For years, Trump’s aides feared 'inevitable' assassination attempt

Shelby Talcott
·2 min read
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The Scoop

Saturday’s attack on Donald Trump confirmed longstanding fears inside his circle that the former president would, at some point, be an assassination target.

A close Trump confidant first mentioned to me in the summer of 2022 their fear that the former president would face an attempt on his life. The person suggested the attack was inevitable: it was not a matter of “if,” but “when.”

Since then, I’ve heard the concern spoken more times than I can count in conversations covering the Trump campaign. The idea among many close to Trump is this: That the opposing side’s hatred of him is so strong that it would spur on an attempt against his life. Some even speculated darkly, and without evidence, that his political opponents would make the attempt.

Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson crystallized this internal point of view last year: “We are speeding towards assassination, obviously. No one will say that, but I don’t know how you can’t reach this conclusion,” he said.

Know More

Trump said Saturday that he was hit in his right ear by a bullet. The shooter was killed, but his motives remain unclear. One spectator was killed, and two are critically injured, according to the Secret Service. Fox News reported that the FBI is conducting an “assassination investigation.”

The shooter’s motives, which will shape how we understand Saturday’s attack, remain unclear.

Shelby’s view

I’ve spoken to my editors periodically over the last two years over how to responsibly report on the fears in Trump’s circle. At the time it was a quiet sense of danger, without any clear changes to the security posture around the former president.

We also felt that raising the prospect could, in some sense, increase the risk. In fact one Trump ally told me that the campaign was irritated when they speculated in public about the possibility.

The specter of political violence has long haunted American democracy. Tonight was a reminder that those fears are legitimate and must be taken seriously.

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