Sacramento political analyst Doug Elmets reacts to attempted assassination of Trump
SACRAMENTO - The attack on former President Donald Trump comes at a time of immense political polarization.
Political analyst and former Ronald Reagan speechwriter, Doug Elmets, told CBS13 that the big question is will the attempted assassination of Trump be capable of unifying the country.
"He showed this strength even after being have been shot," said Elmets.
Trump showed a display of defiance after his attempted assassination, fist in the air with blood on the side of his head.
"I think this situation only emboldened Donald Trump and helped his candidacy," Elmets said.
Elmets gave us insight into how the attempted assassination of Reagan impacted the political pulse in the 1980s. The difference then, was that Reagan was already serving in office for three months.
"After Ronald Reagan was shot, he became more humble," said Elmets. "So, one might hope this event might actually make Donald Trump more humble. I mean we can all hope for that, but it's probably not in his DNA."
It was an attack that brought shock from both sides of the polarized political aisle, but Elmets thinks Trump's biggest supporters could hinder unification among Americans.
"They could push the envelope as it relates to conspiracy theories, push the envelope and blame democrats," said Elmets.
He believes it is now up to both parties now to focus the presidential campaign on the issues, not on personality accusations.
"There has been so much dissension among the country and one would question if this dissension led to the possible assassination of Trump," said Elmets.
Elmets believes many Americans are reassessing who their vote will go to come November, and while Joe Biden is determined to stay in the race, top democrats could push for a new candidate at their convention next month in Chicago -- Vice President Kamala Harris being a very probable choice.
"Ultimately I think it will come down to if Joe Biden is the candidate and who Donald Trump selects as his running mate," said Elmets.
He believes this moment in history is the new emblem of the Trump candidacy.
"I do think it's possible to unify America if it were a candidate like Donald Trump who is really committed to it," Elmets said.