In his inaugural address on the footsteps of the Capitol in 2017, the newly elected President Trump vowed, “This American carnage stops right here and stops right now.” It didn’t, of course.
There was an Isis attack during Trump’s first year in office. On Halloween 2017, an Islamic State-inspired terrorist in a rented pick-up truck mowed down pedestrians on a crowded New York cycle lane, killing eight people and injuring 16.
This didn’t stop Trump claiming during this year’s election campaign that there were no terrorist attacks on US soil on his watch as president, with barely a squeak of protest.
But there is a reason why the terrorist attack in New Orleans feels so sinister and memorable. The breakdown in trust in the US feels more urgent and dangerous as Trump prepares for his second inaugural address, now less than three weeks away.
Seeking to turn the attacks to his political advantage, Trump posted on Truth Social: “Democrats should be ashamed of themselves for allowing this to happen to our Country… A violent erosion of Safety, National Security, and Democracy is taking place all across our Nation.” He concluded: “See you on January 20th.”
Yet, the New Year’s Eve attack on party-goers in New Orleans’s French Quarter would appear to be remarkably similar to other Isis attacks. The New York terrorist said he deliberately chose Halloween because more people would be on the streets. Bourbon Street in New Orleans is the centre of drinking revelries almost every night – but especially so on New Year’s Eve.
Details are still emerging, but it appears Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a US army veteran, killed at least 15 people in a rented electric pick-up before being shot dead by police. His brother told the New York Times Jabbra converted to Islam at an early age and recently became radicalised. Jabbar was born in Texas, but the rumour quickly spread that he had crossed from Mexico into the US via Eagle Pass only two days earlier.
Trump leapt on the idea that the suspect was an immigrant, posting: “When I said that the criminals coming in are far worse than the criminals we have in our country, that statement was constantly refuted by Democrats and the Fake News Media, but it turned out to be true.”
Trump’s opponents behaved no better when news emerged that a Tesla truck had exploded outside Trump Hotel in Las Vegas. A post on X describing it as a “perfect metaphor heading into 2025” received over 300,000 likes for its nod towards Trump and Elon Musk’s potentially combustible relationship (although the duo were still partying together at Mar-a-Lago on New Year’s Eve).
But the Vegas incident, too, was a planned attack. The truck was primed to explode with firework mortars, gas canisters and camping fuel. The suspect, who died in the vehicle, has been named as Matthew Livelsberger, another army veteran who served at one point on the same US base as Jabbar. The fact that they both rented electric pick-ups from the Turo app – with no need to go to a rental car service counter – could be coincidence. We don’t know yet.
What the response to these incidents shows is that there is no shared narrative, no coming together of the American people in grief and mourning. Point-scoring and finger-jabbing rules.
Elon Musk could still abandon Donald Trump - and use his powers for good
Read MoreLaw enforcement in New Orleans has been blamed by Maga adherents like congresswoman Marjorie Taylor-Green for being too lax. “No one trusts the FBI,” she said. Trump critics would rather denounce the president-elect for blaming the attack on immigrants than assess the danger from Islamist militants.
Only six months ago, Trump was nearly assassinated in Butler, Pennsylvania. Some leftists still contend disgracefully that it was a false flag event, with fake blood on Trump’s ear, even though one person died from the shooting and two people were injured.
This Monday will be the fourth anniversary of the 6 January riot at the Capitol in 2021, with vastly differing opinions as to whether this was largely a peaceful protest by patriots, inflamed by Antifa and undercover FBI agents, or an attempted insurrection led by Trump. On day one of his presidency, Trump has promised to pardon the 6 January prisoners, so we know where he stands.
Because of that riot, the Capitol was sealed off from the public by barbed wire for Joe Biden’s inauguration in 2021, with the National Guard out in force. Biden made “unity” the cornerstone of his address, but during his presidency Americans became more divided and embittered.
There was some bewilderment when Trump chose “American carnage” as the theme of his first address. Former president George W Bush reportedly described that speech as “some weird shit”. On 20 January the same theme for his second address would be horribly appropriate.
Sarah Baxter is director of the Marie Colvin Center for International Reporting
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