Rally behind Trump, Ryan call for unity in wake of shootings
President Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan struck the perfect tone in the wake of the tragic shooting of House Majority Whip Steve Scalise and four others at a baseball practice Wednesday in Alexandria. Scalise was reportedly in critical condition following surgery, according to hospital officials.
Trump and Ryan asked the nation to turn away from the angry rhetoric that permeates politics today and move toward more civil discourse.
Trump, in a call for unity, said, “We may have our differences, but we do well in times like these to remember that everyone who serves in our nation’s capital is here because, above all, they love our country. We can all agree that we are blessed to be Americans … and that we are strongest when we are unified and when we work together for the common good.”
Ryan said that “for all the noise and fury (between Republicans and Democrats), we are one family. We do not shed our humanity when we enter this chamber. … We are united. We are united in our shock, we are united in our anguish. An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us.”
James T. Hodgkinson, the Illinois man who is suspected of shooting Scalise and four others, had a record of social media postings attacking the Republican Party and Trump. But it’s too soon to draw conclusions about his motives.
After the shooting of Rep. Gabby Giffords and 19 others in Arizona in 2011, people quickly concluded the motive was political. But in the weeks that followed, it became clear that Jared Lee Loughner’s mental instability was the main factor.
Still, the angry and divisive tone of political discourse is taking a toll on civic life in America. It’s obvious at town halls and rallies as well as social media, where nuances are all but lost.
Trump and Ryan, as leaders of the majority party, have an opportunity here. They can reach across the aisle in Congress and agree to be more respectful of one another’s viewpoints. Clear the slate and start over.
Even better, they could use the moment to seek common ground on how to reduce the number of multiple shootings that now are on the increase.
The Gun Violence Archive reported that Wednesday’s mass shooting at the ball field was the 154th this year, and we’re only 165 days in. The number didn’t include the shooting at a UPS facility in San Francisco later Wednesday that killed four people, including the shooter, who was reportedly a UPS employee.
Making America safer isn’t a Republican or Democratic issue. Politically motivated violence is a small fraction of the problem. America needs bipartisan, independent research of the cause of mass shootings and what works and what doesn’t work in slowing the bloodshed.
President Trump and Paul Ryan seem to have opened a door. It gives us hope.