♪ >> tonight on pbs news weekend, the very latest on the attempted asassination of former president donald trump. >> it's only going to cause more division in this country. and there's enough already, you're going to see more. >> then, combattng the rise of political violence and violent rhetoric in the united states. and, judy woodruff reflects on the shooting of donald trump at this volatile moment in american history. ♪

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contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. john: good evening, i'm john yang. it hadn't happened in more than four decades, someone who'd been president of the united states shot in an assassination attempt. former president donald trump's wounds aren't life threatening, but last evening's shooting in butler, pennsylvania, could take an already divisive presidential campaign into even more volatile waters. ♪ it began as a routine scene, a swing state campaign rally on a hot summer day. but as former president donald trump launched into his stump speech, it all changed in an instant. >> take a look at what happened --. reporter: trump dropped straight down, swarmed by secret service agents. when agents knew that snips had shot the gunman, they raised trump to his feet, the right side of his face bloodied, and hustled him to the safety of an armored suv.

this morning, in the pittsburgh suburb of bethel park, about 50 miles south of the rally site, police and reporters descended, all trying to learn what they could about the man investigators identified as the suspected shooter, 20-year-old thomas matthew crooks. he was a registered republican and in 2021 contributed $15 to a liberal voter turnout group. fbi is taking the lead in the investigation. >> we're still still working through the security apparatus that the secret service had in place, what potentially happened. there's going to be a long investigation into exactly what took place and how the individual's able to get access to the location, what type of weapon he had. reporter: officials said the shooter was on a nearby rooftop beyond the area the secret service controlled. the shots killed a man attending the rally and critically wounded two others. witnesses described the chaos. >> all of a sudden, this sounds

like firecrackers going off but then i heard the shots, and then all of a sudden, somebody hollers, 'get down on the ground' and everybody's going down on the ground as low as they can get. >> it was very clear that someone had been much more seriously injured than the president and there was visible blood everywhere. reporter: one person said he'd seen the would-be assassin and pointed him out to authorities. >> we could clearly see him with a rifle. absolute. were pointing at him. the police are down there running around on the ground. we're like, hey, man, there's a guy on the roof with a rifle. and the police are like, huh? >> there is no place in america for this kind of violence or any violence for that matter. an assassination attempt is contrary to everything we stand for as a nation. everything. reporter: a similar call came from house speaker mike johnson on nbc's today.

>> we've got to turn the rhetoric down. you have political opposition and political opponents, but we're all americans, and we have to treat one another with dignity and respect. we can have heated political discourse and debates, but it shouldn't be personal, and we shouldn't be targeting people. reporter: the trump campaign said the former president is "fine." and yesterday, as secret service agents moved him off stage his mood was clear, a clenched fist and the words, "fight, fight"! this is the week trump will be officially nominated at the republican convention in milwaukee, which is where newshour anchors amna nawaz and geoff bennett are tonight, --mna, geoff, i imagine things are going to be different now from what was planned just yesterday. reporter: that's fair to say. john, what was meant to be a celebration this week as republican lawmakers and delegates gather to officially nominate donald trump, has taken on a different tone in the wake of this assassination attempt. senior republican officials tell me they think the party is more

united than it's been, that even trump skeptics are more firmly behind him, and that his first remarks here in this arena are noeven more highly anticipated. geoff: that's with the rnc saying this convention will go ahead as planned. officials say there are no major structural changes planned to this week's gathering but security has been stepped up for the more than politicians, 50,000 delegates, members of the media who are expected here this week. two law enforcement offcials say planning is underway to expand the security perimeter and president biden today said he ordered the director of the secret service to review all security measures for the convention. political correspondent lisa desjardins is covering the trump campaign and joins us now. give us a sense of the reaction. reporter: republicans want to acknowledge this was an assassination attempt against a man millions of americans would

like to be president again. one camp says it is time to tone down the rhetoric. the other camp wants to express anger and outrage and point a finger of blame at democrats and president biden. an example came from ohio senator j.d. vance who posted today on x, brought up the biden campaign and said rhetoric from the campaign led directly to president trump's attempted assassination. sharp words. the phrase he's talking about was a phone call with donors president biden had last wee the biden campaign responded to my request about this and gave me a readout of what he said on the call. they say the context is important. "i have one job and that is to beat donald trump. i'm certain i am the best person to do that so we are done

talking about the debate. it's time to put trump in the bull's-eye. what the campaign says he meant was that he was tired of the media focusing on him and wanted it to be on trump. he doesn't have a lot of here. he adds that trump should be in the bull's-eye. president biden has said there is no kind of room for this violence and we expect him to speak to the american public tonight. just to say on the republican side, there's a divide over how to respond to this. reporter: you've been talking to your sources on the democratic side. how are they handling this? specifically the charges about president biden fueling this? reporter: the biden campaign says he got into the race in 2022 the response -- as a response to the kind of rhetoric donald trump was using in the wake of charlottesville. democrats believe this entire cycle of political violence was begun by trump.

