The History of Political Assassinations in the United States

Department of Strategic Research and International Relations/ July 17, 2024

In the wake of the attempted assassination of former President and current presidential candidate Donald Trump during a rally in Pennsylvania, U.S. officials have uniformly condemned the act as an unprecedented intrusion into the nation’s political life, alien to the “history of the country.” But is this truly the case? How many political assassinations and assassination attempts has the United States experienced throughout its history?

As news of the attempt on Trump’s life spread, current President Joe Biden addressed the American public, asserting that “the notion of political violence in the United States is unacceptable,” and that “there is no place for such violence here.”

Similarly, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin declared, “This is not how we resolve our disputes in America,” while Pennsylvania Governor emphasized, “Violence against any political leader is unacceptable and has no place in this country,” echoing the sentiments of Democratic Representative Barbara Lee.

Trump himself, perhaps the most shocked, remarked, “It’s unbelievable that such an act could happen in our country.”

But was the attempt on Trump’s life, details of which remain scarce, truly an extraordinary, isolated incident?

And is it, as the above statements suggest, the “first of its kind” in the United States?

Abraham Lincoln: “Our American Cousin” and the First Assassination

John Wilkes Booth, a well-known stage actor, initially planned to kidnap the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, in retaliation for his role in ending the Civil War and forcibly reintegrating the secessionist Southern states. Booth believed Lincoln was responsible for all the South’s troubles and aimed to exchange him for Confederate prisoners of war.

After three failed kidnapping attempts, Booth decided to assassinate Lincoln, seizing the opportunity when Lincoln announced his intention to attend a performance of “Our American Cousin” at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C.

On April 26, 1865, Booth successfully executed the first assassination of an American president, shooting Lincoln in the back of the head during a moment of laughter at the play. Booth accessed the presidential box after a ticket seller named Thomas Raybold broke the lock to accommodate extra guests who couldn’t find seats. This marked the beginning of a series of political assassinations.

James Garfield: Diplomatic Ambitions Turn Deadly

On July 2, 1881, just months after his unexpected victory over Democratic candidate Winfield Scott Hancock, Republican James Garfield headed to a Washington train station to begin his summer vacation.

There, a middle-aged man approached him and fired two shots, one of which ruptured his spleen. Due to inadequate sterilization, Garfield’s blood became septic, and he died on September 19 of the same year.

The shooter, Charles Guiteau, was a disgruntled attorney who had been denied an ambassadorship to Paris, which he believed was his due for helping Garfield win the presidency.

William McKinley: Ignoring Warnings Proved Fatal

Like Trump, the 25th President of the United States, William McKinley, dismissed the possibility of his assassination. He might have been equally bewildered by the attempt had he survived.

Ignoring warnings about attending a New York exhibition on September 6, 1901, where he planned to greet the public, McKinley remarked, “Why not? I don’t think anyone wishes me harm.”

However, in the exhibition’s music hall, Leon Czolgosz approached him for a handshake, then revealed a gun concealed under a handkerchief and shot McKinley in the abdomen and chest.

Czolgosz defended his actions by simply stating: “How can one person be so esteemed while others are not?”

McKinley succumbed to his injuries on September 9, 1901. Czolgosz was later executed in the electric chair, and his body was dissolved in acid.

John F. Kennedy: The Perennial Mystery

On November 22, 1963, while driving through Dallas, Texas, in an open car, the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, was fatally shot in the head. Lee Harvey Oswald, a 24-year-old, was charged with the murder.

Two days later, Oswald was killed by nightclub owner Jack Ruby on live television. Ruby was sentenced to death and remained silent until his death in prison on January 3, 1967.

To preempt public outcry and congressional investigations, Vice President Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy, established a seven-member presidential commission led by Chief Justice Earl Warren. In 1964, the Warren Commission concluded that Oswald acted alone due to mental instability and that there were no political motives behind Kennedy’s assassination.

Decades later, the official account remains unconvincing to many, both within the United States and abroad, leading to repeated media inquiries and alternative theories.

Today, House Speaker Mike Johnson’s call for transparency in the Trump assassination attempt immediately brings to mind the unresolved mystery of Kennedy’s assassination, a truth still elusive to the American public.

Unsuccessful Assassination Attempts

While there have been four successful political assassinations in the United States, numerous failed attempts warrant mention.

On May 5, 1979, Raymond Lee Harvey attempted to assassinate the 39th President, Jimmy Carter, outside the Civic Center in Los Angeles, but was apprehended by police.

On March 30, 1981, John Hinckley Jr. shot the 40th President, Ronald Reagan, outside the Washington Hilton Hotel, injuring him in the chest. Medical teams saved Reagan’s life.

The 42nd President, Bill Clinton, survived three assassination attempts in 1994. Ronald Gene Barbour targeted him while jogging, Eugene Corder crashed a small plane into the White House lawn, and Francisco Martin Duran fired shots at the White House before tourists subdued him.

The 43rd President, George W. Bush, faced two assassination attempts. In February 2001, former IRS employee Robert Pickett fired at the White House while Bush was exercising. In Tbilisi, Georgia, a nationalist threw a grenade at him during an appearance with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, which did not detonate.

The 44th President, Barack Obama, also endured several attempts. In 2011, Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez shot at the White House, claiming “Obama is the Antichrist.” In 2013, a toxic substance was found in a letter addressed to Obama, sent by James Everett Dutschke, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Unhealed Wounds: Reflections on 1968

Reflecting on Biden and Trump’s astonishment at the attempted assassination and the historical context of political violence in the U.S., it is essential to consider Robert Kennedy Jr.’s comments to Fox News following the Trump incident: “I was ten years old when my uncle was assassinated, and I remember it like it was yesterday.”

Five years after John F. Kennedy’s death, Robert Kennedy Sr. was also assassinated, shortly after Martin Luther King Jr.’s murder. The Smithsonian Museum described 1968 as “the year that shattered America.”

As the U.S. website UnHerd notes, “Donald Trump and Joe Biden were in their twenties during the year that shattered America.” This historical context might explain their disbelief at a 2024 assassination attempt.

Given the extensive list of political assassinations and attempts within the United States, it is clear that recounting these incidents alone exceeds the scope of a brief report. Additionally, the report cannot comprehensively address the numerous assassinations Washington has been implicated in planning and executing worldwide, due to their sheer number, complexity, and the persistent mystery surrounding many of them, akin to the Kennedy assassination, and beyond.