Donald Trump’s eldest son was the first to seize on the issue.

“This,” Donald Trump Jr said on Twitter, retweeting a remark from commentator Harlan Z Hill. “Events like today are EXACTLY why we took issue with NY elites glorifying the assassination of our President,” Mr Hill had written.

It was not precisely clear what Mr Hill was referring to. It may have been the recent controversy over comedian Kathy Griffiths’ ill-considered photoshoot in which she posed with a bloodied, severed head that looked like that of the President.

Or, it may have been a performance of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, staged in Central Park by New York’s Public Theatre, which sparked outcry from some quarters - and saw it lose its corporate sponsorship - for depicting the assassination of a Trump-like Roman ruler.

It is far too soon to speak with certainty about what led suspect James Hodgkinson, of Belleville, Illinois, to open fire on a group of Republican congressmen as they played baseball on the outskirts of Washington.

Reports suggest he had volunteered for the 2016 presidential campaign of Bernie Sanders and despised Trump. “Trump is a Traitor. Trump has destroyed our democracy. It’s time to destroy Trump & Co,” he wrote on Facebook on March 22.

Sanders was quick to condemn what played out sometime before 7am in Alexandria. “I have just been informed that the alleged shooter at the Republican baseball practice is someone who apparently volunteered on my presidential campaign. I am sickened by this despicable act,” he said.

Virginia Shooting Show all 20 1 /20 Virginia Shooting Virginia Shooting House Majority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana and others were shot Wednesday at a congressional baseball practice, officials said AP Virginia Shooting Police and emergency personnel are seen near the scene where House Majority Whip Steve Scalise was shot during a Congressional baseball practice in Alexandria, Va AP Virginia Shooting A man receives medical attention from first responders on the scene following a shooting in Alexandria, Virginia, US EPA Virginia Shooting The Republican House majority whip Steve Scalise and at least four others have been shot shot at a congressional baseball game practice session, according to media report EPA Virginia Shooting Police close a street near the scene of a shooting in Alexandria, Virginia EPA Virginia Shooting Police close a street near the scene of a shooting in Alexandria, Virginia, USA EPA Virginia Shooting The Republican House majority whip Steve Scalise and at least four others have been shot shot at a congressional baseball game practice session, according to media reports EPA Virginia Shooting First responders on the scene following a shooting in Alexandria, Virginia, USA EPA Virginia Shooting Alexandria, Va. Police Chief Michael Brown speaks about the shooting in Alexandria, Va AP Virginia Shooting Rep. Jack Bergman, R-Mich. talks on the phone while walking past a damaged vehicle at a shooting scene where House Majority Whip Steve Scalise of La. was shot at a Congressional baseball practice AP Virginia Shooting A Capitol Hill Police officer walks past an automobile with the driver's window damaged at the scene of a shooting in Alexandria, Va AP Virginia Shooting Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Tenn. is seen near the scene of a shooting in Alexandria, Va AP Virginia Shooting A Capitol Hill Police officer stands his post at the entrance to the House of Representatives on Capitol Hill in Washington AP Virginia Shooting Law enforcement officers investigate the scene of a shooting near a baseball field in Alexandria, Va AP Virginia Shooting An Alexandria, Va. police officer tapes off an area near the YMCA after a shooting in Alexandria, Va AP Virginia Shooting Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz. walks toward media gathered at the scene of a shooting at a baseball field in Alexandria, Va AP Virginia Shooting The baseball field that is the scene of a shooting in Alexandria, Va AP Virginia Shooting Law enforcement officers gather near a shooting scene at baseball field in Alexandria, Va AP Virginia Shooting Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas and other members of the Republican Congressional softball team, stand behind police tape of the scene of a multiple shooting in Alexandria, Va AP Virginia Shooting Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala. meets with reporters in Alexandria, Va AP

Sanders' words did little to assuage the anger of some conservatives, who sought to claim Wednesday morning’s events were proof of a growing threat from those on the left.

“America has been divided,” said Congressman Steve King of Iowa, who stopped by the baseball field to pray, and who was said to be visibly angry. “The centre of America is disappearing, and the violence is appearing in the streets, and it’s coming from the left.”

Of course, there are millions of Americans who are angry about Trump and who write unpleasant things about him on social media who don’t then launch gun attacks on Republican politicians. Likewise, there are many on the right who feel no need to hurl abuse at Muslim teenagers on a train or stab the bystanders who rush to their aid.

But does King have a point? If progressives feel content to blame Trump’s angry rhetoric for an increase of hate crimes and incidents of abuse, how can they not accept that the sea of anti-Trump fervour may likewise inspire such attacks as that in Alexandria.

Bernie Sanders delivers statement in Congress after Alexandria shooting

In these ever more toxic political times, the House of Representatives’ baseball game is said to be one of the few occasions when members of the two major parties actually socialise together. Reports say members are determined the match, held to raise funds for charity, should go ahead.

That is to be applauded. The entire country could benefit from such an act of symbolism.

More pointedly, everyone could benefit from a winding down of the rhetoric, a lowering of the political temperature, a collective de-escalation. A cooling off.

This is not easy, especially at a time when Trump is being investigated for something as monumental as possible collusion with Russia. People, understandably, feel impassioned.

But on this day, it was Sanders who pointed to the hopelessness of heading down the path of violence.

“Let me be as clear as I can be. Violence of any kind is unacceptable in our society and I condemn this action in the strongest possible terms,” he said from the Senate floor.