Donald Trump and Joe Biden have both emphasized “unity” in the wake of the Republican presidential nominee’s stunning assassination attempt, but any shift to a more civil political discourse is likely to be short-lived.
For months, the two campaigns have hammered each other’s candidate with a ferocity that surpasses the already fractious nature of US political races, and observers say there is little chance that dynamic will change in any significant way.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting at Trump’s Pennsylvania rally on Saturday, both men struck a subdued tone and avoided language that could escalate the heated political atmosphere.
Biden called on Americans to “turn down the heat” in a speech from the Oval Office, and Trump said it was “more important than ever that we stand together.”
The two men even spoke on the phone — after refusing to shake hands in their televised debate last month.
“Immediately after a national tragedy or near-tragedy, politicians want to appear compassionate and say the kinds of healing things that people want to hear,” Roy Guterman, a communications law expert at the University of Washington, told AFP. of Syracuse.
“I’m sure it won’t be long before the vitriol starts flowing again,” he added.
Trump has always favored an ultra-aggressive stance toward political opponents, whom he has collectively labeled “parasites.”
His personal attacks on Biden range from theatrically mocking the president’s stutter to calling him a “mental wreck.”
Biden, for his part, refused to even mention Trump by name earlier in the race, and in recent months the president and his campaign have sharpened and personalized their messaging about Trump as an “independent” would-be dictator with the “ethics of a street cat”. .”
Their June 27 discussion, meanwhile, came down to a dispute over who was the worst president in US history.
“I’m optimistic, if skeptical, that political rhetoric in the US will become less hateful and anger-driven,” Peter Lodge, director of George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs, told AFP.
“Just because American politics has often been awful doesn’t mean it must always be awful.”
In an interview with NBC on Monday, Biden admitted it was a mistake to call for Trump to be “matched” days before the assassination attempt, but defended his repeated warnings that the former president is an existential threat to American democracy.
That line of attack is one his campaign has acknowledged resonates with core independent voters, and is not one they are likely to abandon or tone down.
On the same day, after Trump officially won the Republican nomination at his party’s convention, the Biden campaign blasted his newly announced running mate, JD Vance, as a “far-right MAGA extremist.”
Meanwhile, Trump posted a message on his Truth Social platform accusing Biden of running an “election interference conspiracy” and weaponizing the justice system against his political enemies.
“Extremists on both sides of the political spectrum seem to have the loudest voices these days,” Guterman said.
“They probably don’t spend much time weighing in on a more moderate voice of reason or appeals for peace or moderation.”
As the race for the White House heats up, political pundits have called on both campaigns to tone down the rhetoric — while urging the media to hold them accountable if they cross the line.
“The media must treat political violence as abnormal and destructive,” Loge said.
“One way to do that is to call out all the politicians who told everyone to calm down yesterday and who start shouting tomorrow.”
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