Trump assassination attempt presents ‘opportunity’ for new tone, UNF expert says

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Both Former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden’s campaigns are now planning out how to navigate Saturday’s political aftermath.

A local UNF political science expert said the attempted assassination presents an opportunity for Trump to focus on unity.

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“You don’t want to see these things ever. But sadly, they’re not never,” Dr. Michael Binder, the Director of UNF’s Political Opinion Research Lab, said. “He’s got an opportunity to be more of a statesman and really rise above to attempt to cool the temperature in the debates.”

He said it would be a stark contrast from the political rhetoric voters have become adjusted to over the past eight years. But whether or not the former president takes the opportunity is still up for debate, Dr. Binder said.

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“He could just fumble this and go back to being his crass, bombastic self and reset the race that it has been the last eight years. That version of Donald Trump,” he said.

A message of unity could put Democrats in a corner he argued. “I think the Democrats are really in a tough spot. It’s hard to go after him at this point. And you’ve seen they pulled ads in a lot of places. That makes a lot of sense pressing pause,” he said.

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But Dr. Binder added if Trump surrogates start pointing fingers after Saturday’s trauma, it could restart the cycle.

UNF had already planned for a poll on conspiracy theories months ago, but since this event, they had added a new question along the same lines, specifically about the assassination attempt.

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