In Georgia politics, responses to assassination attempt run from appeals to ‘better angels’ to violent blame

The response by Coastal Georgia lawmakers and political party officials to what federal officials have described as an attempted assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump has been at once heartening and not.

Some appealed to the “better angels of our nature.” 1st District U.S. Rep. Earl “Buddy” Carter urged prayers for Trump and other casualties of the gun attack and condemned political violence of any sort.

So did U.S. Senators John Ossoff and Raphael Warnock , as well as Gov. Brian Kemp and Savannah Mayor Van Johnson , with Johnson describing himself as “devastated” by the attempt on Trump’s life. “Gun violence is unacceptable everywhere,” he said. “We are better than this.”

Others saw Providence at work in Trump’s survival. Former District 1 state Senate candidate Beth Majeroni cast it as a “Godincidence” that the GOP’s presumptive presidential nominee avoided more serious harm.

Kandiss Taylor , chair of the 1st District GOP Committee who along with Chatham County GOP chair Brittany Brown is attending the national Republican convention in Milwaukee, was even more effusive.

“God saved him. He will be a Spirit Filled Christian leading our Nation,” Taylor wrote on Facebook, also noting that God has “anointed” Trump to be president and lamenting that “we came way too close to losing the one person we can trust in government.”

Others pointed fingers, as arguments swelled over which political party is more responsible for acts of political violence. State Rep. Jesse Petrea (R-Savannah) cited Joe Biden’s comment earlier this month imploring Democrats to stop focusing on his maladies and put Trump in “a bullseye.”

The Chatham County GOP posted a graphic version of the now iconic photo of a wounded Trump thrusting his fist in the air following the assassination attempt with the one-word caption: “Fight.”

More aggressive still was the social media posting by U.S. Rep. Mike Collins (R-Jackson), who said, “Joe Biden sent the orders” to shoot Trump.

The Tide brings news and observations from The Current’s staff.