“Political assassination VERY rarely ends up advancing the assassin’s goals….”

Trump came so close to receiving a mortal wound that its highly unlikely that this shooting was staged. But…(and I have absolutely no evidence to support this), it cannot be ruled out that it was done by his own compatriots. I’m sure they’re plenty too ready to step into his shoes, inheriting his own charisma and followers, and exploiting the inevitable wave of indignation following his death. I’m sure there are many of his persuasion who believe they can carry out his program more effectively–and more profitably.

Could the Left have done this? Not likely, they know perfectly well that it often turns the victim into a martyr. Still, its not unreasonable to assume a naive or disturbed person on the Left, working alone, might have been responsible. That is the most likely scenario, but we will probably never know for sure.

As for the fact that the shooter was a “registered Republican”, I would not put too much into that. If I were planning a political assassination, the first thing I would do would be to join my victim’s party to avoid detection and suspicion.

My best guess: this was a misguided young person of centrist or leftist tendencies who sincerely believed he could stop an evil man from becoming President. He almost certainly worked alone. I have no way of knowing for sure, but that’s what my instincts tell me. Perhaps the background investigation will reveal more, but I wouldn’t count on it.