The incident has also caused people to question what really happened on that day. Conspiracy theories have abounded, with many surmising that there was more to Crooks’ actions than meets the eye.

But the question that seems to be at the top of everyone’s minds is: Why?

It has been five days since Crooks shot Trump. Yet, the authorities claim they have no inkling of what motivated him to carry out the attack. Even after cracking the shooter’s phone, law enforcement still has no clue as to why the 20-year-old decided to try assassinating Trump on that day.

Crooks is reported to have posted a message on the gaming platform Steam.

Late on Wednesday, Fox News Senior White House Correspondent Jacqui Heinrich reported that a group of senators were briefed on would-be assassin Thomas Crooks' social media postings on a gaming platform called Steam. Along with the reported post, which is ominous in hindsight but probably wouldn't have set off many alarms before his attempt, the senators were given some information about Crooks that is decidedly odd.

The Steam post in question stated simply: “July 13 will be my premiere, watch as it unfolds.” That, before the attempt, could be taken to mean almost anything, although hindsight gives it a completely different tone. But it's the paraphernalia found on and around Crooks, as well as at his home, that is decidedly strange.

Investigators also discovered that the gunman had searched for both Trump and President Joe Biden, which suggests he was interested in the political landscape. However, it still does not provide any clues as to his motive.

“What is beginning to emerge is a portrait of a troubled young person who turned to violence,” said John Cohen, a former head of intelligence at the Department of Homeland Security told ABC News.

He added: "Likely, it was a combination of mental health issues, ideological beliefs and a sense of personal grievance, the same combination of factors present in almost every school shooting and mass casualty attack over the past several years."

The FBI identified Crooks after the incident. He had been killed by Secret Service agents at the scene after firing his initial shots. Unfortunately, he killed firefighter Corey Comperatore, who was attending the rally.

"The threat was real but people around him did not understand what they were witnessing or how it would play out last Saturday," Cohen remarked.

Of course, there is the possibility that law enforcement has already discovered what motivated Crooks to carry out the shooting but is not divulging the information out of political concerns. But if they are telling the truth, then the questions will persist.

Failure to find out why Crooks committed the shooting will lead to further erosion of trust in law enforcement – especially at the federal level. Given what we have seen from federal agencies and how they targeted the former president politically, attitudes toward federal agencies will only grow more distrustful.

In the absence of a clear motive, conspiracy theories about the assault will continue to flourish. The theories will range from plausible to wildly outlandish and will likely escalate the division the country is already experiencing.

The inability of the federal government to protect the former president and discover the shooter’s motive could also increase fears of other attacks on politicians or even acts of terrorism. Indeed, the temperature has been gradually climbing in the United States. It has already fueled political violence. It could become even worse if those who are ostensibly tasked with protecting the populace are viewed as incompetent or, even worse, complicit.

The reality is that Crooks could have been motivated by several different factors. Perhaps he was a rabid leftist who viewed Trump as a threat to democracy, a sentiment that Democrats and the media have peddled for years. He was found to have donated to a progressive group in the past.

It is also possible that the shooter could have been an anti-Trump Republican. Indeed, he was registered as a GOP voter. Even as a Republican voter, he could have been radicalized by the rhetoric coming from politicians and the media.

Of course, it might be that he was just a mentally ill young man trying to make a name for himself, similar to serial killers and mass shooters. These are only a few possibilities.

Ultimately, the attempted assassination of Trump could have serious ramifications beyond the incident – especially if the public remains in the dark about the shooter.