Mid-Michigan voters are reacting to the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
The shooting at a political rally over the weekend has brought new attention to issues around the 2024 election and gun violence. WKAR spoke to people in East Lansing to ask if the attempt on the former President’s life will be changing their vote.
Qymir Freeman, a 27 year old art handler from Miami, says the shooting does not impact his decision to not vote this year.
“I don’t like either of them… neither of them are appealing to me. The last time I voted was Hillary’s campaign,” Freeman explained, saying the shooting helps mythologize Trump.
“His personality was already bigger than the idea of a president so something like this happening makes him even bigger, I’ve never seen something like this, or lived through something like this,” Freeman said.
Freeman says as a Black man, they are worried about the rising political violence, which Michigan Governor Whitmer condemned in the wake of the shooting. Whitmer, who was the target of a failed 2020 kidnapping conspiracy, released a statement Sunday urging unity and political civility.
Noel Dymond, a 20 year-old preschool teaching assistant who identifies as queer, said the gunfire at the rally is not going to change their opinion of Donald Trump.
“It’s not going to change anything for me, It’s more concerning to me just how easily accessible guns are— I’m not voting for him just because of his previous stances on the queer community. He’s a convicted felon, and I am not down for that. Dymond said.
Dymond said they will be voting Democrat in their first presidential election this year.
A few blocks away from downtown East Lansing is a smoke store patronized mainly by students. This is where Mackenzie Matthews, 22, spends most of her days working as a salesperson. Matthews said the shooting at a Trump rally did not surprise her.
“Not necessarily surprised because of the political climate that we exist in and how, like, most people keep up with world events. And like, all the wars that are going on right now, out of like political volume, violence in general, like we've kind of radicalized and like, push people towards, like, more extreme forms of political protests. I definitely feel like this might give Trump an edge in the election, because he's survived the assassination attempt,” Matthews said.
Matthews said the image of Trump with his fist raised and his face bloodied plays on voters’ emotions. “I feel like that image can change history. I think it is going to have a lasting impact on society as a whole.”
Matthews said she will vote for Biden in the upcoming election as she did in the last.