My wife and I were sitting down to dinner with Fox News on in the background when Trump was shot, so we learned of it in pretty much real time. My daughter called me moments later to tell me about it, and my prepper buddy Karl called later. That alone should have told me how quickly it would become a huge news story.
My daughter was astounded that she was seeing this in real time, not reading about it in a history book. I told her I remembered President Reagan being shot back in 1981, and John Lennon before that. “Dad, that was 43 years ago,” she said. Yeah, I’m old, thanks for reminding me.
It will have been only 30 hours since the shooting when I post this, but I feel like I am a bit too late to comment on the attempted assassination itself, so instead I will comment on the many reactions to it in print and video.
Incompetence or Intentional?
As Sunday progressed, more and more people said out loud what I thought the minute I saw where the shooter was: How on earth did the Secret Service allow someone with an AR-15 to get that close to the stage? I’d understand if he was 1,500 yards away and used a precision rifle in .338 Lapua. But 150 yards? Give me a break. And where did the ladder come from? Did someone leave it there for him or did the shooter bring it with him? How did no one see it?
Since then, I have heard two things that I cannot confirm:
One, a local police officer went up on the building to check out reports, but when the shooter pointed his rifle at the cop, he retreated. If so, that cop is a coward. Duck down, make a radio call warning the Secret Service, and then draw your weapon and shoot the man with a rifle. Do your damn job.
Two, the Secret Service snipers had the shooter in their sights, asked for permission to take the shot, and were told not to. I find this more believable. This is clearly a situation where the Secret Service sniper should have followed his gut and acted. But too many people today are overly concerned about losing their jobs to do the right thing, even when it is obvious. This applies to both the sniper(s) and the senior person who did not give them permission to engage.
My verdict is, it was intentional at the top level—such as not expanding Trump’s protective detail—and incompetence at a lower level, meaning the people on the scene.
It was a Setup or a Psyop
There were immediately people who thought this was a setup designed to make Trump look good. How else would he have known to hold up his fist like that, they ask, if it wasn’t planned in advance?
That’s just bullsh*t. No one would risk a bullet that close to their head for a few points in a poll. This was not a shot that hit ten feet away. This was a shot that was an inch away from killing Trump. It missed only because the former president turned his head at the perfect moment. No, for whatever misguided reason, that kid wanted to kill Trump and did his very best. He came frighteningly close to succeeding.
Why did Trump react the way he did? Because he is a smart, media-savvy guy. Once he realized he had survived, he took advantage of the opportunity to pump his fist in the air. He also had the presence of mind to figure out what was happening and duck before the agents got there. He reacted faster than they did.
I find it harder to argue against the idea that Democrats arranged the assassination to get the news coverage of Biden’s age and mental infirmities off the front page. Especially when you consider it’s working.
Damping Down the Rhetoric
How ironic it’s the Democrats calling for less vitriol in the rhetoric. You know, the same party and people who called Trump a dictator, who said he would destroy democracy, who compared him to Hitler, who prosecuted him multiple times, and who said it was time to put him “in the bullseye.”
Sounds like somebody has a guilty conscious. Or maybe they are scared the next bullet will be aimed at them. Republicans should throw it back in their face, blaming them. “Look what you have done.”
When Trump calls people names, he does it mockingly, like “Crooked Joe Biden” or calling Senator Warren “Pocahontas” because she claimed to have Native American blood. When the Democrats name call, it’s not mocking, it’s hateful. They stirred this up, and they can’t hide from that.
Bomb-Making Materials
We were told the shooter had “bomb-making materials” and/or “rudimentary explosives” in his car but were given no specifics. My advice is to take this with a grain of salt. If there was a spare gas can and road flares in the car, those could be considered bomb-making materials. Fireworks could also be “rudimentary explosives” in the eyes of law enforcement, and unconfirmed reports are this kid was affiliated with ANTIFA.
I suspect if they had found pipe bombs or homemade claymore mines, they would have said so. Saying they found “explosives” makes him sound more dangerous. Not sure why that matters; it’s not like he’s going before a jury.
I expect most of us have common household or sporting items that could be considered “bomb-making materials.” Remember, the difference between a can of black powder used in a muzzle loader and “bomb-making materials” is intent.
I’d be more interested to know if they found a bottle of antidepressants in the car, as quite a few recent mass shooters have been on them.
Civil War Could have Broken Out
I’ve read stories and seen videos saying we dodged civil war by half an inch, meaning if Trump had been killed, it would have spurred a civil war.
Would it? I don’t know; I think that is a stretch or perhaps wishful thinking. Would it have caused anger and protests? No doubt. But would MAGA people throw the guns and body armor in the back of the SUV and head towards Capitol Hill in some sudden revolt designed to overthrow the government? I tend to doubt it. I think most Trump followers are smarter than that. (Not that the FBI wouldn’t have paid informants trying to stir up trouble.)
I think instead a successful assassination might have led to a tit-for-tat exchange in which people that had never been on the FBI or Secret Service radar started killing Democrats, much like in the book Unintended Consequences. This kind of response remains a potential danger and is much harder to fight against.
Just like the 1960s seemed to be an era of political assassinations, the attempted assassination on Trump may well open a window in which no politician is ever safe again. We could see repeated attempts on high-ranking officials in both parties.
Times are tense, and this shooting makes them tenser yet. God forbid we find the government was involved or allowed this to happen. I expect that would lead to some organized raids and attacks, if not an actual civil war.
Expect a Coverup
Don’t expect the mainstream media to tell you what really happened or why. Chances are, we’ll never know the whole truth. Biden already warned the nation not to rush to judgement but let the FBI do their investigation. This leads me to believe the Biden Administration knows it is going to take some time for them to concoct the cover story that explains why this happened under the watchful eye of the Secret Service and to convince someone to resign in disgrace.
This is a good time to look to alternative media and X and to follow news as it is uncovered by “citizen reporters.” Even the British media is covering details that the U.S. media is ignoring. By relying on these other outlets, you still may not get the whole truth, but you’ll get more than makes it into the MSM.