they are struggling with the assassination. they are tryin to figure out how do they do things that heal their own districts. there are several democrats, house members trying to reach out to republican members to try and have bipartisan events. they are hoping that kind of think and put the country ahead of themselves. they realize there is a new landscape. some are pushing back at republican charges. one wrote on "she pushed back at marjorie taylor greene and said we should be united against violence not shamefully exploiting this tragedy to push partisan hatred and lies." it is early days. the concern is does the conversation tamp down or does more anger evolve on both sides. >> it is early days. what do your sources think all this means for the race ahead? reporter: there are some important things happening.

number one, talking to prominent democrats, they believe the conversation about president biden and whether he should stay in the race is over. could that change? yes. they don't see a path forward to having that discussion anymore. they think the environment has changed. some democrats want him to step down but they believe the conversation is realistically over. there are concerns about security everywhere within governments. we are watching the vice presidential decision former president trump estimate. does he pick j.d. vance who is choosing to express outrage in this moment? does he choose someone else who is saying well done president trump, thank god you survived and is trying to help the country? we expect that in the next two days but the convention is starting. that choice will tell us something about president trump

and the trump campaign. reporter: what about voters? how are they reading this moment and the temperature right now? reporter: this is what is interesting. when you talk to members of congress, political types, they think this might mean the election is over. some democrats are worried about this. i don't sense that movement in voters minds. i since more regret out where the country is or hope that somehow there could be a different conversation. we saw this after the debate with president biden. the numbers didn't move much even though it was historically bad. the jury is out on what this attempt means in november. republicans believe this will create a new sense of unity and as much as there are concerning thoughts, delegates here, there is a happy mood.

they feel they can be united around donald trump in away they haven't in either of his previous runs. geof nikki haley will be here this week to address the crowd. she previously was not invited. how do you think this will have changed things? reporter:ramatically. caveat, every word former president trump says will set the tone. if he decides to be angry, we will see that on the floor. if he decides to say let's rise above it, we are the party of unity and i'm not going to blame democrats, then that will affect the tone here as well. talking to the delegates i have met here, they are still coming to milwaukee, they would like a more unified tone. some of them, great frustration

and anger over what happened, most of them want a different kind of election. i can say that from voters. everyone is exhausted. few people in the country want this to over match between these men. this is a chance for both campaigns to reset. the democrats aren't sure what they do going forward. geoff: thank you so much. certainly more to come from here in milwaukee. john back to you. john: thanks geoff, leaders around the world are condemning saturday's assassination attempt. across europe to asia and the middle east, leaders of all political stripes expressed shock, condemned political violence and expressed their wishes for trump's recovery. there is otherews, shelling killed at least 15 people in gaza city as israeli military operations move forward. despite that, hamas says ceasefire negotiations are still on but they accuse israel of trying to derail them. two familiar figures in hollywood have died. actress shannen doherty of

"beverly hills 90210" fame had breast cancer. she was 53 years old. and fitness icon richard simmons known for high-energy workout videos died one day after his 76th birthday. still to come on "pbs news weekend", what can be done to fight the rise of political violence in the u.s.? and where yesterday fits in america's political history. ♪ announcer: this is pbs news weekend from w eta studios in washington home of the newshour weeknights on pbs. host: studies show that over the past decade, there's been a steady increase in threats against public officials and in political violence, like yesterday's assassination attempt. ali rogin takes a closer look at how we got to this point. ali: those instances of political violence also include attacks on local politicians, members of congress and their

spouses, and political disagreements that turn deadly. cynthia miller-idriss is the director of research at american university's polarization and extremism research innovation lab. thank you for being here. this was a shocking event and a horrible tragedy. for many americans the first time they have witnessed the attempted assassination of someone who served as president. there have been other acts of political violence in recent memory including the attack on nancy pelosi's husband. in 2022 there was the congressional baseball practice shooting that injured steve scalise. many other attacks against local officials. why are we experiencing this uptick in political violence? >> it should be condemned. we have to condemn the attack on former president trump. one of my earliest political memories was the attempt on president reagan.

we are back in an era in which political assassinations are becoming a tactic again in which people seek a solution to what they think are problems and that is part of the rising violence across the board politically and part of the rhetoric increasing on polarized lines, so the other star to theme like a threat. it's a problem on the elite level and in ordinary conversations. reporter: members of both parties have said both sides need to tone this down. how much of that is at issue here? >> the issue of political rhetoric that is divisive and violent among elites is a huge problem and has been for many years on both sides. i'm just as concerned about what i'm hearing from people i know and love and see on social media. things like you reap what you

sow in response to this event. that's just as problematic. you have a loan actor not only motivated but also by ordinary citizens who give up and lean into the idea violence is a solution to any kind of problem. ali: one of our polls found that one in five respondents believe americans may have to resort to violence to get their own country back on track. that seems high. >> it seems high but it is accurate. that's the kind of data we've been seeing. increasing support for political violence and increasing willgness to engage in it among ordinary americans. that's what i mean about everyone sees this as a moment of reckoning for themselves, not just wagging fingers at the elite and politicians who are behaving badly. to think about what you do across the dining room table, in

