‘It’s just not American’: Central Oregonians react with dismay to attempted assassination of former President Trump

(Update: adding comment from C.O. politicians, political science professor and residents)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The assassination attempt on former President Trump has many Central Oregonians expressing dismay at what's transpired and the divisive nature of current politics, telling NewsChannel 21 on Sunday it's a wake-up call for more unity that they hope fellow Americans will heed.

Scheduled well ahead of Saturday's tragic event, a Deschutes County Republicans gathering called the Patriot Paddle was held at Riverbed Park. The assassination attempt has brought new meaning to the political cause among floaters were spoke with. 

Bend resident Brianne Williams said, "Today's paddle is extremely more meaningful to me and everybody that's here, because the person that's representing us and this whole country - not just us, he represents both parties."

Asked what the paddle means to him in the wake of the shooting, another resident, Johnathan Curtis, said, "I think today we should go all out on Patriot (Paddle), even more than we were going to.

Contessa Mendoza said, "Doesn't matter which side you're on. Everybody gets hurt by what just happened yesterday. We need to remind people that we live in the greatest country on Earth, that this is Patriot Month, and we are celebrating."

Deschutes County leaders also weighed in with their feelings on the shocking event in Pennsylvania.

Commissioner Patti Adair said "Political violence has no place - none. Yes, everyone has the right to their beliefs. It's really wonderful that you can actually talk and find common ground."

Adair says the attempted assassination of former President Trump was frightening and unbelievable. She encourages kindness and says rhetoric around each campaign needs to calm down.

"Politics - it can be a really - it's a vicious game. We've been so polarized. We need to come together," Adair said.

Fellow county Commissioner Phil Chang also said violence is not the way to address our political differences.

Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer said she was "devastated" by the events and that "political violence in all forms is reprehensible and uniquely un-American." Her Democratic opponent in the fall election, Janelle Bynum, condemned what happened to the former president.

The mayor of Redmond and city counselors issued a statement, saying they pray for more unity in the country.

Asked his views, Jim Moore, a political science professor at Pacific University, said "Two-thirds of Americans had been fearing that there might be an assassination attempt, in this era of heightened political violence and political division. So shock, but not surprise when I heard it."

Moore says Saturday's events are akin to the division seen more than 50 years ago, when Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated.

Another park visitor, Nancy Wirbur, said, "Truly messed up that our country is really divided. There's a lot of anger and violence on both sides, and a lot of unrest, and it's kind of sad."

Bend resident Doug Kelly said, "You can't be doing that in this country. It's just not American. That's not what we are here."

"Right now, everybody is uneasy about what the what the future of America is politically - I mean, it's kind of up in the air."

 Mendoza added, "When this happens in our country, it really puts a stain on the freedom, the love, the faith that our country stands for."

 With the presidential election less than four months away Moore told us doesn't expect the assassination attempt to have a significant impact on the outcome. But he expects a temporary boost in support of the former president.

"There's something called the 'Rally 'Round the Flag' effect," he said. "Public opinion is going to come towards (Trump), and people are going to support him. And we'll see how big that is, and how long it lasts. Rally Around the Flag effect usually only lasts for about 10 days, two weeks."

"The thing is, this can be tested," he added. "We will simply see by the first or second week in August: Have the public opinion polls gone back down to where they were before? If they haven't, then Trump gets a big advantage from this, and Trump becomes the odds-on favorite to win the presidency. Right now, he's a little bit ahead, but it's still really nip and tuck."

With calls for unity by leaders at the local, state and federal level, many folks I spoke with said they hope the political state of the country will improve, but also are worried the violence and division could continue as we head into the final four months of the election campaign.