The recent foiled assassination attempt against former US President Donald Trump during a rally in Pennsylvania serves as a stark reminder of the dangers faced by those in the highest office. While this incident has sent shockwaves across the nation, it’s far from the first time an American president, president-elect, or presidential candidate has been targeted. A congressional report published in 2008 documented 15 “direct assaults” on presidents, presidents-elects, and candidates between 1835 and 2005. The most recent attempted assassination occurred in 2011, when a man was charged with attempting to kill former President Barack Obama after firing shots at the White House. In 2018, the Secret Service intercepted a pipe bomb intended for President Trump. In 2016, a man at a Las Vegas rally for then-candidate Trump tried to grab a gun from a police officer, later admitting his intention to kill the former president. A year later, another individual attempted to steal a forklift during a Trump rally, aiming to use it in an assassination attempt. While these attacks were thwarted before any harm was done, some incidents have come perilously close to tragedy. Here’s a look back at some of the most notable attacks on American presidents and candidates in the modern era.
In 2005, during a rally in Tbilisi, Georgia, an attacker threw a grenade at then-President George W. Bush. Thankfully, the bomb failed to explode, landing just 61 feet from Bush, First Lady Laura Bush, the President and First Lady of Georgia, and other officials. The FBI’s report attributed the failure to the grenade’s red handkerchief wrapping, which prevented the firing pin from deploying. Georgian authorities identified Vladimir Arutyunian as the main suspect. After a police raid on his apartment, he opened fire, killing one Georgian police officer. From his hospital bed, Arutyunian confessed to throwing the grenade with the intention of killing Bush and was subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment.
Former President Ronald Reagan was leaving the Hilton Hotel in Washington DC when John Hinckley Jr. fired a .22-caliber revolver. Reagan’s wounds weren’t immediately apparent until he started coughing up blood. Three other people were injured in the shooting. At a later rally, when a balloon popped, Reagan quipped, “Missed me,” referencing the assassination attempt. This two-word phrase remains one of the most powerful uttered by an American commander-in-chief.
Gerald Ford holds the unfortunate distinction of being the only president in US history to survive two assassination attempts. On September 5, 1975, he narrowly escaped being shot by Lynette Alice Fromme. Just 17 days later, another woman named Sara Jane Moore missed her first shot at Ford. However, her second shot was intercepted by a bystander who grabbed her gun, and a taxi driver was hit during the struggle.
In 1972, Democratic presidential hopeful and then-Alabama Governor George C. Wallace was shot after a rally in Laurel, Maryland. The attack, which left Wallace paralyzed from the waist down after being shot five times, had a profound impact on his views. According to Smithsonian Magazine, the failed assassination led Wallace to reconsider his segregationist stance.
Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated on June 5, 1968, after winning the Democratic primary in California. Sirhan Sirhan shot him while he was walking through the kitchen of the Ambassador Hotel. Kennedy died the following day.
In 1950, two men, Oscar Collazo and Griselio Torresola, fired shots at the White House, aiming to kill President Harry Truman. While Truman remained unharmed, the incident resulted in the death of one police officer and the injury of two others.
Three weeks before his election, Franklin D. Roosevelt was targeted by Giuseppe Zangara, who opened fire. The bullets missed Roosevelt but struck and killed Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak, who was standing near the then-president.
Theodore Roosevelt, appointed to the Oval Office after the assassination of President William McKinley in 1901, eventually won his own term in 1904 and campaigned for a third. On October 14, 1912, while leaving dinner at a Milwaukee hotel, a man named John Schrank aimed his revolver at the former president. According to the Library of Congress, Schrank claimed McKinley had instructed him in a dream to avenge his death.
Throughout history, four US presidents have been assassinated during their terms: Abraham Lincoln (April 14, 1865), James Garfield (July 2, 1881), William McKinley (September 6, 1901), and John F. Kennedy (November 22, 1963).
While leaders in other countries have also faced assassination, the United States stands out as a stark example of how the most powerful figures in the world are not immune to such threats. The overwhelming majority of these incidents involve firearms, raising the question of whether the United States needs stricter gun laws. This ongoing debate about gun control in America continues to be a point of contention, reflecting the complex relationship between security and individual rights in the country.
