History unfolds not through neat, well-planned, highly funded events and campaigns orchestrated by the smartest people in the nation. It comes to us on butterfly wings, through overlooked people and groups — a Serbian nationalist group, a failed art student, and a bullied, skinny kid in rural Pennsylvania—who knock over the dominos of change. 

After spending a lovely Saturday afternoon visiting friends in Eastern Pennsylvania, I checked my phone on the ride back to New Jersey. The attempted assassination attempt was all over X. “It’s over,” I said to Steve. “The election is over.” 

An assassination attempt on an American presidential candidate is horrific. To his credit, Trump reacted maturely without heated rhetoric or calls for action. We certainly need to examine security protocols to ensure that our leaders are safe. But we should also mourn, because this one random act robbed us of healthy political debate and a competitive election. The next Trump presidency is inevitable.

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