Former President Donald Trump was only eight minutes into his speech at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, early Saturday evening when shots rang out, leaving one man dead, critically injuring two others, and nicking Trump’s right ear. Secret Service snipers killed the suspected gunman and the former president was whisked away to safety.
That, in a nutshell, is what happened. Details are sure to keep coming out in the days and weeks ahead—such as the possible motivations and background of the suspected 20-year-old gunman; expanded profiles of the man in the crowd who lost his life (a firefighter and family man who died shielding his family from the bullets), as well as the others injured; and the shocking, egregious lapse in security that allowed a gunman to set up on a rooftop within range of Trump and the rally attendees.
Whatever additional facts come to light won’t change the underlying truth that our current political climate is toxic. When we, as citizens, increasingly see ourselve...