Roanoke – As a country Saturday, we witnessed an apparent attempted assassination.
“I think it’s a terrible thing that someone is getting shot at, doesn’t matter which side,” someone in Roanoke said.
A Trump rally turned tragedy after former President Donald Trump was shot, a rallygoer was killed and two others hurt. I talked with people who were shocked by the news and are hopeful for Trump’s recovery.
“I’m hoping he’s fine, I’m hoping everything works out good and maybe we can have a bit of civility and people can realize that everybody has a right to live,” someone in Roanoke said.
10 News Political Analyst Dr. Ed Lynch touches on what this could mean as the election quickly approaches.
“I think there will be comparisons with the attempt on Ronald Reagan which caused Reagan’s popularity back in 1981 absolutely skyrocketed. We don’t know if that will happen with trump but it’s a very good possibility,” Lynch said.
People in our area think Trump will use this to gain and keep his loyal supporters
“More than likely, he will probably just use this to garner more support and his status as a martyr for the cause he stands for, and have it be something that supporters rally behind him,” someone in Roanoke said.
As Trump got up from behind the podium, his first move was a fist pump showing he was okay.
“That I think is going to have the same impact as Reagan’s jokes did in the operating room during the last assassination attempt on a president or a former president back in 1981,” Lynch said.
But what could this mean for the divided parties and what’s to come for election season?
“A lot of politicians, republicans and democrats will talk about coming together, but I don’t expect that to keep, I expect this will sharpen those differences even more assuming it was an assassination,” Lynch said.