(AFP) – At a prayer vigil in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Robert Benning’s eyes water when he talks about Donald Trump surviving this weekend’s assassination attempt. “When he got shot, I was like, ‘Oh man.’ I damn near cried — and then he got up… That proves how much of a fighter he is,” the 64-year-old said, gathered at a park in the Midwestern city with other supporters to pray for the Republican presidential candidate.
The Sunday gathering was held downtown, just steps away from the Republican National Convention that kicks off Monday and will officially seal Trump’s nomination as the party’s candidate against President Joe Biden in November.
Faithful prayed for those on both sides of the political spectrum, even if the event still carried a partisan tone and the occasional culture war rhetoric. “I just bless the Democratic Party. I bless the opposition. I pray that you would show them where they are in error. I pray that you would show them where they are opposing their own creator,” said Patrick Casper.
Trump himself has said God “prevented the unthinkable from happening.” He survived the shooting with injuries, while two others were injured and one person, in addition to the shooter, was killed.
The ex-president’s base includes the religious right, though he himself only went to church sporadically while in office. – ‘Pray for all Trump’s enemies’ – “We just pray for all Trump’s enemies. This is not America, to try to shoot a former president. God help us,” offered another man, removing his red Trump hat to pray.
Christina, also in attendance at the vigil, organized by conservative group Turning Point USA, said she didn’t understand what motivated the shooter. Authorities have also said they have yet to pin down his ideology.
“We have First Amendment rights, you can protest and that’s OK. But we have to turn down our rhetoric,” she said, declining to give her last name. Her words echoed those of Biden, who in a rare address to the nation on Sunday said that “the political record in this country has gotten very heated. It’s time to cool it down.”
Previous assassinations — including those of president John F. Kennedy and civil rights icon Martin Luther King, Jr, weighed attendees. “I don’t know what’s driving it but all I know is that the division in politics has got to stop,” Christina said. “Both sides have to tone down the rhetoric and have to focus on the issues.” – Moisés ÁVILA
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