Analysts said that in the absence of hard facts from authorities and the media, fake news and misleading claims will rush in to fill the gap.
“There’s a large number of conspiracy theorists in the US and conspiratorial thinking has gone mainstream. Trump himself has encouraged some of this thinking over the years,” said Reilly.
“Unfortunately, this is the tenor of the times that we’re in. The internet and social media have a lot to do with this. But as more details come out about the gunman, some of those conspiracies will die down.”
COULD THIS CHANGE GUN LAWS?
Gun control laws are already a contentious issue in the presidential race. Biden has firmed up legislation and wants to ban assault weapons, while Trump says he will unravel all of that if he is back in power.
Analysts said they believe the incident is unlikely to convince the Republicans to embrace stricter gun laws.
“It would be naive to say that there’s no tradition of political violence at all in the US … we just don’t think of (it) as happening very much in the modern era,” said Neiheisel.
“This is an issue that is perpetually a problem in the US and it doesn’t tend to be one that has an easy resolution,” he added.
Reilly, however, pointed out that high-profile incidents in history have led to successful reforms of gun laws. For instance, a dozen firearm Bills were introduced in the wake of the 1963 assassination of John F Kennedy, the US’ 35th president.
He added that Trump, who up until now has been opposed to restrictions on gun laws, could have a change of heart, having been a victim himself and surviving a gunshot by a whisker.
“We’ll have to see … what having a near-death experience does to a man like Trump,” he said.
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