Stremlau: Attempted assassination of Trump could lead to rethink of US democracy

This comes after former US president Donald Trump was wounded in an attempted assassination during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday.

Trump was rushed off stage by Secret Service agents after a shooting that left an audience member dead and two others critically injured.

A bullet grazed Trump’s ear and left blood on his face.

US President Joe Biden, along with several other world leaders, have condemned the assassination attempt.

The last time that there was an attempted assassination on a US President was in 1981 when shots were fired at Ronald Reagan. 

Stremlau, a Visiting Professor of International Relations at Wits, said the incident will also have a profound impact on the race for the White House. 

Americans are due to go to the polls in November. 

“Donald Trump has turned the Republican Party into a single-person operation, and, God forbid, had the bullet killed Trump, then the question becomes what would the Republican Party do?” Stremlau said, adding that the time has come for the US to elect a young and preferably female president.

“Joe Biden is 81, and he will be turning 82 soon, which is when the late former SA President Nelson Mandela stepped down and said, ‘No, I don’t want to take the second term because I will be too old’. 

“Trump is 78, and it’s two old guys and maybe this will cause a re-think about the nature of the American democracy.

“I think it would be helpful for the legitimacy and for the demonstration of the robust democracy to have an open contest for the nomination (for the Democratic nominee), and I think Kamala Harris (US Vice President) would be the favourite. I think that the US is ready for a female president,” added Stremlau.

Trump has meanwhile called on Americans to unite following the attempt on his life.

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