Nathanael Mooney, Campus Carrier staff writer
This summer was a season of many unpredictable events. In the span of a few months, the country witnessed an assassination attempt on a presidential candidate, the incumbent president step down from reelection, numerous protests and Supreme Court rulings that could have drastic consequences. The impact of these events has caused many individuals to pay close attention to the political landscape as the election approaches. The students and faculty of Berry’s political science department are some of the individuals who followed these events.
On July 13, Thomas Matthew Crooks attempted to assassinate former president Donald Trump at a rally near Butler, Pennsylvania. Although Trump survived the attempt, Crooks killed one audience member and critically injured two others. Associate Professor of Political Science Michael Bailey notes how the event had a positive impact on Trump’s campaign.
“That briefly moved the needle in favor of Trump because of, in my opinion, his very strong, really admirable response,” Bailey said. “It made for one of the best photos in political history.”
Senior political science major Hunter Sewell, however, does not believe this event had an impact on the election.
“I don’t think it affected American politics that much at all,” Sewell said. “These days, it takes a lot to move the needle.”
While the event was political, there is still a human part of it. Senior political science major and another student of Bailey, Ella Stevens, reacted to the event as she watched it live.
“You see a lot of vitriol online, but you never want to think it can actually turn into violent actions,” Stevens said. “Regardless of how you feel about the guy, political violence isn’t good for anyone.”
Stevens noted how this outlook was shared by many of her friends at Berry on both sides of the political spectrum.
On July 21, Incumbent president Joe Biden announced that he was stepping down from the presidential race. Kamala Harris won the Democratic nomination to replace Biden on Aug. 5. Sewell believes the decision was a necessary one.
“For the sake of the democratic party, for the sake of the country, he just had to step down,” Sewell said. “I don’t know if Kamala Harris is the right person, but I think she is the only person that could, in that time, unite
the party.”
Harris being endorsed by Biden came as a surprise to Stevens, who was at first fascinated by Biden’s lack of an endorsement when he initially made his announcement.
“I noticed that hesitation, and I was still thinking maybe they will look at some of these other candidates. In particular, I thought the popular governor of Pennsylvania, Josh Shaprio, [would be chosen],” Stevens said.
Over the summer, the Democratic National Convention (DNC) and the Republican National Convention (RNC) took place. One common theme about this election that some have noticed is an increased polarization among voters.
“I don’t think moderate voters exist anymore,” Sewell said. “It used to be that the DNC and RNC were a way to pitch their ideas to swing voters, but I don’t think those people exist anymore. People have had eight years to make up their minds about Trump, so at this point it’s just about turnout.”
Looking past the apathetic nature of many voters, Bailey believes the conventions did a good job of bringing constituents together within their respective parties.
“Any convention really has a couple of main goals, the first being to patch up any visible division in the party,” Bailey said. “That’s one thing both parties did well.”
Another thing about the conventions that differed was how it was less about getting new voters and more about rallying current ones. Stevens saw the opposite of this from the RNC.
“Being on offense instead of defense is what I was sensing at the RNC, trying to appeal to lots of voters, trying to get a lot of people under the umbrella,” Stevens said. “That all shifted when Kamala Harris was the nominee; you see an immediate flip in the polls.”
She found it interesting how both parties had very confident conventions at different points in the election cycle.
The Supreme Court made some influential rulings over the summer, including ones radically extending presidential immunity from prosecution and limiting the government’s ability to regulate private industry. These rulings have sparked some intense reactions from individuals across the country. The official immunity ruling in particular elicited some passionate responses.
“It is probably the worst Supreme Court ruling in the past two years,” Sewell said. “I think you can’t really overlook the fact that the court now very obviously skews republican. This specifically helps Donald Trump.”
Bailey also feels strongly about this ruling and is concerned about what it could entail.
“95-99% of political actions fall into this area where you aren’t breaking the law, the question lies with that 1%,” Bailey said.
Bailey and Sewell noted that the decision could be used to justify a president’s decision to assassinate a political opponent.
Over the past several months the country has seen an increase in protests regarding the Israel-Hamas war. These protests mark an interesting turn in public perception of the conflict.
“It’s only within the last two years that pro-Palestinian viewpoints have really become salient and accepted by a large portion of the country, and I find that really interesting how fast it turned,” Sewell said. “I think it turned so fast because Donald Trump and the republicans have tied themselves to Israel.”
With all of these events unfolding in such a condensed period of time, it is hard not to see the extreme polarization in society. Even when individuals disagree, it is always important that we stay involved and educated. While these events were some of the most important, there are plenty more that affect life as an American citizen and having conversations about them is the best way to foster individuality and tolerance.