classrooms, in colleagues, neighbors, anytime you justify that kind of violence, you never know who's going to overhear that or how that contributes to the overall climate in which violence is seen as a solution. ali: does everyone have a role in lowering the overall temperature that has got us to this tense point? >> absolutely. everyone has an obligation to lower the temperature and see our basic humanity, to see no one deserves to be shot, no matter how much you disagree with what they say politically and also to take steps to curb things like misinformation, stop re-tweeting it, to be critical consumers and good citizens about whatou share. i think that's one of the big takeaways. people have a role to play and an obligation to do it. ali: in response to this event, what are you concerned about happening in terms of people

perpetrating potential violent responses? >> that's another thing ordinary peop can do. he vigilant in the coming months. unfortunately, an event like this creates the risk you have militant groups who see now they may have to step up, they think, and protect this candidate, as we've seen in the past, and you also see the risk of reprisal attacks. this is a real moment for people to pay attention, to be vigilant. if you hear someone saying something, tone it down. try to correct their statements and behaviors and steer them away from the idea violence is a solution to anything. ali: thank you so much for being here. >> thank you for having me. ♪ host: yesterday's assassination attempt brought immediate comparisons to the 1981 attempt

on president ronald reagan's life. judy woodruff was there that day -- she was nbc's white house correspondent. you are in the arena for the convention and they are testing the sound system. how do those events compare? ronald reagan 1981 and yesterday? judy: every one of these terrible acts is different. i was there that day. march 30, 1981, white house correspondent for nbc, ronald reagan have been in office for two months and i was part of the press pool following him to make a speech at the washington hilton. he went in the hotel and made the speech. we were outside waiting for him. i was 30 feet away from his limousine. i was ready to ask a question. he waved at the crowd. i was yelling and started

hearing a pop pop pop. it sounded like firecrackers. people started yelling get down. it was clear it was gunshots. the motorcade moved away. we didn't know it then but it turned out he had been hit and almost died. jim brady was lying on the ground, the white house press secretary with blood coming out of his head and three other men who were part of the protective detail. i ran across the street to use the phone. both men survived but it is a day i will never forget. host: given yesterday, the current state of political discourse, you have been traveling the country for the american crossroads series talking to people. what is your sense of how people feel about the way politics is being dealt with today and being discussed? judy: you're right. we have been traveling the u.s. 23 states so far.

we've talked to dozens of ordinary americans. we talked to experts. everyone agrees we are historically divided right now maybe worse since the civil war. our discourse has deteriorated. a lot of agreement and disagreement about why. some of it has historical roots. the rise of the modern antigovernment movement. what we know is there is consensus among republicans but even democrats that the news media, the media, the social media has a role to play. yesterday i spoke with a 22-year-old republican delegate, logan glass from alabama. he was part of a group of legates. i asked to what he thought was contributing to our current division and here is he said. logan glass: i'm ing to point the finger at the media. i don't i don't think the media, has has done much to bring us together. i think the liberal news media has done a lot to divide us i think the media has magnified

the divide. i think they have made it the issue that it is. judy: this is what we were hearing, we have been hearing from republicans and democrats. we talked before the shooting but what logan said to me after that was it is going to take a change of generations. the older generation has managed to course in the rhetoric, the discourse for the younger generation will have to step in. john: we are hearing calls for unity, for lowering the temperatures today. what will it take for that to happen in your view? judy: i wish i had the answer. like all of us, we are looking for signals of unity, if our political leaders could come together and say to the country it's time for this time, this kind of thing to stop. we will see whether that happens. i have to bring up the issue of guns.

when john f. kennedy was assassinated, there were 67 million guns estimated in the country. today there are 400 million guns in america. guns are not the only cause of our violence or of our course or discourse but they are an issue. in the state of tennessee, there was a terrible church shooting there a year and a half ago. people tried to come together including gun enthusiasts, second amendment supporters, people who are big supporters of gun rights to try and get the tennessee legislature to find common ground over reducing gun violence. they were not able to do that. bringing people together across the divide. it will take work, dedication. we are not there yet. john: not there yet. judy woodruff, thank you very much. judy, amna and geoff will all be in milwaukee this week for pbs news' special coverage of the republican national convention

beginning each night at 8 pm eastern, and streaming gavel to gavel on our website and youtube page. announcer: the 2024 campaign heats up. >> we are going to fire crooked joe biden and make america great again. announcer: can former president trump convince voters? >> this is a choice between strength and weakness. announcer: how will he take on the challenges? a pbs new special, the republican national convention, monday, july 15, 8 p.m. eastern ♪ john: and that is pbs news weekend for this momentous sunday. tonight at 8 p.m. on pbs, special coverage of president biden's address to the nation, 8

p.m. eastern. i'm john yang. for all of my colleagues, thanks for joining us. good night. ♪ announcer: major funding provided by -- ♪ and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. ♪ this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] ♪

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