the social media platform Reddit while eating dinner. He identified himself as politically independent, having voted for both Republicans in the past but more for Democrats lately.
Michael Fracker, a 76-year-old retired teacher in Ionia, was surprised and saddened when he heard about the incident. He’s worried that even after Saturday’s shooting, things won’t calm down any time soon.
“There doesn’t seem to be any middle ground anymore,” said Fracker, who considers himself a Republican. “The pendulum has swung so far both ways that there’s no middle ground. That’s sad. Because our country needs to have some unity again.”
The assassination attempt is a dark moment in the nation’s history, conjuring memories of the assassinations of Kennedy and his brother, Robert Kennedy, as well as the failed attempt on Reagan on March 30, 1981, in Washington, D.C.
That day, would-be assassin John Hinckley Jr. fired six gunshots toward Reagan, wounding him and three others. Reagan was seriously injured but was stabilized at nearby George Washington University Hospital. Hinckley reportedly had no political motivation for the attack but was instead trying to impress actress Jodie Foster.
That attempt and Saturday’s incident in Butler, Pennsylvania, are just two of many attempts to kill U.S. presidents.
Theodore Roosevelt, in one instance, was wounded by a gunman while campaigning for a third presidential term in 1912, some three years after he left office. More recently, then-President George W. Bush survived an assassination attempt on May 10, 2005, when an assailant hurled a grenade toward his podium during a speech in the eastern European country Georgia. The assailant pulled the pin on the grenade, but it did not detonate.
Other plots to assassinate presidents have failed after detection by security personnel. Four U.S. presidents — Abraham Lincoln, James A. Garfield, William McKinley and Kennedy — have been killed all while in office and all as a result of gunshot wounds.
Herb Saulnier, a 49-year-old truck driver from the Shiawassee County community of Henderson, considers himself an independent but attended one of Trump’s rallies during his 2020 campaign.
He was saddened by the news out of Pennsylvania but didn’t believe that would influence his participation in future campaign events for one side or the other.
“It’s not going to distract me from going there,” Saulnier said. “You never know who’s going to be in any crowd — political event, football game, concert. You just don’t know.”
Debbie Whitcher-Campbell, a 54-year-old from Livonia, had worked a long shift before running to a graduation party and didn’t hear the news until later Saturday night.
Whitcher-Campbell considers herself a Republican but said political rallies like the one in Pennsylvania Saturday aren’t appealing. Still, she said, individuals should be able to attend a political event in the U.S. without fear of violence.
“You should be able to freely voice your opinion without any fear,” she said. “I mean, what the hell is going on? This is the message we’re giving to our children that this is acceptable.”
Michael Langan was enjoying a show at Planet Ant Theater in Hamtramck when he saw the footage of Saturday’s shooting. He said it wasn’t a shock, and he’s fearful of what’s to come.
“It’s really unfortunate that happened, and it’s even worse to know one of his fans died,” said Langan, 38, of Detroit.
Sitting at the bar, Langan said he didn’t find the violence hard to believe.
“I’m surprised it doesn’t happen more often. I don’t think anyone in public office should have their life put in jeopardy, but when you foster that negativity and anger into a pile with a match, you’re gonna catch a flame,” said Langan from Detroit.
“I think he will use it as a crutch for election points, and anyone would, to be fair,” he said about Trump. “I’m actually afraid about how his people will seek retribution for this. And it’s unfortunate that a fan of his was killed. I’m curious who did it and why, but it doesn’t change what happened.”
Emma Armstrong, 19, of Novi was at the gym when a friend told her that Trump was shot.
“I was shocked because you don’t think that that would actually happen,” Armstrong said. She characterized the assassination attempt on Trump as a situation similar to when former President John F. Kennedy was shot.
“It’s crazy,” Armstrong said. “I hope he’s OK. I hope he recovers. I hope it doesn’t affect the election.”
But Armstrong added that she thinks “it definitely will have an impact.”
“He’s probably gonna get some sympathy votes,” Armstrong said. “And depending on who shot him, I think that’s going to impact too. I think that stuff is gonna come up in the next few days.”
Jennifer O’Connell, 42, of Calumet, said she unfortunately wasn’t all that surprised to get a call from her mother with the news of what happened in Butler.
“They tried pretty much everything else to stop him from running, and none of it worked. He’s just becoming more and more popular,” said O’Connell, who plans on voting for Trump.
“I am a Trump supporter, but I’m one of those that can see both sides of it,” she added. “I don’t care if you’re left or right. This is just wrong. You should never attempt to try to take somebody’s life, period. I don’t care how much you disagree with them.”
“It’s sickening. And this is not America. This is not who we are.”
gschwab@detroitnews.com
eleblanc@detroitnews.com
srahal@detroitnews.com
kkozlowski@detroitnews.com
