1. At the risk of a "too soon" thread - and only because whatsapp groups are a flutter with talk about political fallout - let's look at what happened after the most recent assassination attempt of a US president: Reagan.
2. On 30 March 1981, Reagan delivers a speech and is walking towards his limousine when John Hinkley Jr. fires six shots at him. He is hit by one, which almost pierces his heart.
3. Following the attempt, Reagan's approval ratings went way up. His personality helped. He famously told his wife "Honey, I forgot to duck," and told surgeons, "Please tell me you're Republicans." Trump, who I've never even seen laugh, will take a different approach.
5. Another difference is that Reagan was already in power. The assassination attempt helped him push through tax cuts and defense spending increases. Trump is in campaign mode, so his political capital will be spent mostly talking shit.
6. One interesting development, which seems like it happened on Mars now, was that Reagan actually brought in gun control. The Brady Act, named after James Brady (Reagan’s press secretary who was injured during the attempt), was a direct outcome of this incident.
