tv Sportsday BBC News July 22, 2024 12:45am-1:01am BST
12:45 am
it is horrendous. there is no place for violence in any society, certainly not any democratic society, and i also send all my prayers and thoughts to the families of the victims and those who've lost their lives. like all israelis, my wife sarah and i were shocked by horrific assassination attempt on the life of president donald trump. this was not just an attack on donald trump. this was an attack on a candidate for the presidency of the united states. this was an attack on america. it was an attack on democracy. it was an attack on all the democracies. from mr trump's wife melania came a more personal reaction. she said:
12:46 am
the fbi named the attacker as 20—year—old thomas matthew crooks. he was from bethel park in pennsylvania, around one hour from where the rally took place. crooks was a registered republican according to state voter records, but according to reuters, when he was 17, he made a $15 donation to a political action commission that raises money for left—leaning and democratic politicians. the weapon used is believed to have been purchased legally. it is also thought that police may have found explosive materials at the home of thomas matthew crooks. he was always getting good grades on tests, everything like that. he was very passionate about history, and from
12:47 am
what i knew from my friends, they said he was good in government—type classes, so anything in government or history, he seemed to know what he was talking about, but it was nothing out of the ordinary. he was a nice kid and i had never had an experience with him where i was like, you know, "he is not nice." he was always nice and i was always friendly to him. the man crooks shot dead was named by the pennsylvania governor as 50—year—old volunteer fire chief corey comperatore. he is believed to have died when he dived onto his family to protect them from the gunfire. i just spoke to corey's wife and corey's two daughters. corey was a girl dad. corey was a firefighter. corey went to church every sunday. corey loved his community. and most especially, corey loved his family. corey was an avid supporter of the former president
12:48 am
and was so excited to be there last night with him in the community. i have known him since i was probably about 10 or 11 years old when they decided to come to our church. he wasjust one of those guys. at the morning greeting at church, he would be the guy who went from one side of the church to the other, greeting people, one of those smiles that lit up the room. he was a family man, for sure, loved his wife and his daughters dearly. a major loss. he is a man that would give the shirt off his back to anyone. in his last moments, he was shielding his family from the gunfire. even if that was just a random civilian beside him, he would have done the same thing. he was a man that just wanted to protect and serve and love. he was truly a man of love. the investigation into the shooting will put the actions
12:49 am
of the secret service under intense scrutiny. the big question: could the attack have been prevented? you see mr trump arriving. he is on stage. everyone is very excited. he has just been shot, and within less than a second, you have got three people on that stage, which is absolutely fantastic. their training instantly kicked in. they knew what the shot was and they were on that stage before mr trump hit the ground. they got all on top of him, which is creating this blanket of security, so if any other shots came in, they would take the shots, not mr trump. there was a slight pause. obviously, there was a bit of panic with everyone. the vehicle is then brought in to the left—hand side of the stage. my only criticism at this stage is that what i believe they should have done and it is easy for me sat here saying this, but what they should have done
12:50 am
is drag him off that stage so he was behind with the lectern was on the grass. from that way, he is hidden from view so if there is any more snipers, they can't see where he is. what happens is that mr trump stands up. he is asking about �*can he get his shoes?�* they are surrounding him like a turtle shell. but that he raises his head above them, because he is a big guy, and he puts his arm in the air. now, if there was another sniper there, this is where the problem would happen, so hence they needed to get him off the stage much, much quicker and get him in the vehicle. there is no time to be waving your hand or wanting to do a speech or shouting out. sometimes, with clients, it is very difficult because the tail sometimes wags the dog, and in this case, they let mr trump have his day, but what they should have done was off that stage, in the vehicle and driven off.
12:51 am
we are still working through the security apparatus that the secret service had in place, what potentially happened. there is going to be a long investigation into exactly what took place and how the individual was able to get access to the location, what type of weapon he had. all of that is days, weeks and months of investigation. from what i have seen so far, the location looked a good location, and that would have been picked way in advance. donald trump announced that he would be there ten days in advance, so the assassin would have had plenty of time to go and do his planning, but also the secret service, they should have had time to go and look at it. they should have had time to find out where the vulnerable points were, and most certainly, someone shooting at a former president from 120 metres away is a really big surprise, and i am surprised that that was not covered.
