The current administration in the United States has been incredibly polarizing. People are either ardent Trump supporters or they earnestly oppose him. However, despite these differences in opinion, there was never a serious danger presented to the President of the United States. This changed the week of September 15^th when a letter containing poison was intercepted on its way to the White House.

          The letter contained a poison known as ricin. Ricin is a deadly compound that comes from castor beans, and in recent years some have attempted to use it to commit bioterrorist attacks the White House. If consumed or inhaled, ricin takes 36-72 hours to kill an individual. It attacks the cells in your body and ultimately leads to organ failure. There is no known antidote.

          The White House has yet to make a comment on the incident, though the individual suspected of committing the crime is currently in custody. The envelope originated from the Buffalo, New York—Canada border crossing site. As such, both American and Canadian officials are working on solving the case and holding the criminal accountable.

          The incident of an assassination attempt is scary to hear and threatens the very foundation of our democracy, though it is also indicative of how unpopular President Trump has become. For extremists in the world, they would rather serve a sentence in prison than live freely for four more years under the Trump Administration. For most rational individuals, this is a very strange choice.

          Presently officials have made statements that there is currently no threat to public safety. In a statement from CNN, experts said that “while ricin can be produced easily and cheaply, experts say it is more effective on individuals than as weapons of mass destruction.”

          As such, the US population has little to worry about as this situation is far different than the threat of other poisons such as anthrax. Though it is normal to have anxiety about the prospect of accidentally coming in contact with a substance such as ricin.

          In summation, the threat to the Trump administration has been mitigated as of now, and soon the individual responsible will be held accountable. Nonetheless, this was a day in US history that could have been very grim. Ultimately it is important to be thankful for the safeguards in place and a mail service that thoroughly does its job.