Montanans in Helena shared their thoughts about the attempted assassination of former president Donald Trump.
At a gas station in Helena on a Monday afternoon, MTPR reporter, Shaylee Ragar, met a new resident who was willing to talk about the shooting – not many others were.
“I was like shocked,” Audrey said.
That was Audrey’s reaction to the news of the attempted assignation of Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday. She asked to be identified by only her first name, given the volatile nature of the topic.
She believes Democrats incited violence against Trump with harsh rhetoric criticizing the former president.
“Democrats just keep trying to separate people and the more they separate people, the worse it’ll get,” Audrey said.
Audrey said she doesn’t think the extreme polarization in politics is representative of everyday people.
Roy Duncan of Townsend believes Trump’s own words are to blame for the violent attack. He said Trump encouraged rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 2021.
“He was making irrevocable remarks about all kinds of people. And he doesn’t need to do that,” Duncan said.
Duncan says he still hasn’t decided who he’s going to vote for in November.
Araceli Peña of Helena said she plans to vote for President Joe Biden, and condemned the attack. She said she recently moved back from living overseas, and Saturday’s events were a wake-up call.
“I’m sorry that it happened. I saw our country shift from what used to be the best nation in the world to kind of succumbing to being a third world country again with political violence,” Peña said.
Law enforcement have identified the suspected shooter, but have not reported a motive.
Montana officials’ and candidates’ reactions to the attempted assassination can be found at mtpr.org.
