What the attempt on Donald Trump’s life means for US politics, foreign policy and the Middle East

Special What the attempt on Donald Trump’s life means for US politics, foreign policy and the Middle East
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With his fist raised in a salute of defiance, a wounded Trump entered the iconography of American history in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Evan Vucci/AP)
Special What the attempt on Donald Trump’s life means for US politics, foreign policy and the Middle East
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Updated 15 July 2024
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What the attempt on Donald Trump’s life means for US politics, foreign policy and the Middle East

What the attempt on Donald Trump’s life means for US politics, foreign policy and the Middle East
  • Presumptive Republican presidential nominee survived assassination bid at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday
  • Analysts say the attack may generate sympathy and votes for Trump, put Democrats further at a disadvantage

LONDON/ATLANTA: Saudi Arabia led the Arab world’s condemnation on Sunday of the assassination attempt on the life of former US president and current presidential candidate Donald Trump, stressing its rejection of violence, sending condolences to the deceased, and wishing a speedy recovery for those injured.

The Kingdom affirmed its “complete solidarity with the US, the former US president and his family.”

The day before, the world was left in shock when Trump was shot during a campaign rally in Butler County, Pennsylvania.




Donald Trump is escorted by Secret Service agents away from the stage as his right ear bleeds after being hit by an assassin's bullet on Saturday in Butler, Pennsylvania. (AP)

The bullets wounded Trump in his right ear, killing a spectator and critically injuring two others. The former president was escorted off stage by a group of secret service agents while pumping his fist and shouting, “Fight! Fight!”

The shooter, who had positioned himself on a nearby rooftop, was reportedly killed by police snipers. But in that brief moment when he nearly assassinated the Republican Party’s presumptive presidential nominee, Crooks succeeded in damaging the political future of Biden, placed the Democratic Party in a difficult dilemma, and possibly sowed the seeds of further political polarization.

World leaders immediately condemned the shooting. The leaders of dozens of countries and the UN denounced the assassination attempt and political violence overall.

Leaders from across the Arab world joined in these condemnations. The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the “extremist and criminal act,” and Bahrain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs labeled the attack as “a direct assault on democratic values.”

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi denounced the attack and hoped that the election campaigns would continue in a peaceful manner. Qatar’s foreign ministry also condemned the attack, stressing “the need to pursue dialogue and peaceful means and avoid political violence and hatred to overcome differences at all levels.”

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas also condemned the shooting in a message from Ramallah.

Arab Americans from the left and right of the political spectrum spoke out against the failed assassination attempt.

“There is a lot we don’t know. But what we do know is that violent rhetoric can give rise to violent behavior. We need to take action and that violence is never the way to resolve political differences,” Jim Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute in Washington, told Arab News earlier on Sunday.

Current US president Joe Biden, who is also Trump’s opponent in the upcoming elections, posted on the social media platform X: “There’s no place for this kind of violence in America. We must unite as one nation to condemn it.”




President Joe Biden speaks at the White House in Washington on July 14, 2024, to denounce the assassination attempt on his rival Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. (AP)

Multiple replies to Biden’s post accused him of stirring anti-Trump rhetoric, with many going so far as to blame him for the shooting.

Some are questioning how the shooter, whom the FBI have identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Pennsylvania, managed to carry out his attempt on Trump’s life in the presence of secret service agents and police snipers.

“There are serious questions that have to be answered on how the gunman was allowed an unobstructed line of shot, from a nearby rooftop, under 200 meters from the stage on which the former president was standing,” Oubai Shahbandar, a defense analyst and former Pentagon Middle East adviser, told Arab News from Washington, D.C.

Little is known about the shooter. State voter records show him as a registered Republican, though he had previously donated to a liberal political action committee as a teenager. Nothing is known about Crooks’ motives, and so far, law enforcement and Crooks’ own family have been silent on the subject.




Police snipers return fire after shots were fired while Donald Trump was speaking at a campaign event in Butler, Penssylvania, on July 13, 2024. (AP)

Regardless of the motivations behind the shooting, many political analysts now believe that the assassination attempt will likely bolster Trump’s chances of winning the upcoming election.

“The image of President Trump, wiping the blood streaking across his face away, while defiantly raising his fist in the air and yelling ‘fight! fight!’ and the crowd roaring back ‘USA!’, is nothing short of historic. This will no doubt resonate with voters who contrast it with Biden’s apparent lethargy,” Shahbandar said.

