In July of 2024 a man perched on top of an industrial building in Pennsylvania fired shots from an AR-15 that grazed Donald Trump’s ear as he spoke at a campaign rally. In September of 2024, a would-be assassin waited in the shrubs with an AK-47 as Trump golfed as his West Palm Beach Resort. In April 2026, a gunman with multiple weapons raced through a security checkpoint outside at the White House Correspondent’s Dinner with President Trump in attendance.
There have been three attempts on Donald Trump’s life in just under 21 months.
As a nation, we’ve faced presidential assassinations and attempts before from JFK, to Ronald Reagan, to Donald Trump. Political violence is a recurring chapter in American history.
But beyond the shock, these events trigger market volatility, economic unease, and investor uncertainty. The pattern is clear — moments of political instability can bring financial disruption and this latest attack could be a signal to secure your assets and protect your portfolio.
A ‘Zero-Sum Environment’
For many of us, the events of the past week brought us back to that dark day in March of 1981 when shots were fired outside of the same Washington D.C. Hilton where the White House Correspondent’s Dinner was just held. On an overcast Monday afternoon some forty-five years ago, President Reagan was struck in the chest by a bullet from a .22 caliber revolver while exiting the hotel.
While the assassination attempt on Reagan was horrifying, it did not unfold within a sustained climate of political violence like the one we face today. Americans are now deeply divided along partisan lines and increasingly entrenched in ideological conflict.
We’ve not only become suspicious of one another, but also hostile and “this has produced a ‘zero-sum’ environment in which every election and political contest is a ‘do or die’ moment.” [1]
According to Pew Research, 85% of surveyed Americans say politically motivated violence is increasing, and this includes nearly identical shares of Republicans and Republican leaners (86%) and Democrats and Democratic leaners (85%). [2]
The ‘Credibility Recession’
When a president is politically targeted, panic sets in because the future becomes unclear. Was the attack part of a larger movement or broader conspiracy? Are we entering an extended cycle of violence and will there be more attempts and further threats to American leadership?
This uncertainty doesn’t stay confined to politics. It quickly spills into the markets as investors pull back, volatility rises, and capital rotates toward safety. History shows that similar moments of political shock have been followed by economic fallout:
“A failed attempt on Franklin D. Roosevelt’s life in 1933 before his first inauguration sparked a 4.3% selloff in the Dow. The index fell 2.9% after President John F. Kennedy was killed in 1963. Of 10 attempted assassinations, from former President Theodore Roosevelt in 1912 to President George W. Bush in 2005, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell an average 1.1% in the first trading day.” [3]
The greater impact, however, extends well beyond Wall Street. Attempts on the lives of our elected officials not only heighten national unease but also erode public trust in our broader economic system, which according to Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, is very hard to restore.
“The erosion of that trust is not just a macroeconomic risk — it’s a systemic one. It affects everything from how investors price assets to whether people believe their bank deposits or digital wallets are safe. We’re not just navigating an interest rate cycle — we’re managing a credibility recession. And unlike rates, trust is much harder to reset.” [4]
Extreme political violence doesn’t just shock the nation; it jolts the economy. And once confidence in our money and investments is shaken, it changes how we think about risk, safety, and stability. That’s why the real question isn’t whether markets will react to future attempts on the president’s life, but rather how best to prepare and protect ourselves in advance.
Hedging Instability and Risk
America has now faced three serious threats to its leadership in less than two years. Make no mistake, this pattern of instability is a contagion risk for financial assets. And, it doesn’t just rattle traders; it compresses valuations, fuels volatility, and actively pushes capital toward hard-asset protection.
In this environment, it’s important to take practical steps to diversify into safe haven assets. According to online trading platform IG, safe havens have several key characteristics:
- Liquidity: An asset that can easily be converted to cash, at any time
- Functionality: Assets that continually provide long-term demand
- Limited supply: Assets where the growth of supply never outweighs demand
- Certainty of demand: An asset that is unlikely to be replaced or outdated
- Permanence: As asset that does not decay or rot over time [5]
For generations, gold has served as one of the most reliable defense assets during periods of similar instability and market stress. It typically has a low correlation to equities and tends to hold its ground when other assets are under pressure or under water. Gold is a strategic hedge that can help fortify a portfolio before uncertainty hits.
“In times of geopolitical turmoil, gold consistently emerges as the investment of choice for those seeking stability. This precious metal has maintained its status as a reliable store of value for thousands of years, and modern market behavior continues to reinforce this reputation. When political tensions rise, currencies fluctuate, and stock markets become volatile, gold often moves in the opposite direction, providing a counterbalance to portfolio losses.” [6]
We obviously can’t predict the next breaking news headline or flashpoint out of Washington, but we can prepare for it. In 2026, democracy carries both the risk of political violence and the price of policy instability, and now is the time to put a plan in place to protect your money and your peace of mind by holding physical gold in your portfolio or retirement account.
ORION METAL EXCHANGE is a top-rated
GOLD IRA DEALER with Best-in-Class CUSTOMER SERVICE.
Call for a FREE Investor Kit and up to $30K in FREE metals (on qualifying purchases).
REPRESENTATIVES ARE AVAILABLE NOW AT: 1-800-559-0088
1 https://theconversation.com/latest-attack-threatening-president-trump-reflects-rising-political-violence-in-us-281513
2 https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/10/23/americans-say-politically-motivated-violence-is-increasing-and-they-see-many-reasons-why/
3 https://www.nbcnews.com/business/markets/stock-market-shrugs-trump-assassination-attempt-rcna161904
4 https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/why-erosion-trust-could-shake-americas-economic-stability
5 https://www.ig.com/en/trading-strategies/what-are-safe-haven-assets-and-how-do-you-trade-them–181031
6 https://discoveryalert.com.au/gold-global-uncertainty-price-movements-2025/
