The United States has a long history of political violence, including assassinations and assassination attempts. Former President Donald Trump joins a list of presidential candidates who faced assassination attempts, including Theodore Roosevelt and Robert F. Kennedy. Nationwide: National coverage by KOAT Action 7 News Following the weekend assassination attempt on Donald Trump, Americans are being reminded of this history. “I was at McCurdy Boarding School when President Kennedy was shot. It was awful,” said Charlotte Balistri. Balistri was in eighth grade when John F. Kennedy was killed and experienced an assassination attempt in the '80s when Ronald Reagan was shot. “This is the third time in my life. What does it feel like?” Balistri said. “It's scary. There's too much discord, too much violence, hatred and bigotry.” Follow us on social: Facebook | X/Twitter | Instagram | YouTube Corey Scala, an assistant professor at New Mexico State University, said many assassination attempts throughout history have been motivated by a desire for political change. “If you want to understand significant cases in recent American history, you need to look at moments of political tension, which can often lead to moments of political turmoil,” he said. Scala said this kind of violence has been ingrained in American politics since the American Revolution and the founding of the country. The only thing that has changed, he said, is the way people talk about politics. “There's not a normal day without a political interaction. Now everything is felt through the lens of politics.” Action 7 News On The Go: Download the app for free
The United States has a long history of political violence, including assassinations and assassination attempts.
Former President Donald Trump joins a growing list of presidential candidates who faced assassination attempts, including Theodore Roosevelt and Robert F. Kennedy.
Local locations: National coverage by KOAT Action 7 News
Americans are being reminded of this history following last weekend's assassination attempt on President Donald Trump.
“I was at McCurdy boarding school when President Kennedy was shot, and it was a horrible experience,” Charlotte Balistri said.
Balistreri was in eighth grade when John F. Kennedy was assassinated and lived through an assassination attempt in the '80s when Ronald Reagan was shot.
“What's it like for the third time in my life? It's frightening. There's so much discord, violence, hatred and bigotry.”
Follow us on social media: Facebook | X/Twitter | Instagram | Youtube
Dr. Corey Scala, an assistant professor of political science at New Mexico State University, said many assassination attempts throughout history have been motivated by a desire for political change.
“If we want to understand some of the key cases in recent American history, we need to look at moments of political tension that often led to political turmoil,” he said.
Scala said this kind of violence has been ingrained in American politics since the Revolutionary War and the founding of the country. The only thing that has changed, he said, is the way people talk about politics.
“There's not a normal day without political engagement. Everything is now felt through a political lens.”
Action 7 News On The Go: Download the app for free
