The July 13 assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump may have been a deranged lone-wolf operation – that’s what the early assessments of the episode reveal. However, recent information suggests that, even if it wasn’t connected, there was another plot to kill the former US chief executive, and more such murderous plans have been uncovered since the attempt a few weeks ago.
A near-miss of an assassin’s bullet showed just how treacherous the current political arena is. As recent news reports reveal, such assassination plots may be underway more frequently. The crazies have always lurked about, emerging more prominently during political campaign season. With the difference between the two political parties so stark during the 2024 federal election events, it seems death threats and political assassination schemes have become more abundant.
Assassination Plot Foiled
One of the latest conspiracies to kill a political figure involved a Pakistani man with ties to Iran, Asif Merchant, who put together a plan to assassinate former President Donald Trump and other politicians. “Asif Merchant traveled to New York in April to recruit hit men to carry out his scheme but was foiled when one of the people approached reported him to the FBI and became informant, federal prosecutors said,” according to The Wall Street Journal. Iran’s attempts to kill American officials on US soil are not new.
Similar Iran-sponsored operations to murder former Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and former National Security Advisor John Bolton were identified and disrupted by federal law enforcement officers. These assassination plots, including the recent one, are believed to be in retaliation for the US killing of Qasem Soleimani, the Iranian terrorist mastermind responsible for the deaths of American service members during the Iraq war.
In an interview with Fox News, General Jack Keane, US Army (Retired) and Chairman of the Institute for the Study of War, explained:
“Some of the Iranians haven’t given up on seeking revenge for the killing of Qasem Soleimani two years ago, and similar attempts . . . dealing with John Bolton, pattern pretty much the same an Iranian trying to contract with an American to commit an assassination and here we have a repeat of that incident the target is obviously different, but I think that pattern will continue.”
Keane explained that Iran’s boldness can be attributed to the Biden administration’s demonstrated weakness in confronting the Tehran government. The specter of the US becoming a killing field for Iran and others with axes to grind against the US is unsettling. Without strong leadership and a believable deterrent presence, Iran and its Axis of Resistance’s persistent threats against US citizens, as General Keane offers, will be the new normal.
For former President Trump, “A key member of the newly formed bipartisan House task force looking into the July 13 attempted assassination of Trump said threats to the GOP presidential nominee have surged with the growing fears of a Middle East war and continued open border policies of President Joe Biden,” the Washington Examiner reported.
More Potential Terrorists Invited Into America
As grim as the mortal danger to America’s politicians and leadership may be, America’s domestic security is in still greater peril. In an August 5 report released by the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, investigators revealed an unsettling reality. The report states:
“Under the Biden-Harris Administration, of the more than 250 illegal aliens on the terrorist watchlist who were encountered by Border Patrol at the southwest border between fiscal years 2021 and 2023, DHS has released into American communities at least 99, with at least 34 others in DHS custody but not yet removed from the United States.”
Do not forget that these statistics don’t include the estimated nearly 1.7 million unapprehended gotaways. Assassination plots and death threats targeting America’s leadership will continue to be part of the domestic political landscape as long as the US does not stand up to Iran and there remains a border policy that acts as an open invitation to terrorists and criminals. Border security is national security – and Americans’ national security is in jeopardy.
The views expressed are those of the author and not of any other affiliate.
