The headlines blared with a shocking tale that gripped the world: an assassination plot against former President Donald Trump.
This dramatic twist in the political landscape felt eerily familiar to the Baby Boomer generation, who couldn’t help but recall the dark days of John F. Kennedy’s (JFK) assassination. The air was tense as bullets and ballots seemed to intertwine in a deadly ballet, highlighting the brutal reality of modern politics.
Trump, a figure who divides opinions not just in the US but worldwide, is a testament to the difficult path of public office. This incident reminds us of the heavy price leaders have paid throughout history for their roles.
From Lincoln to Gandhi, from JFK to today’s figures, pursuing political leadership has always been fraught with dangerously immense courage and resilience. The weight of this reality resonates deeply, invoking a visceral response as we grapple with the cost of power and the vulnerability it brings.
Mainstream media’s biases have never been more apparent and the digital realm is a battlefield of division. One common thread in west and east binds us all: anger. Conspiracy theories flourish unchecked and accountability has become a relic of the past. Even decorated journalists and influential media houses have abandoned the pursuit of truth. Instead, they contribute to the cacophony, leaving the public to navigate a minefield of misinformation and half-truths.
When JFK was assassinated in 1963, the narrative was tightly controlled by those with vested interests. Fast forward to 2024, and the attempted assassination of Trump has unleashed a storm of chaos.
In an age where everyone is a journalist, the absence of truth and credible news has spread rumours. Conspiracy theories abound, each more wild than the last, fuelling a relentless blame game. Social media is a knife-edge battleground, where every tweet and Facebook post escalates tensions, leaving the world on the brink of digital anarchy. The assassination plot against Trump has spiralled out of control, illustrating the complex reality of our interconnected age.
Half an inch to the right of Trump, the story could have been devastating based on the lens you wear. Irrespective of the view you have of him based on his character, business, and politics, here was a man shot by a 20-year-old. This man is a husband, father, grandfather, and former President of the most powerful nation in the world. He is on his comeback campaign to contest and win the next Presidential Election in November.
If bullets still can change the ballots, what’s the so-called human transformation we are so proud of? If it takes a gun and a 20-year-old to shoot a presidential candidate in a sophisticated country like the US, imagine the plight in a less sophisticated world, to be precise, in the third world?
Political assassinations in South Asia
The Trump assassination attempt invoked some of the political assassinations in South Asia in my living memory. Former Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi was killed in May 1991 by a Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) suicide bomber at a political rally. Also, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto, was killed on 27 December 2007 at a party rally.
In Sri Lanka, political assassinations were too many to be counted. Former President Ranasinghe Premadasa was assassinated at a May Day rally on 1 May 1993 by an LTTE suicide bomber.
The United National Party (UNP)-designated presidential candidate Gamini Dissanayake was killed on 24 October 1994 by the LTTE, which paved the way for a landslide victory for Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga (CBK) with 62% of the votes in the 1994 Presidential Election. I remember his death very well, as just 11 days after it, my father passed away. My father predicted that Dissanayake would win against CBK, even against all odds.
In the 1999 Presidential Election, UNP presidential candidate Ranil Wickremesinghe was tipped to win the election, but a suicide bomber had different thoughts. A failed assassination plot on the then President Kumaratunga at the final rally on 18 December 1999 at the Colombo Town Hall ended up in a famous victory for the latter. CBK lost her right eye to the bomb and famously appeared on television before voting day; her presence was enough to sway people’s hearts. Her courage and emotions ruled the election result.
Incidentally, the man who was unlucky in the 1999 Presidential Election, Wickremesinghe, is the President of Sri Lanka today. Constitutionally, Sri Lanka will have to go for Presidential Polls by 17 October. Wickremesinghe is expected to run for the Presidential Election for a five-year term. Former President Premadasa’s son, Sajith Premadasa, is a frontline presidential candidate in the election above, representing his party, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB).
Gamini Dissanayake’s two sons, Navin and Mayantha, are politically divided; Navin is with Wickremesinghe, whereas Mayantha is with Premadasa. The woman who lost her eye in the failed assassination plot in 1999, Kumaratunga, is still a force to reckon with and certainly will have a role in making the next president of Sri Lanka. In 2015, she famously backed her archrival Wickremesinghe to defeat the Rajapaksas.
