MAGA Narratives about the Trump Assassination Attempt

Blaming the terrible violence on "fascists" who call Trump an authoritarian

Welcome back to Lucid, and hello to all new subscribers. I am “on vacation” in Italy, but the dramatic news from the U.S. has drawn me back to the computer.

I am not going to comment on the facts of the attempted assassination of former president Donald Trump, because the investigation is ongoing. Many reports about Trump’s shooting (such as this one from AP and this one from CBS) feature Trump’s social media post about “the bullet ripping through the skin” and comments about his ordeal from him and his campaign officials.

What is clear, already, is how this terrible act of political violence will be utilized by MAGA. This post on X by Senator J.D. Vance, frontrunner for the position of Trump’s VP candidate, gives the advance version of the talking point that will dominate the campaign.

Readers of Lucid will be prepared for this “phony talking point” of President Joe Biden as an “authoritarian,” since I published an essay on this in Sept. 2021. I re-published it in March 2024 since the narrative was gathering steam.  

The narrative trajectory for the fall is clear: Trump is depicted as a force for freedom and those who document his crimes and call out his authoritarian agendas are the “fascists.” They are the ones who are dangerous inciters of political violence and are to be blamed for past and any future events.

These claims are meant to silence analysts of Trump’s own tradition of inciting violence —most spectacularly, the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol— by making people feel it is off-limits to criticize Trump. No matter that the former president had mocked a Democrat who was the victim of another act of political violence, Paul Pelosi, after a Trump supporter bashed Pelosi’s head with a hammer in a failed assassination attempt directed at then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

Trump had always told his devoted followers that the “enemies” were not going after him, but rather going after them, and he was “just standing in the way.” This awful assassination attempt will seem to validate that claim, especially since a person attending the rally was killed by the shooter.

So, watch for versions of this narrative at the convention and onward. It intends to discredit the entire argument that Trump will govern as an autocrat, and sets up a justification to lock up critics if Trump wins the election on grounds of “public safety.”

That’s the Benito Mussolini playbook. I’ll discuss that in my next essay on how assassination attempts and other “shock events” against sitting strongmen have a long history, starting with those directed at Il Duce.  

For now, take care of yourselves, use caution when consuming and sharing information, and step away from your devices periodically. Staying lucid is particularly important at times like these.