Editorial: Another assassination attempt? We can't let political violence steer elections

Violence has no place in politics in America and yet here we are again, dealing with the possibility of another attempt on Donald Trump’s life. The FBI said on Sunday that it was investigating what appeared to be an attempted assassination as the former president played golf at Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach.

Details of the incident were only beginning to emerge Sunday evening, but we were glad to learn quickly that Trump remained unhurt. We were also glad that those currently in the White House —President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris weighed in, saying they were “relieved to know that he is safe.” Harris — Trump’s Democratic rival for the presidency — reiterated on social media that she is “glad he is safe. Violence has no place in America.”

Those are important statements in this moment because they underline the idea that, for a democracy to work, all of us — even bitter political rivals — can and will come together to combat political violence. That has never been more critical than in this highly contentious election, where democracy truly may be at stake. We cannot let those who would commit such violence influence our elections by dividing us further.

According to published reports, Secret Service agents shot at a man they saw hiding in shrubbery near the golf course, where Trump was playing one or two holes away. An AK-47-style rifle with a scope was found in the bushes, and a suspect was arrested in Martin County on Interstate 95.

It has been just two months since the Republican presidential candidate was wounded in an assassination attempt during one of his rallies in Pennsylvania, when a bloodied Trump pumped his fist in the air and urged the crowd to fight.

There’s a lot we still need to know about what occurred Sunday on the golf course, but if it is indeed another episode of political violence, or an attempt, this will turn up the heat in the presidential election and push us further apart.

This is not something that Americans can or should accept as inevitable. Political violence undermines democracy, and we can’t allow ourselves to become numb to it. An AK-47 in the bushes near a presidential candidate should chill us to the bone. Violence, or the threat of it, cannot become a force in American politics.