KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump has left many Americans feeling uncertain, especially ahead of the election in November.
"To be honest, I’m nervous about it and I just want to hide my head under a rock," said Kenzie Staab, a voter in Kansas City.
Matt Harris, associate professor of political science at Park University, said he was shocked.
"It’s worrying to have something like this ... as we head toward the peak of campaign season," he said.
Harris believes the Pennsylvania rally incident may not affect either campaign as much as some think, especially concerning topics like gun control.
"That’s not that different from conversations we’ve had after Uvalde and Sandy Hook, and all these different school shootings," Harris said.
The same goes for polling. Harris said the former president polls slightly ahead of President Joe Biden, which has remained steady.
"I think for a lot of people, their minds are already made up on the two candidates, and so I can’t imagine something like this really bringing people together in a way that would be lasting," Harris said.
Reflecting on the incident, Harris said it speaks to the extreme polarization in America, something he heard about from two legislators who came to speak at his class.
"They were like, 'You know, Democrats and Republicans when we were in Congress would eat lunch together,'" Harris said. "They didn’t agree on policy, but they’d sit down and have pizza or whatever, and they’re saying that that isn’t the case anymore."
In such a tense time, Harris believes this moment of unity may be fleeting.
"We see something like what happened yesterday and just, sort of, hoping that it’s not a precursor sort of [for] things to come," Harris said.
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