We live in an era of political violence. The rich and famous aren’t the primary targets

‘Living in the US means taking a risk that the combination of a man’s grievance and insanity will collide with lax gun laws in a way that will cost you your life.’ Photograph: Cristóbal Herrera/EPA

It is not a good sign for US politics that an apparent second assassination attempt against the former president and current Republican nominee, Donald Trump, seems to be fading into the media’s background noise as a relatively minor story. In part, this might be because of the particulars of the incident at Trump’s Palm Beach golf club in Florida, not far from his resort home at Mar-a-Lago.

For one thing, the suspect never fired a shot, though he was armed with an AK-47-style assault rifle with the serial number scratched off; having hidden in the bushes on the golf course for an estimated 12 hours, apparently waiting for Trump to appear, the would-be shooter was apprehended by Secret Service agents, who shot at him and missed.