Montana News
Helena residents react to the attempted assassination of Donald Trump
With Montana News, I'm Austin Amastoy. Montana and Helena Monday shared their thoughts about the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. They spoke with MTPR reporter, Shaley Rager. At a gas station in Helena on Monday afternoon, I met a new resident who was willing to talk about the shooting. Not many others were. I was, like, shocked. That was Audrey's reaction to the news of the attempted assassination of Trump and a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday. She asked to be identified only by her first name, given the volatile nature of the topic. She believes Democrats incited violence against Trump with harsh rhetoric criticizing the former president. Democrats just keep trying to separate people. And the more they separate people, the worse it'll get. Audrey said she doesn't think the extreme polarization in politics is representative of everyday people. Roy Duncan of Townsend believes Trump's own words are to blame for the violent attack. He said Trump encouraged rioters who stormed the US Capitol on January 6th, 2021. And he was making irrevocable remarks about all kinds of people, and he doesn't need to do that. Duncan said he still hasn't decided who he's going to vote for in November. Araceli Pena of Helena said she plans to vote for President Joe Biden and condemn the attack. She said she recently moved back from living overseas, and Saturday's events were a wake-up call. I'm sorry that it happened. I saw our country shift from what used to be, like, the best nation in the world to, you know, kind of succumbing to being at the real country again with political violence. Law enforcement have identified the suspected shooter, but have not reported a motive. Montana officials and candidates' reactions to the attempted assassination can be found at mtpr.org. In Helena, I'm Shalee Riker.