Reeher Quoted in The Hill and The Mirror on the Aftermath of the Assassination Attempt on Trump

July 17, 2024

The Hill,The Mirror

Grant Reeher

Political Science Department

Campbell Public Affairs Institute

Federal

Political Parties

U.S. Elections

United States

The Hill

The Mirror

Grant Reeher

The attempted assassination of Donald Trump at a campaign rally Saturday shocked the world. In the wake of the attack, pundits and politicians are looking to see how it could affect the 2024 campaign for the White House.

“One could imagine it being a moment for the country—and the candidates—to reflect on the level of current divisiveness and to try to de-escalate. Or, it could also raise the level of hostility among Trump’s most ardent supporters, which in turn raises the level of reaction, and we end up even more divided,” Grant Reeher, professor of political science, tells The Mirror.

"And not to be crass, but of course if one thinks about the last time this happened, with Reagan, it helped Reagan a lot, politically," Reeher says.

In The Hill article, “The Memo: Biden walks fine line to make anti-Trump case after assassination attempt,” Reeher says that, for now, Team Biden has to be “more careful” how they articulate the case against Trump. But he suggests that, in time, the former president is almost certain to open the door for more frontal verbal jabs.

“If he goes after Biden in the same way he has gone after Biden in the past, it would be almost silly for Biden to play nice,” Reeher says.