The coalition Government of 2015-2019 promised the sun and the moon. Still, people voted for Gotabaya Rajapaksa in 2019 in the backdrop of carnage, a devastating terror attack – one I would like to forget but cannot.
The failed Trump assassination plot would have invoked fearful memories for any of the above in Sri Lanka.
Conspiracy theories
Many social media critics and commentators believe that it was a staged plot by Trump to win the Presidential Election over Joe Biden. Half an inch to the right would have ended the life of Donald Trump and there is no way you could win a Presidential Election after your demise.
Similar stories were widely reported on the Ranasinghe Premadasa and Gamini Dissanayake assassinations and CBK’s failed assassination plot. The above three were done before the digital age, but Trump’s plot in 2024, in the era of Artificial Intelligence (AI), maps, and CCTV cameras, in front of 1/8000 shutter speed cameras, and probably with mobile phones with cameras in the hands of thousands of people at the rally. Despite all that, a 20-year-old shot a former President and snipers shot him down.
Trump milked the situation; he appeared on the golf course the next day and at the Republican National Convention a few days after and hugged Melania. His wife, sons, and daughter reemerged in public, and this time his grandchildren also joined the bandwagon.
CBK, at her second inauguration as President on 22 December 1999, addressed the nation and made a direct reference to the assassination plot. I quote: “It is with intense and an immeasurably deep sense of gratitude to all my Sri Lankan brothers and sisters, who have once again reposed their faith in me as their President, that I humbly accept this electoral victory that has been miraculously bestowed upon me.
“Particularly, I must thank all those who have prayed for my well-being in the days since the terrorist cowards made their attempt upon my life, as well as those who have also prayed and worked so hard for this victory. Truly, from the depths of my being, I thank you. But, I speak further: I humbly request that the entire nation keep one minute’s silence with me now in memory of those lives that were stolen in the terrible destruction of 18 December. Indeed, in memory of all Sri Lankans who have lost their lives due to this hideous conflict.”
This is how CBK quashed the conspiracy theory. Wickremesinghe accepted the defeat, returned to Parliament, and avoided publicly narrating what could have been if not for the bomb blast. Wickremesinghe’s 1999 inner circle was ready for a sure victory that year. CBK ended up with 51% of the vote vis-a-vis 42% for Wickremesinghe.
On the Premadasa assassination, his loyal aide and former Press Secretary Evans Cooray, in his book ‘In the Shadow of a People’s President,’ states the following on page 15:
“The Police declared that the LTTE was responsible for the assassination. Differing opinions were expressed in Parliament and outside and in local newspapers during the years following his death. One paper stated under a banner headline that the bomb explosion that killed Premadasa was planned by Premadasa himself. It was a joke of the century.
“According to them, I was aware of the plan as the President’s Press Secretary and escaped at the right time. I had later given a call on my cellular phone to say that the President was safe. According to the same report it looked as if the President had planned a bomb which took his own life. It was also said that the President made a signal with his handkerchief just before the explosion.
“These were people who suffered from hatred and malice. I fail to understand what they were trying to achieve by making such rancorous pronouncements other than demonstrating the incredible extent of their bitterness. I did not know who was responsible for the bomb attack on the President. Only the Police could find that. I deplore the vindictive reports carried in some newspapers about me.
“I have known Ranasinghe Premadasa for nearly 36 years. That was from 1957 till 1 May 1993. I grew up in his shadow during that period. He was a father unto me. I basked in his glory and could never imagine him to be dead. I was one of those who were rendered helpless by his demise. People who try to desecrate the dead with such slanderous concoctions were well aware that there is no legal provision to seek redress from the malicious gossip mongers. They were aware that President Premadasa was not there to defend himself.”
The world is moving in a different direction
There are many conspiracy theories – way too many. A few months ago there were conspiracy theories about Catherine, Princess of Wales, too. For many, she was dead and buried. However, she appeared at the Wimbledon finals this week. No one said ‘that’s Kate Middleton’s body double’. People have forgotten; now it’s about Biden’s cognitive testing and Trump’s bullet.