Biden’s chances were already dampened by the June 27 presidential debate, where he was perceived widely to have performed very poorly. Biden appeared to ramble and struggle to speak at certain points, failing to match Trump’s energy and focus. A New York Times/Siena College poll found that after the debate, Trump led Biden 49 to 41 percent among registered voters.




Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump arrives for the campaign rally on Saturday in Butler, Pennsylvania. As he was speaking, an assassin started firing and hit Trump on the ear. (AP)

“The assassination attempt targeting President Trump in fact struck the political future and the candidacy of President Biden and his campaign. The Democrats will be in a very difficult position moving forward. President Trump will garner a lot of sympathy,” Firas Maksad, senior director for strategic outreach at the Middle East Institute, told Arab News from Washington, D.C.

“It will be very difficult for the Democrats to continue to rely on attacking President Trump personally in their campaign. I also think that President Biden is mortally wounded. They will either have to replace him. If they are unsuccessful in doing so, they are heading to almost certain political defeat in the polls in November.”

According to Zach D. Huff, a Middle East expert and Republican political consultant who assisted President Trump’s 2020 re-election effort in Nevada, “Joe Biden’s loss is a given.”

“Regional powers now have time to try to factor in the impact of President Trump’s nearly guaranteed win,” he told Arab News from Dubai.




In this photo taken on May 21, 2017, US President Donald Trump (C-L), Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud (C-R), and other officials pose for a group photo during the Arab Islamic American Summit in Riyadh. (AFP/File)

The impact of the assassination attempt may have ramifications far beyond Pennsylvania, or even the US.

Shahbandar, the defense analyst, said that “by all objective measures, the likelihood of a Trump return to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. is now incredibly high. And that will likely be met with wide support among senior leadership in the Middle East who are eager to engage a team they are well familiar with.”

Huff believes America’s rivals such as Iran and China will be “left guessing what Trump will do to repel their influence.”

“Hamas and Hezbollah could feel pressure to conclude their best possible deal while Biden is around, before Trump wins. They are unlikely to seek an escalation that could easily last into the next US administration,” he said.

As for Biden’s attempts to bring about a Saudi Arabia-Israel normalization, Huff said “the window has already closed, with no time left for the US Senate to ratify an agreement,” adding: “Saudi Arabia will probably find better terms under Trump and may feel less pressure to normalize ties with regional adversaries.”




This photo taken on Sept. 15, 2020 shows US President Donald Trump with Bahrain FM Abdullatif al-Zayani (left), Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, and UAE FM Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan during the signing of the Abraham Accords. (AFP)

The history of Trump’s approach to US relations Middle East countries is a checkered one, sometimes focusing on diplomacy and deals and, at other times, focusing on military force.

His first foreign trip in office in May 2017 was to Saudi Arabia, and he maintained warm relations with the Kingdom throughout his term.

In 2020, he facilitated the signing of the Abraham Accords, a series of bilateral agreements between Israel and the UAE and Israel and Bahrain. Morocco and Sudan followed suit the next year.

Trump faced criticism, however, for some of his Middle East policy decisions. In 2017 the then-president ordered a series of “precision” strikes on a Syrian airbase, drawing the ire of Russia and Iran. The decision was taken in retaliation for a chemical attack by the Syrian regime in which dozens of civilians were killed.




Children greet a US troop patrol in the Syrian town of al-Jawadiyah, in the northeastern Hasakeh province, near the border with Turkey, on Dec.17, 2020. (AFP)

Just two years later, in October 2019, Trump ordered the withdrawal of US troops from northern Syria, where they had been supporting the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.

This decision was strongly condemned in a 354-60 vote in the US House of Representatives, as just days after the withdrawal, a Turkish incursion into the region led to the deaths of hundreds and displacement of 300,000 civilians.

Huff highlighted Trump’s 2024 policy platform, which calls for peace in the Middle East, support for Israel, and the rebuilding of “our alliance network in the region to ensure a future of peace, stability, and prosperity.”

“A key question is how far that alliance network will reach,” he said.




