Students in the US were asked to express their views on the attempted assassination of US President Donald Trump, the assassin who was arrested, and the letter he wrote before carrying out the act.
“Wish they had gotten him," “Why did he miss?," “He should be taken down immediately," and “When you do things the public doesn’t agree with, they tend to fight you" were among the responses that were heard.
Some noted that this reality of assassination attempts is a familiar experience for many Americans, and that if political leaders understood public sentiment, they might respond differently.
One student said she had read the manifesto written by the assassin and concluded that he was a person who believed in his values, even expressing hope that he would find peace-along with others affected by President Trump’s decisions.
The students who were asked argued that political violence is sometimes justified and even necessary, and therefore the public should not be surprised when it occurs.
They also defended comments made by comedian Jimmy Kimmel, who shortly before the assassination attempt described the president’s wife as a beautiful woman with “the glow of a future widow."
According to a 2024 survey, about a third (approximately 33%) of Democratic voters openly agreed with the statement: “I wish the assassin of Trump had not missed."
In another 2025 survey, about 38% of respondents said that the murder of Trump would be “at least partially justified," and about 14% said it would be “completely justified."