Editor’s note: A previous version of this story included statements that were unfounded and incorrect, including some regarding the supposed motives behind Trump’s assassination attempt and the timeline of events, including if and when Trump reached out to the shooting’s victims. These statements have been clarified, and we regret these errors.

Former President and current Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s attempted assassination this past week ahead of the 2024 Presidential election was met with varying reactions, but one thing is clear: America is more divided than it has been in a long time, and it is only getting worse.

As Republican Presidential elect Donald Trump took the stage in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, millions across the nation tuned in and watched as an attempt on Trump’s life unfolded in real time. As Americans waited for answers, speculation and confusion took over the general public and for a time it felt as though the nation was approaching a boiling point.

Supporters of the former President reacted with rage, compassion, and rapid blame. In the confusion, accusations towards sitting President Joe Biden, who notably said it was “time to put Donald Trump in the bullseye” just days earlier, and more general finger pointing at targets of Trump’s administration like immigrants, people of color and members of the LGBTQ+ community spread across the Republican Party. Members of congress, governors, and other public officials who aligned with Trump’s administration in large roared in support for the man they still believe should be the President despite the 2020 election’s result.

On the other side of the political spectrum, Democrats pointed out the double standard that Republicans seem to have when it comes to violence, citing Trump mocking the attempted murder of former speaker of the house Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, back in 2022. 

Additionally, many drew comparisons between the attempt on Trump’s life and the numerous mass shootings that have plagued America in the last few decades, pointing out the hypocrisy of conservatives’ lackadaisical attitude towards other mass shootings, but anger and compassion towards the attack on their representative.

Disturbingly, many went online to express their disappointment— not at the attempt on his life— but at its lack of success. Names of other Presidential assassins like John Wilkes Booth and Lee Harvey Oswald trended online, while notable Democrats like Joe Biden and Barack Obama denounced violence and displayed their disapproval of the events that occurred in an attempt to put out the fire.

No matter what side of the conversation, everyone was holding their breath. Conservatives awaited for the shooter’s identity to be revealed as a disgruntled MS13 member or secret ANTIFA agent while liberals continued to laugh at Trump and, despite no official evidence of conspiracy, theorize that perhaps the entire thing was a set up— a last ditch effort to gain support and sympathy for his campaign.

The entire nation fell silent when it was revealed over the next 24 hours that the shooter had taken the life of firefighter Corey Comperatore before he was neutralized by secret service agents, and left others in critical condition in his attempt to kill the Republican nominee. Notably, President Biden reached out to the widow of Comperatore after the tragedy, while Trump did not.

When the identity of the shooter was revealed to be a registered Republican named Thomas Matthew Crooks, the nation was left even more confused and bewildered at the fact that a member of Trump’s own party was the one who committed the attempted murder.

In the wake of the assassination, speakers at the Republican National Convention have displayed more traditional Republican beliefs like workers rights, claiming they stand alongside many groups that Trump has seemingly opposed in the past like people of color and members of the LGBTQ+ community.

More surprisingly, Trump’s running mate of choice, Ohio Senator J. D. Vance, once claimed Trump was “America’s Hitler,” but seems to have had a change of heart in the name of having a balanced Presidency where he can provide more moderate input and advice. The absence of former VP Mike Pence is likely because of his disagreement with Trump over the January 6th Capitol siege that Trump endorsed.

Rhetoric of equality, peace, and anti-corporation sentiments are new to the Trump-era Republican Party, and could be attributed to the sudden realization that extremism could spell danger for them. Despite that, Vance will likely not provide the moderation that Republican officials have branded him as. He, like Trump, hopes to ban abortion with no exceptions, doesn’t believe in gay marriage, among other further right leaning beliefs.

More than anything, this event displays the most since the January 6th insurrection that our nation has been divided, perhaps irreparably, by Donald Trump.

Former President Trump radicalized the Republican Party to the point of occult support and domestic terrorism, and just days after the attempt on his life, became the first convicted felon to win the Republican nomination. Many have pointed out his controversy outside of his presidency, like his sexual assault of E. Jean Caroll and relationship with human trafficker and pedophile, Jeffrey Epstein.

As a symptom of his policies, beliefs, and actions that target the working class, immigrants, women, and LGBTQ+ citizens, liberal Americans have been driven to a lack of remorse so severe that an attempt on a Presidential elect’s life is less of a serious wake up call and more of a meme than anything.

Hard right conservatives remain steadfast in their support, while Democrats scramble to jumpstart the campaign of favored Democratic nominee and current Vice President Kamala Harris after the sudden exit of Joe Biden from the Presidential race. Liberals hope Harris will oust the reality TV star that Republicans have elected to office, and it seems the most extreme of them have been made so desperate that they’ll accept any outcome, even assassination, as long as it means Donald Trump is not President.

The bitter irony of this all taking place on the month of America’s birthday isn’t lost on a soul in the states, as most of us can only watch in horror as our nation drives itself further and further apart. For those of us who do have a say, you’re encouraged to vote and let your voice be heard in a time where it counts the most. This astronomic divide is the fault of political extremism at the hands of Donald Trump, and while the Republican Party presents itself as more moderate than it has ever been in the last 8 years, it seems to be too little, too late.