The assassination attempt on Donald Trump left the former president with a bloodied ear, one spectator dead and two injured. As the wounded former President left the stage Saturday, surrounded by Secret Service agents, he pumped his fist in the air and yelled to the crowd to “fight, fight, fight.”
In the hours after the attempted assassination, there were calls by President Joe Biden and others to tone down the rhetoric, but for years now, the political news has been dominated by outrage, allegations of fake news, conspiracy theories and charges of corruption, not to mention the violent riot at the nation’s capitol in 2021.
How did we get to this point and how might we describe the psychology of voters in this chaotic moment. Professor John Blanchar directs the social and political psychology lab at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. He joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to talk about what’s behind the political rhetoric of this moment.