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As most of the world knows, Donald Trump was almost assassinated on the weekend.

He was giving a speech at a rally in Pennsylvania when a series of shots were fired that grazed his ear (but killed a rally attendee and wounded others). His Secret Service detail then swarmed and took him away while a law enforcement sniper killed the assassin. No doubt more details will emerge about the alleged assassin and his motives, but here are several things that caught my eye from this incident:

1) Christians should pray for Trump no matter what they think of him

These are the sorts of posts trending on social media:

So sad they missed https://t.co/TiVkk5ZNbg

— Amelia (@reecesvalentine) July 13, 2024

While I share many people’s concerns about Trump’s character, Christians need to be careful how we think about this assassination attempt. Some may also be disappointed that the bullet merely wounded but didn’t kill him.

But such thinking is unbiblical: while we don’t have to like our political leaders, we’re commanded to pray for them (1 Tim 2:1-4). Moreover, our love should be so radical that we love even our enemies (Matt 5:43-48). Wishing someone like Trump dead is the antithesis of what Christ calls us to do.

2) While the situation is fragile, God hasn’t lost control.

I’m nervous about what just happened, and what might happen next.

After seeing the recent movie Civil War, my mind lurched from one scenario to another: will more enemies of Trump (and Biden?) be emboldened to take matters into their own hands? America is already divided – will this tip America over the edge?

But while the world looks on edge to us, God is sovereign over all things, and working His purposes out (Eph 1:11). Whatever happens – good or bad – it’s all part of His plan. And while we might question aspects of His plan, we know that in the end, all evil will be punished. Justice will be upheld. And we’ll spend eternity in His presence.

3) We can be thankful all sides are condemning political violence: don’t take that for granted

From Biden to Obama to Trump, so far all sides have unequivocally condemned this act of violence. This is not the norm throughout human history, or much of the world.

Let’s pray that this violent act brings both sides together in America, rather than pushing them further apart.

4) What Trump says in the next few days will be critical: it will bring healing, or more division

Trump’s followers are looking to him for what happens next.

And they will listen and be deeply affected by what he says. If Trump calls for vengeance and blames the other side, then the political temperature will skyrocket. But if he calls for calm, this could be a real ‘come together’ moment for America.

5) The way the shooting happened raises questions – and opens the door to conspiracy theories.

The fact that an armed man could get within 130 metres of a former President and take a series of shots is a failure on the part of the Secret Service. Your average soldier lying down in the ‘prone’ position would have no difficulty shooting a standing target (especially as large as Trump) from that distance. (In the Australian army, you’re trained to shoot 5 rounds into a 12 cm diameter circle, at 100 metres).

Questions are being asked by those with experience in security:

I was the Sniper Employment Officer for my battalion and led hundreds of combat missions. There were major security lapses in the security plan that allowed a shooter to engage President Trump from ~130 meters – an easy shot. A 🧵 pic.twitter.com/eim0DzMRw6

— Blake Hall (@Blake_Hall) July 14, 2024