Tara Rosenblum

Lee Danuff

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Jul 14, 2024, 4:50 PM

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Updated

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News 12's Tara Rosenblum is taking a closer look at the historical context of Saturday’s rally.

Shocking and painful moments were caught on camera in what the FBI is calling an assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump.

MORE: Local officer encountered gunman just before he shot toward Trump at rally, sources tell AP

The incident is now a pivotal moment in American history - but not a unique one.

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. knows all too well the cost of political violence. His father was the last presidential candidate to be killed in an attack.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Trump rally attendee gives his eyewitness account of the shooting

In a previous interview with News 12, he compared the political climate surrounding his father’s assassination five decades ago to this election cycle.

Kennedy has reportedly requested but has been denied Secret Service protection.

The White House has not commented this weekend whether Saturday’s fatal shooting will change that.

MORE: Pace professor weighs political rhetoric, gun control in wake of Trump rally shooting

Presidential historian Thomas Balcerski discussed implications from Saturday’s shooting while recalling political violence of the past. This includes 15 direct assaults on presidents, presidents-elect and presidential candidates - five of them resulting in deaths.

The last attempted assassination was on President Ronald Reagan in 1981.

"President Reagan’s assassination attempt - it was outside of the Washington Hilton. He was leaving through a back door. The assassin got very close, fired a single shot…and we don’t expect that would even be possible anymore, so this is also going to force us to again rethink the security of our public figures," says Balcerski.