United States: with the shots at the correspondents dinner, democracy violated

Melania Trump, looking scared; several hundred guests in evening wear diving under tables before heavily armed security teams burst into the ballroom: the panic that followed, Saturday evening, the shooting in the Washington hotel lobby where the annual White House Correspondents’ Association gala was taking place in the presence of the President of the United States, clearly shows the violence of the attack. Real and symbolic.

Even if the attacker has not, for now, provided any information on the motivations behind his actions, there is no doubt that Donald Trump, who has been the target of several attacks in the past, was the target. And through him, a certain idea of democracy, which is not shining brightly across the Atlantic. Especially since the beginning of the billionaire’s second term.

For over a year, observers have been describing the fractures in American society, which are becoming increasingly polarized. The President of the United States has also said, after the arrest of the criminal, that he was preparing to deliver a forceful speech to the journalists whose gathering he had previously avoided. At the same time, he praised their behavior during the events of the evening.

These words of reassurance are far too rare not to be highlighted, with a certain relief. As well as the expressions of support for the American president and his wife, coming from world leaders who have tumultuous relations with him, do not seem to be merely polite. Could this be the beginning of a collective realization? We want to believe so. You do not harm democracy with impunity, without leaving the impression, especially on the most fragile minds, that violence has a place.