Kurdish fighters and veterans march on Oct.  8, 2019, in front of the UN office in the northern Kurdish Syrian city of Qamishli to protest against Turkish threats in the Kurdish region. (AFP)

“Will it include the Kurds, who hold the line against Iran, and who prevent a return of Daesh? Could it include Qatar and Turkey?”

Going forward, two US lawmakers intend to introduce bipartisan legislation providing President Biden, Trump and presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. with enhanced Security Service protection.

The new law could give Donald Trump, Joe Biden and presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr enhanced Secret Service protection. “Anything less would be a disservice to our democracy,” Congressmen Ritchie Torres and Mike Lawler said on Sunday.
 

 


UK schools see rise in white poppy interest to show Gaza solidarity

UK schools see rise in white poppy interest to show Gaza solidarity
Updated 01 November 2024
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UK schools see rise in white poppy interest to show Gaza solidarity

UK schools see rise in white poppy interest to show Gaza solidarity
  • Britons wear red poppies in November to remember fallen servicemen, women
  • White poppy makes distinction of also remembering civilian casualties of war

London: Schools in the UK are ordering large numbers of white poppies for children to show solidarity with the people of Gaza, the Daily Telegraph reported.

The UK celebrates Remembrance Sunday every November to reflect on the sacrifices made by men and women who have served the country, with red poppies traditionally worn to commemorate the dead and raise money for veterans and their families.

The white poppy has gained popularity in recent years as an alternative, having first been worn in 1933 by those wishing to promote peace rather than celebrate war, and to remember civilians as well as combatants.

The Peace Pledge Union, the organization that distributes white poppies, said it received increased orders from schools this year, with teachers citing the war in Gaza as a key reason for children wanting to wear them. Demand went up 27 percent since the start of the war in October last year, it added.

“It is heartening that a growing number of young people are turning to the white poppy, for the light it sheds on today’s conflicts,” said Geoff Tibbs, a project manager at the PPU.

“Many are alienated by the mainstream tradition of Remembrance Day, as it fails to acknowledge civilians and people of other nationalities affected by wars today.”

Schools that offer white poppies to pupils also tend to offer red ones, which are provided by a military charity, the Royal British Legion.

An RBL spokesman told the Telegraph: “The RBL defends the right to wear different poppies. The RBL’s red poppy honours all those who have sacrificed their lives to protect the freedoms we enjoy today; including the freedom to wear the poppy of your choice.”


Germans should leave Iran or risk being held hostage, says Berlin

Germans should leave Iran or risk being held hostage, says Berlin
Updated 01 November 2024
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Germans should leave Iran or risk being held hostage, says Berlin

Germans should leave Iran or risk being held hostage, says Berlin

BERLIN: Germany has long had a travel warning for Iran and asked nationals to leave because, as seen from the execution of a German-Iranian national, Tehran takes German citizens hostage, said a foreign ministry spokesperson in Berlin on Friday.
“We have long had a travel warning for Iran and a request to Germans in Iran to leave the country because we saw from the Jamshid Sharmahd case that Iran is taking German citizens hostage,” said the spokesperson at a government news conference.
“We want to spare other German citizens this fate.”


Filipinos honor their dead with flowers, food in All Saints’ Day rites

Filipinos honor their dead with flowers, food in All Saints’ Day rites
Updated 01 November 2024
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Filipinos honor their dead with flowers, food in All Saints’ Day rites

Filipinos honor their dead with flowers, food in All Saints’ Day rites
  • All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day are jointly referred to in the Philippines as Undas
  • Around 4 million Filipinos are expected to head to their native provinces this weekend

Manila: Millions of Filipinos flocked to cemeteries across the country on Friday, braving massive crowds, traffic, and extreme weather to honor their departed loved ones during the annual holidays dedicated to the dead.

The threats posed by a tropical storm in parts of the Philippines this week could not stop the throngs of people at seaports, airports, and bus terminals as they rushed from the main cities to their family towns and villages for Undas — the All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day celebrations.

In Manila, school and work stopped at noon on Oct. 31 to give people enough time to travel and avoid heavy traffic, as authorities expected around 4 million to head to their native provinces this weekend.

Preparations for the holiday usually begin days in advance, with families cleaning their ancestral graves, lighting candles, and placing flower bouquets on the tomb markers.

“We visit our dearly departed every chance we get. It’s just that on this day, everyone in the family is present,” said Maria Imelda Austria, a 51-year-old teacher for whom Undas was also an occasion to uphold her mother’s tradition.

