Is This Any Way to Live?
A view of Saturday's shooting from inside D.C.
I was in Washington, D.C., Saturday night to attend Substack’s New Media Party. I was glad not to be going near the annual dinner of the White House Correspondents Association and its deeply mistaken plan to host Donald Trump. Celebrating free speech and journalism by inviting the man who’s working constantly to undermine a free press illuminated how clearly the WHCA needs to rethink its identity.
But for three hours Saturday night that wouldn’t be my problem. This was a chance to connect with friends and colleagues, undisturbed by the inevitably twisted remarks of Trump or by the CBS/Paramount people hobnobbing with fierce opponents of journalism and a free press like Pete Hegseth and Stephen Miller. I was determined to leave my phone in my pocket and ignore the sick shenanigans playing out at the Washington Hilton.
Well, that didn’t happen. It was about an hour after I arrived at the Smithsonian’s Renwick Gallery right near the White House when someone said there was a shooting. Soon an announcement was made: No one could exit the building for the time being while the possible danger was sorted out.
My experience was insignificant compared to all the journalists and other Hilton attendees told to “get down!” after gunfire was heard. CNN’s Wolf Blitzer happened to be in the checkpoint area as the shooter’s bullets flew through the air. More than a few witnesses in the ballroom talked about the fear and trauma caused by the deadly threat and the resulting chaos.
Meanwhile, back in the White House briefing room less than two hours later, Trump was answering questions, quickly pivoting to the need to have his big ballroom built for safety. As if this private event would have happened there. As if the gunfire in the hotel was now sufficient reason to bulldoze past a federal judge’s ruling that stopped the building.
Two New York Times reporters summarized Trump’s response to the violence as “remarkably zen.” After the room was evacuated, Trump insisted, “I am not a basket case.”
It may be exactly this unusual calm from this normally deranged man—in addition to his quick tactical exploitation of the gunfire to argue for his ballroom—that has added to growing questions about whether the shooting was somehow staged. This is also the inevitable consequence of growing doubt across the political spectrum about the legitimacy of the Butler shooting, exacerbated by a so-called president who cannot ever be trusted to tell the truth.
But let’s step back and look at what this latest shooting portends. A party can’t just be a party anymore, not when a climate of violence prevails. People are on edge everywhere I go—and it’s all so damned unnecessary.
This all might please Trump and his twisted authoritarian pals, but it’s no way to live for those of us who yearn for freedom and a night without worry. The consequences of this heavy environment is easily triggered short fuses and a noticeable rise in arguments.
The shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner should be another reminder of why change is so necessary. Let me leave you with three questions:
It’s not enough to question the need for expanded security measures. Instead, we must ask: What the hell are we going to do about the epidemic of gun violence in America?
We should confront the rise of authoritarianism, but what about accelerating the removal of a White House occupant who recklessly and systematically spews violent rhetoric for his own sick pleasure and benefit?
We can talk about the mad fact that tens of millions of people believe political violence may be necessary and support unfettered 2nd Amendment freedoms, but do the large majority of Americans really have to live in a suspended state of fear as they wonder: Is gun violence coming my way next?
Trump may exploit Saturday’s violence to push for his pet projects and distract from his massive failures. (Yes, the U.S. is still at war with Iran. Yes, the Epstein files still must be released.) But we can’t let his self-serving and dangerous agenda distract us from unanswered questions that can meaningfully change the trajectory of our beloved yet broken country.
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You know, I was never a believer in conspiracy theories before this sick regime came into power, but I distrust anything that is spewed by any of its cruel, self-serving members.
I find that this has the potential to diminish my ability to feel empathy and compassion, and I don't want that to happen. It has become a daily struggle.
No, this is no way to live.
I can't even begin to express how badly I want that orange stain out of our White House. He has done so much damage already in the 15 months of his second term, that I fear we will not have a country left if he's able to somehow survive for the next 33 months.
Truthfully, I am one overwhelmed, stressed out American citizen who urgently needs to be able to sleep through the night like I used to when President Uncle Joe was in charge.