Millions of data points in digital media suggests that the world is moving in a direction no one knows. Elon Musk spent $ 44 billion on acquiring X, formerly Twitter. On 16 July, just after the Trump incident, Musk stated: “X usage hit another all-time high yesterday with 417 billion user-seconds globally! In the US, user seconds reached 93B, 23% higher than the previous record of 76B. In a single day.” If not for digital platforms like X, we would have been made to believe the mainstream media story. It could have been the JFK story of 1963.
Musk revealed that he would commit $ 45 million monthly to Trump’s presidential campaign. It’s a funny world. In the US, you openly fund a candidate. In South Asia, you crawl under the table and sometimes under the carpet to fund a candidate. The interconnection of business and politics is a fascinating ballet. Media sits in the middle and provides the tune for the dance.
CNN used to be one of my favourite TV channels in the early days. The first headline after the Trump attack on CNN was “secret service rushes Trump off stage after he falls at rally”. Trump is 78 years old whilst Biden is 81. Both could have a weak day on stage, given their age. If you had not known that Trump was actually shot at the rally and were scanning through news, that CNN headline would have made you think that Trump may have had a natural fall.
The media
Who attacked CNN for the reporting? Sky News, which is no better when reporting. The media too needs to learn from politicians. Biden, Barack Obama, and Kamala Harris all made X statements after the Trump incident. All got attacked. Because, everyone knows that those statements are far from the truth.
However, Hillary Clinton did not make any statements. She just took a day off and returned the next day to politically attack Trump. If the tables had turned, Trump would have acted similar to Clinton. In one way, it’s best to be who you are, rather than trying to be politically correct.
The media is also run by people. People with emotions, desires, anger, and jealousy. Therefore, it’s human to take sides. People and the media who concocted stories are silent, not even offering an apology. In pursuit of the truth, with the overdose of information, the human mind is an orphan now. Conspiracies are everywhere.
In the Sri Lankan context, five months ago, an offshore-based Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) proxy YouTube channel claimed a threat to JVP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s (AKD) life. It was widely reported in digital media and it was spoken about at JVP/National People’s Power (NPP) rallies too.
With the emergence of the Trump assassination plot, both the JVP and SJB have played hard with threats to the lives of Dissanayake and Premadasa Jr. This should not be a laughing matter; all presidential candidates should be protected on the campaign trail. People can go to any level to acquire power. History is unkind to this effect.
Premadasa Jr. was just 26 years old when his father was assassinated. AKD was in his early twenties when he witnessed the destruction of his party hierarchy in 1988/’89. Wickremesinghe witnessed the assassination attempt on his uncle, former President J.R. Jayewardene; the assassinations of his two friends Gamini and Lalith Athulathmudali; and the assassination attempt on his childhood friend, political archrival, and once-partner in politics, CBK. Also, Wickremesinghe witnessed the assassinations of his close relatives Stanley Wijesundera and Gladys Jayewardene at the hands of the JVP military wing in 1988/’89. So all three main candidates in the race should understand pain and suffering better than any other.
Wickremesinghe, Premadasa Jr., and AKD were in one team, fighting the mighty Rajapaksa regime. Today, all three are fighting each other and the curtains will open to an epic Presidential Election.
The rise of AKD is through erstwhile Rajapaksa votes and Wickremesinghe is with the Rajapaksas now. The Premadasa faction has challenged that Wickremesinghe is the protector of the Rajapaksas. Wickremesinghe took to the stage in Kandy and said he protected only Premadasa Senior from 1989 to 1993. The truth is that Wickremesinghe was Ranasinghe Premadasa’s most trusted man. Wickremesinghe was the de facto No.2 in the Premadasa administration. Eyewitnesses and documentary evidence prove the same.
Politics is the microcosm of human life. Yesterday’s friends are today’s enemies. Yesterday’s enemies are today’s friends. The greed for power could make anyone numb and when pushed to the wall, man is the most dangerous animal on earth.
Bullets for ballots is a ballet. People pay to watch these ballets and showcase their anger and malice by picking sides. And in a week, they forget everything.