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The Assassins: Targeting Donald Trump
And a Nation Rushes to Judgment
This is the first in a weekly series, detailing forty-five times that one or more persons attempted to assassinate a current or former American president. We begin with the most recent and work backwards to 1835 … and President Andrew Jackson.
Americans were shocked three weeks ago (9/15) when they heard about another attempt to assassinate Donald Trump. But it wasn’t really surprising: since Richard Nixon was sworn in, on January 20, 1969, every president has been in the cross hairs at least once. Remarkably, while 21 presidents have been targeted by would-be assassins, only four have been slain and — three others were wounded, but recovered.
Two different individuals schemed to murder Trump this summer. However, he has actually faced a total of four assassination attempts — including two while he was in White House. The first attempt took place on September 6, 2017, when President Trump was visiting the Andeavor Mandan Refinery in Mandan, North Dakota. Gregory Lee Leingang, a 42-year-old man who reportedly had both bipolar disorder and ADHD, decided — for reasons that are not clear — to assassinate the president. What makes this event exceptional is Leingang’s weapon of choice: a stolen forklift.
