The image of former United States president Donald Trump with a bloodied ear and his fist raised defiantly in the air after what is being investigated as an attempted shooting assassination will become one of the defining photographs of the present political moment.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
To Mr Trump's supporters, the photograph will embody the sheer invincibility they imbue their preferred presidential candidate with. Unbowed, undefeated, even in the face of unrestrained violence.
To Mr Trump's staunchest political opponents, the photograph will embody reality of the division Mr Trump has sowed into the United States' political system; the hatred, the fakery, the incendiary bluster.
At a rally hosted by Mr Trump on Saturday, the former president who is running for a second term narrowly survived an assassination attempt. A spectator was killed, two others critically injured, and the shooter killed by the Secret Service.
But what is clear is this: the shooting was a display of bloody violence has no rightful place in a well-functioning democracy.
The shooting at one of Mr Trump's campaign rallies comes, of course, at a fragile and volatile time for the United States, which is heading towards a critical presidential election in November.
The United States today is a politically fractured society, where divisions run deep in the political tussle for the future direction of the country.
President Joe Biden said he was grateful to hear Mr Trump was safe. "There's no place for this kind of violence in America. We must unite as one nation to condemn it," Mr Biden said, in comments echoed by other Democratic figures.
In a functioning democracy, violence is never a justified means to an end.
Mr Trump thanked the Secret Service for their rapid response and expressed his condolences to the family of the person at the rally who was killed. "It is incredible that such an act can take place in our Country," Mr Trump said in a statement.
There is no doubt that a shooting such as this is an incredible act. But this is not to say it is a surprising act.
Moments of political violence have long marked the history of the United States, from the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963, and Martin Luther King jnr and Robert F. Kennedy, both in 1968. And, of course, the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan in 1981.
This history clearly shows how fragile democracy is, and that it is beholden on everyone in politics - from leaders to voters - to ensure the value of non-violence is maintained.
That such a violent act can be shocking but not surprising should prompt some deep introspection from political leaders. They should ask themselves how they can foster a strong and safe culture of political debate and whether their actions contribute to this culture.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese spoke in Canberra on Sunday, and said it was a day for unity, not politics.
Mr Albanese said he did not want to see the ability of politicians to move about in public diminished. "I think that would be a tragedy if that occurred," the Prime Minister said.
He is right, on both counts.
At the core of a functioning democracy is the belief that violence is never a justified means to an end. That belief needs to be continually nurtured. This is especially necessary in the wake of the attempt on Mr Trump's life.
The image of Mr Trump being taken from the stage with his fist raised after the attempted assassination may well define the rest of the US presidential election campaign.
But violence itself should not be allowed to become a defining factor.