12:52 am
later, mr trump issued another statement online. he thanked everyone for their thoughts and prayers. it is 43 years since the last assassination attempt on a us president. ronald reagan was shot in washington dc in march of 1981. four presidents in the history of the republic have died by the assassin�*s bullet. the pennsylvania shooting is a timely reminder that all us presidents face a lifelong threat. with november's presidential
12:53 am
election looming, many americans are fearful over the likely impact on the race. observers have mixed views about what difference it will make. i think it is a dangerous moment. i mean, i think this will...it already is, if you spend any time on twitter or x, you know that it is fuelling conspiracy theories. it is not unimaginable that this will embolden some people who think that political violence is an appropriate strategy. i don't think, though, that fundamentally this will change voters' attitudes towards trump. i think so much of that is baked in. there are people who are strong supporters of donald trump. this is only going to energise them. and then there are people
12:54 am
that are strongly opposed to donald trump. i don't think this is going to fundamentally move them. the one group that is unclear to me in all this is what pollsters call the double—haters in the united states. so, these are voters that are they are frustrated. they dislike both donald trump and joe biden. it would not surprise me if there is some movement in this group and if that gets reflected in the national polls in general. i think one of the consequences is to reinforce the sense that i think american eyes have been developing over the last decade or so that the us really is an incredibly polarised society. it is one where violence is increasingly prevalent. there is such a stark level of polarisation between these two sides, the right and the left
12:55 am
of american politics. it is almost baked—in instability. this is a real battle of world views between the two sides of the kind we are not used to seeing in american politics. well, it is much bigger- because it says something about what is going on with our culture, the state of america. i you know, they are trying to say that it was all this i rhetoric and everything — n0~ — if we go back, one of- the reasons that trump won in 2016 was because he had his finger on the pulse _ of the public, he knew what we were thinking and he said it out loud. he still has his finger- on the pulse of the public and he is highlighting. what the concerns are. there is an enormous - amount of anger, frankly, with the media because they i keep feeding into the division,
12:56 am
and if you, i have spent a lot of time on capitol hill, - if you see the politicians| from each side, they are buddy—buddy, but then l for the camera, they act like they are not buddy—buddy, and they take their stand, - they plant their flag i on their different hills, but that is not really. what people should be paying attention to. they should be paying attention to either side that has - an enormous amount of anger about the way our— country has been run. i do not think it is a secret that most west european leaders, for instance, would prefer it ifjoe biden won the election. i think one of the concerns is, at this very early stage, it looks like the incident in pennsylvania will give a boost to the trump campaign but in a broader view, one of the things happening to the united states, irrespective of who wins in november, is american foreign policy is changing. america is less open to free
12:57 am
trade and globalisation. we will have to wait and see how trump and other republicans play this moment at the convention, whether they wrap themselves in religious fervour or whether they see this more as a moment to try to bring americans together, to dial down the intense rhetoric in the us. and while it is not going to lead to some kind of kumbaya moment in the united states, there is a possibility that it could lead to greater stability in politics. moments in history can only really bejudged in retrospect but i will take a guess that this event will go down as one of those moments. the question for leaders
12:58 am
1:00 am
are tracking new developments in washington at this hour as several top democrats rally behind kamala harris afterjoe biden announces he is ending his election bid while endorsing her as the new democratic nominee for the 2024 us presidential election. in a post on twitter... a source has told the bbc that — following the endorsement — vice president harris has been making calls to key democratic officials, lawmakers and governors to secure support. this follows president biden's announcement on x, where he said...
25 Views
IN COLLECTIONS
BBC NewsUploaded by TV Archive on
![](http://athena.archive.org/0.gif?kind=track_js&track_js_case=control&cache_bust=873402495)