U.S. presidential election accelerates political violence, expands divisions, October Surprise on the Korean Peninsula ‘possible’
As political violence accelerated in the U.S. presidential election, divisions expanded and the Korean media focused on the possibility of Trump being elected, opening up the possibility of an October Surprise ahead of the November election on the Korean Peninsula.
The shooting of a Republican candidate that occurred on the night of the 13th in Butler, Pennsylvania, two days before Republicans gathered in Milwaukee for their nominating convention, was linked to a partisan context by American analysts and heralded an era of strategist tyranny.
While U.S. Democratic lawmakers condemned the "political violence" that former President Trump has long accused of inciting, Republican lawmakers immediately criticized President Biden and his allies, calling former President Trump an extreme destroyer of democracy and a proto-fascist. It appears that the division in the United States will become more extreme as it is revealed that the use of language is the root cause.
Pro-Democratic media outlets mentioned 'political violence' in the United States and first pointed out former President Trump's political strategy of trying to overturn the election results by having his supporters storm the Capitol, and called the assassination attempt of former President Trump, who was in charge, 'political violence'. approached with violence.
In the hours immediately following the shooting, with neither the motive nor the name of the shooter known, many Republican politicians and Trump supporters directly blamed Democrats and the media.
Former President Trump's son and presidential campaigner, Donald Trump Jr., likened Trump to Hitler in one of his posts criticizing his father's shooting on Their friends knew exactly what they were doing."
Supporters of the US Republican Party pointed to President Biden's call with donors where he said, "It is time to set a target on Trump."
Republican Representative Mike Collins (Georgia) wrote on social media that day, “Joe Biden gave the order.”
President Biden continued to criticize Former President Trump, calling him 'treason' and a 'conspiracy to overthrow democracy' as a theme of this presidential election campaign.
On Sunday, Trump's top advisers, Chris Lasivita and Suzy Wiles, told campaign staff and aides: "We will not tolerate dangerous rhetoric on social media."
The New York Times reported on the 14th, “Trump strategists, including adviser Lasivita, described the assassination attempt as the culmination of a plot to prevent Trump’s return to the presidency at any cost in posts deleted by Trump, and said Trump had made it a centerpiece of his presidential campaign. They repeated the claim,” the report said, adding, “They pointed out that former President Trump was portrayed as an authoritarian and anti-democratic force in the political world, and argued that this created an atmosphere in which former President Trump’s life could be attempted.”
Korean media supported the acceleration of division in the United States by simultaneously reporting that ‘Trump could be elected’ and ‘defense industry stocks are rising.’
Newsis <"Chance of Trump's election decreases"... “Defense industry and virtual asset stocks ‘strong’>” As former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, was attacked during a campaign rally and his chances of being re-elected are increasing, stocks that are considered beneficiaries of Trump’s election are rising in the domestic stock market on the 15th, he said. As expectations about the possibilities rise, defense stocks, which are considered representative beneficiary stocks, are showing strong performance. “As of 9:23 a.m. on the stock market today, Hanwha Aerospace is trading at 262,000 won, up 9,000 won (3.35%) from the previous trading day,” it was reported on the 15th.
‘News 1’ <“‘Bulletproof Hero’ Trump’s coronation”… The title of “The U.S. Republican Squadron changed significantly due to the attack” includes “Using the image of Trump with a clenched fist…” "It will be similar to a coronation", candidate acceptance speech on the 18th local time... The Republican Party's election strategy was reported in an article, "It is expected to reach its peak."
‘Union’ <Trump getting shot shakes up the U.S. presidential election… “The road to the White House is getting closer,” he announced on the 14th in his prediction for election.
‘Chosun Ilbo’ titled ‘Trump t-shirt craze with clenched fists received 2,000 orders in 3 hours after attack’ and ‘American media analyzed that this photo increased Trump’s chances of winning the presidential election.’ Politico, a media specializing in politics, said, “Trump’s raised fist made history and redefined his candidacy,” and added, “It is highly likely that more independents will vote for him as sympathy for Trump increases.” Reported on the 15th.
‘Chosun Biz’ reported <Musk, Bezos, and even Ackman...declaring support for Trump>.
On the 14th, President Yoon Seok-yeol said on social media, “I wish former President Trump a speedy recovery. “The Korean people are with the American people,” he said. Former Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung said, “An unbelievable thing has happened. He strongly condemns the assassination attack against candidate Trump. “Violence and terrorism must not be tolerated for any reason,” he told X on the 14th.
Regarding the shootings in the United States, NYT said, “They occurred at a time when the United States was already deeply polarized along ideological, cultural, and partisan lines,” and “More than at any time in the past few generations, Americans see themselves as on opposite sides of the modern wall.” “In a May Marist poll, 47% of Americans said it was very or very likely that a second Civil War would occur in their lifetime,” he said.
The year 2024, when the U.S. presidential election was extremely divided, has recently seen a rapid increase in destructive events, and is being compared to the racial conflict, urban riots, and assassinations of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. and President Robert F. Kennedy in 1968, a period of extreme conflict. .
“Not anymore,” said Professor Luke A. Nickter, a historian at Chapman University and author of 1968’s The Year That Broke Politics. “There was one important difference. "Of all the similarities between 1968 and 2024, the absence of political violence this year is not the only one," he told the NYT.
Michael Kazin, a historian at Georgetown University, said of the history of political violence in the United States, "The violence that just occurred, just like in 1968, or 1919, or 1886, or 1861, is rather inevitable in a society as deeply divided as ours." told the NYT.
A May 21 Marist national poll on political violence and partisan warfare found that 11% of Americans said violence was sometimes or always justified to restore Trump to the presidency, while 21% said it would achieve an important political goal. He responded that violence can be justified to do so.
The Marist poll split the two extremes, with 47% of Americans saying it is likely that another American Civil War will occur in their lifetime, and 52% saying it is very unlikely or not at all likely.
Republicans (53%) say the United States is more likely to experience civil war in the future than Democrats (40%) and independents (41%), while Generation Z and Millennials (58%) say the Silent Generation/Greatest Generation ( 19%) were more than three times more likely to expect a civil war in their lifetime, with 46% of Generation X and 34% of baby boomers agreeing to this.
Responses by race include 57% of black Americans saying it is likely that another Civil War will occur and 22% saying it is ‘very likely’.
The 1979 confrontation between Carter and Reagan, in which the incumbent U.S. Democratic Party president and the Republican candidate faced off, occurred in a situation where the release of hostages held at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran became a presidential issue due to the Iranian Revolution, and Republican strategists formed a secret negotiating team of five people, including former CIA Deputy Director George W. Bush. The October Surprise, which took the approach of 'no hostages to be released before the presidential election' and led to the release of hostages after Republican Reagan won the presidential election, appears likely to have a location on the Korean Peninsula in the fierce political battle between the Democratic incumbent and his Republican predecessor this year.
In Korea, as the hard-line conservative Park Chung-hee regime was aging, it clashed with the Democratic Party's Carter regime in 1979. On October 26, Kim Jae-gyu, head of the Central Government, was murdered as president, and on November 7, Republican Reagan won a landslide victory in the US presidential election, and on December 12, Chun Doo-hwan took power in a military coup, and the Reagan regime established an extreme hard-line conservative system that strengthened the East-West Cold War.