“I make sure my parents get the nicest flower arrangements to keep my promise to them (to do so) when they were still alive. Also, we try to do what my mother used to do, that is pray the rosary and pray for the poor souls in purgatory.”

The tradition in the Catholic-majority nation is one of the many religious practices passed on by the Spanish who colonized the Philippines for over 300 years.

The Filipino word “Undas” stems from the Spanish phrase “Dia de los Todos Santos” or “All Saints’ Day.”

Food plays a significant role in the observance, with more traditional communities preparing their deceased relatives’ favorite dishes and serving them on their graves as an offering. Some households spread grains of uncooked rice on the floor to track the brief earthly visits of the departed, which are believed to occur during Undas. A change in the grain placement signifies that the spirits of their relatives have passed through.

For most, however, the holiday becomes an opportunity for family reunions, making it a highly anticipated event for Filipinos that usually calls for feasts.

“It is a happy occasion because we get to see our relatives and bond with them while enjoying food,” Anna Maria Batungbacal, a 46-year-old civil servant, told Arab News.

“But it can be sad as well when you remember those that aren’t with you anymore, especially when someone has just recently passed.”

For Criena House, the Undas reunions were like a “potluck,” with everyone bringing food.

“Everyone from different parts of the Philippines will come home. Sometimes they’ll be from other countries,” the 34-year-old actress-entrepreneur said.

“You just eat, you catch up with family, you can play music depending on where you are … It’s not rude to do that. It’s okay to smile and take pictures and pose with your family and the dead behind you.”

Undas is also an experience of learning about her community and its history — something she remembers from childhood, when her mother would take her around to the different grave sites of people she knew or who had a significant impact on their lives.

Her mother would point to a grave, exclaiming “that used to be my teacher over there, that used to be the ex-mayor over there,” she said.

The tradition is something House is keen to pass on to her Filipino-American husband and 2-year-old son.

“I had to explain to my husband that this is not just a day, it’s also kind of like a special week, like Thanksgiving or Christmas,” she said.

“He’s still adjusting to it, but for me it’s very fun because I’m seeing everyone, even if I don’t know the people around me. It’s like you’re getting to know your community.”


North Korean foreign minister arrives in Moscow for talks

North Korean foreign minister arrives in Moscow for talks
Updated 01 November 2024
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North Korean foreign minister arrives in Moscow for talks

North Korean foreign minister arrives in Moscow for talks
  • The visit comes after Pyongyang tested a new intercontinental ballistic missile this week
  • Washington says there are 10,000 North Korean troops in Russia

MOSCOW: North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui has arrived in Moscow and will hold strategic consultations with her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Friday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the ministry, in a post on her official Telegram channel, published photographs of Lavrov meeting Choe at a Moscow train station.
“Today, talks between the heads of Russia and the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) will be held in Moscow. Sergei Lavrov greeted his counterpart with a bouquet of flowers,” said Zakharova.
“The meeting began at the Yaroslavsky railway station (in Moscow), where a memorial plaque was unveiled to mark the occasion of Kim Il Sung’s 1949 visit to the USSR,” she said, referring to the founder of the DPRK.
The visit, Choe’s second in six weeks, comes after Pyongyang tested a new intercontinental ballistic missile this week and as Washington says there are 10,000 North Korean troops in Russia, including as many as 8,000 deployed in Russia’s Kursk region where Ukrainian troops have dug in.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday that the United States expected the North Korean troops in Kursk region to enter the fight against Ukraine in the coming days.
Moscow has neither denied nor directly confirmed the presence of North Korean troops on its soil. President Vladimir Putin has said it is for Russia to decide how to implement a treaty he signed with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in June that includes a mutual defense clause.


Shootout in western France wounds five: minister

Shootout in western France wounds five: minister
Updated 01 November 2024
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Shootout in western France wounds five: minister

Shootout in western France wounds five: minister
  • 15-year-old boy is between life and death after the gunbattle erupted in front of a restaurant overnight

Paris: A drug trafficking-related shooting has left a teenager and four others seriously wounded in the western French city of Poitiers, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said Friday.
The 15-year-old boy is between life and death after the gunbattle erupted in front of a restaurant overnight, Retailleau told BFMTV/RMC radio.