The two members of Congress who live in Springfield are calling for toning down the political rhetoric in the wake of the assassination attempt on GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump.
"It is a miracle that Donald Trump is alive today," U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Springfield, said. "If you saw that scene, and many of us have seen it over and over again, if that bullet would have been one inch in another direction, I'm afraid he would have given his life to this assassination attempt. But thank God he survived. Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family and the families that were affected by this."
U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski, D-Springfield, added, "We need to again lower the political temperature, come together. We can agree to disagree and we can do that peacefully."
Firearms such as the one used in the July 13 shooting in which Trump's upper ear was pierced by a sniper's bullet should be outlawed, Durbin said.
"Two years ago, a troubled youth in Highland Park, Illinois, was given an AR-15 by his father. He went up on the roof during a Fourth of July parade and fired off 78 rounds in 60 seconds, killing seven people and injuring dozens. ... I don't think giving a military-style weapon to a child to solve a psychological problem makes much sense. But, in this case (of the Trump shooting), this wasn't a child; it was a 20-year-old."
Durbin said military-style rifles should not be available to the public.
Both Durbin and Budzinski said they continue to support President Joe Biden and want him to be the Democratic Party's nominee to face Trump.
"The vast majority of Democrats support the reelection of Joe Biden, like I do," Durbin said. "Many of us still believe he's the strongest standard bearer for our party."
Just how the assassination attempt will affect the dynamics of the election remains to be seen, said Christopher Mooney, a political science professor at University of Illinois Springfield.
"Assassination attempts – we haven't had them in a while – but they tend to give a little bump (in the polls). Jerry Ford got a little bump both times he got shot at. (Ronald) Reagan was the one who really benefited dramatically. .... Reagan was sort of down in the polls. His story was very similar (to Trump's). Yes, he was brave. He was telling jokes to the doctors."
Rather than joke, Trump raised his fist and called for his followers to "Fight! Fight! Fight!" Mooney said.
"Trump's image is of being an angry white man. 'They're after me.' 'I'm a victim.' 'They're coming for me.' 'I took a bullet for America, for my people.' And he can say that in a plausible way (now). He sort of did."
Scott Reeder, a staff writer for Illinois Times, can be reached at [email protected].
