EDITORIAL: Assassination attempt roils a divided nation

The nation remains in shock as law enforcement officials unravel the mystery of what drove 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks to carry out an assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump during a Saturday rally in Pennsylvania.

Secret Service snipers took down Crooks after he opened fire from a nearby rooftop outside the political event. A gunshot bloodied Mr. Trump’s right ear and members of his protection detail immediately smothered the ex-president and whisked him from the scene. He was not seriously injured. One attendee of the rally — Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old firefighter from Buffalo Township, Pennsylvania — was killed and two others there to hear Mr. Trump were critically wounded.

The Secret Service agents on the ground reacted bravely and admirably. But the agency faces pointed questions about how the shooter was able to secure a favorable vantage point that allowed him to execute the attack in the first place.

Such political terrorism has no place in a civilized democratic republic. Yet this is hardly the first time in America’s 248 years that partisan activists have resorted to violence and assassination as a tool of shock and demoralization. Since the murder of Abraham Lincoln in 1865, no fewer than seven sitting U.S. presidents have been targeted domestically, the last being Ronald Reagan in 1981.

We live in an age of intense political passion and division. The nation endured similar eras — the Civil War, the tumultuous 1960s — and emerged intact, a thriving beacon of hope for the world. Despite the animosity that now dominates our public discourse, our spirit of endurance abounds and our well of resiliency runs deep and wide.

Many observers blame this atmosphere of dissension for the tragedy that unfolded Saturday. Some are so blinded by their hatred of Mr. Trump that they’ve staked out the abhorrent position that he brought this upon himself. Sad, yet indicative of the times. Let’s wait until the police uncover what motivated Crooks before extremists on both sides retreat to their corners and begin bellowing at each other.

Mr. Trump did not create this toxic political climate. He is a product of it. There is enough overwrought “whataboutism” and rhetoric spewed by both Democrats and Republicans to give a troubled soul of any political outlook the motivation to embrace violence as a means to an end. That won’t change until our elected officials and their acolytes start leading by example and maintain a responsible decorum while treating those who harbor differing views with respect and dignity.

Mr. Trump is lucky to be alive. Americans mourn the senseless death of Mr. Comperatore and pray that those injured in the shooting fully recover. The bullets leave a wound in the nation’s psyche. Can we learn from it?