The attempted assassination of a former US president should teach Australian politicians a lesson about the consequences of demonising their opponents, a former ambassador has said.
A barrage of shots was fired at a political rally in Pennsylvania, with one bullet grazing the ear of presidential candidate Donald Trump.
The attack shocked America, but according to Arthur Sinodinos, the former Australian ambassador to the US, the attack was not unexpected.
“I’m surprised it took this long for something like this to happen,” he said Monday.
‘Given the degree of polarization in the US, the amount of mudslinging that goes on, and the attempts by both sides to demonize the other, it’s not surprising.
‘There has been a normalization of very unusual behavior recently.’
In Australia, compulsory elections, preferential voting and an independent electoral commission have brought stability, but Sinodinos says local politicians still have a role to play.
“It also comes down to leadership character: people not only say the right things, but do the right things,” he said.
A barrage of shots was fired at a political rally in Pennsylvania, with one bullet grazing the ear of second-place presidential candidate Donald Trump (pictured)
‘Hopefully Australian politicians from all parties will learn from this.’
“If (they) want to demonize and dehumanize your opponents — no matter what side of politics they’re on — then some crazy people will come along and maybe take that as a sign that they need to do something about it.”
Current Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd and former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull both condemned the attempted assassination of Trump on the social media platform X.
Sinodinos’ predecessor, Joe Hockey, said that while there was a “deep shock” that would undoubtedly have implications for the November presidential election, the attack would not prevent President Joe Biden from running for re-election.
“Joe Biden, if he decides not to run now, he will look like a coward, like he’s afraid of the assassin’s bullet,” he told Sydney radio station 2GB on Monday.
Australian political leaders have condemned the assassination attempt, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese saying there was heightened concern following the shooting.
Mr. Trump raised his fist in the air before being escorted from the stage after the shooting
“It was a shock to the system. We know that American politics is becoming increasingly polarized and, unfortunately, there is a history of violence,” he told ABC Radio on Monday.
‘It’s great that politicians in Australia, including the Prime Minister, can generally walk around events safely.
“We hope that an angry and divided America will use this terrible moment as a sign to calm down, reset, and stabilize. The world’s most consistent democracy seems to be on the brink of something worse. These times call for leadership, respect, and restraint more than ever.
“(Respect for democratic processes) is something good that we have here, and it’s important that we don’t take that for granted. It’s important that we cherish democracy.”
Biden has ordered the nation’s Secret Service to evaluate security measures ahead of the Republican convention.
Finance Minister Jim Chalmers said there was relief that Trump was doing well.
“We’ve seen politics become increasingly ugly, increasingly polarised and unfortunately increasingly violent. I think a lot of people around the world, including in Australia, are concerned about those developments,” he told Nine’s Today program on Monday.
“We cannot expect this extreme polarization, this extreme violence, to become normal in democracies around the world. We must resolve our differences with votes, not with violence.”
Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer Angus Taylor said that while America had become politically divided, violence was not the solution.
“The whole point of democracy is that we get the chance to have our say at the ballot box, and that’s true of any major democratic country,” he said.
“We need to keep coming back to this and calling out this completely unacceptable behaviour. It’s clearly not what we want to see here in Australia.”
James Paterson, the opposition’s home affairs spokesman, said Australia could not remain indifferent to threats against elected officials or candidates.
“It’s true we have very different rules on gun safety, but there are also worrying signs that there is a trend in Australia towards using violent means to intimidate MPs and their staff,” he told ABC radio.
“We can’t let that happen here.”