American University
WASHINGTON - Authorities at the Secret Service recently intercepted suspicious packages that were addressed to the residencies of Barack Obama as well as Bill and Hillary Clinton.
Government officials were able to discover that these packages contained explosive, bomb-type devices within. Similar packages were also sent to CNN’s New York bureau, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Democratic U.S. Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Maxine Waters. White House officials condemned these violent acts as soon as they were made aware of them.
These developments unfolded rapidly throughout Wednesday morning, with information about the situation still funneling in through various political sources.
Andrew Ballard, an assistant professor of government at American University, believes that society should wait until more information is revealed before making any judgment. Ballard said, “Before deciding who was at fault for this situation, we need to wait till the news outlets release every piece of information.”
Political officials are concerned with whether this act of terror will affect the midterm elections for either side, but Ballard also believes that it is too early to know how this will affect the midterms. Ballard said, “It’s really too early to figure out which side this will affect more, we need to wait until the dust settles. As of now, I wouldn’t say either side is more at risk in terms of voting numbers.”
However, Chris Edelson, an assistant professor of government at American, strongly believes that this situation will affect the Republicans negatively.
Edelson said, “Our Republican president has been supporting violence for his entire term. It makes the most sense to me that the public will lean more in favor of the Democrats during the midterms, especially after this situation.”
Although there has been no information released about the sender of these packages, no officials of the Republican Party were targeted in this crime.
According to William LeoGrande, a current professor of Government at American, this situation does not hurt either political party in terms of voting participation in the midterms.
LeoGrande said, “People’s views are already set. A situation like this will not cause drastic changes in any individual’s political views.”
While LeoGrande may be correct, there is a possibility that this will have some sort of impact on the midterms. There is currently not enough information published about this situation for most individuals to be swayed in terms of voting.
While this act of terror is out of the ordinary for politics, LeoGrande was not surprised when he heard what had happened. LeoGrande said, “The president conveys to the public that Democrats are evil and enemies. I was not taken back by this situation because it is easy for me to understand how literally Trump’s rhetoric can be taken.”
The packages and devices that were intercepted are currently undergoing investigations, but officials are still yet to find out who exactly is at fault. The Clintons or Obama have yet to speak out and President Donald Trump is scheduled to give a speech on the situation sometime this week.