Violent nation looks set to explode

They shoot presidents in America, don't they? And former presidents.

- ROSIE DIMANNO

And expresidents taking a second run at the White House.

Donald Trump was on Saturday afternoon but the latest victim of gun violence, struck during a rally in Butler, Penn, deep Trump country.

He was in mid-sentence. "And if you want to see something really sad" and suddenly shots rang out, a sequence of shots that lasted no more than 45 seconds, in three separate volleys.

The presumptive Republican presidential candidate immediately dropped, grimacing as he raised a hand to his ear, blood blossoming across his cheek.

Secret Service personnel rushed to Trump's side, swarming to create abody bumper around him, quickly bundling him off the outdoor stage, Trump raising a reassuring and defiant fist.

"Wait!" Trump told them, in that moment. "Let me get my shoes."

Trump's campaign almost immediately put out a statement that Trump, who was taken to a medical facility, was "fine."

Trump later spoke for himself on his Truth Social platform, detailing how a bullet had pierced the upper part of his right ear. He "knew that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin. Much bleeding took place, so I realized then what was happening."

Adding: "It is incredible that such an act can take place in our country."

That sentiment was echoed on all sides of the political divide - a polarized divide amidst the toxic rhetoric of this presidential campaign. Platitudes about how political violence must never be tolerated or normalized.