Eleven of the last 12 American presidents have endured an assassination attempt or a plot against their lives. The same is true for 20 of the country’s 45. Most of the recent plots have been foiled early, making the indelible image of Donald Trump fist-pumping in Pennsylvania seem like an atavistic monument or an ominous portent or perhaps both. And though we may describe the stochastic terror of the past decade in terms of ugly bumper stickers and reckless speeches, there has been real violence, not just incitement. “No political party, movement, ideology or manner of thinking has had an absolute monopoly on this violence, and it really hasn’t mattered whether the surrounding political atmosphere was aggressive or docile,” Dayen wrote.

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Persons: Donald Trump, David Dayen, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton’s, Barack Obama’s, Donald Trump’s, Gabrielle Giffords, Steve Scalise, hasn’t, ” Dayen, “ Organizations: The, White, Financial Times, Republican National Convention Locations: Pennsylvania