Let's also keep in mind that the reason Donald Trump is probably alive today is that he had people to protect him and respond immediately when an unstable white male fired off an AR-15. The victims of Sandy Hook, Uvalde, Parkland, Las Vegas and more other tragedies than I can count weren't so fortunate. And he and his followers (including those who filled yesterday's campaign rally) have consistently worshipped the AR-15 (and guns in general) above the lives of people slaughtered by them.
The word “martyr” frightens me. As does fear mongering. And finger pointing. Politicizing. Buck passing. Blaming. There’s just so much wrong with all of this. But worst was Trump’s MAGA salute imploring his minions to “fight”.
That’s what I saw too. His protection detail was trying their best to shield him from a shooter and all he was doing was making himself a target by standing there gesturing and mouthing that word. He. Is. Killing. All. Of. Us!
I think this is why some people believe it was staged. For a minute, I thought so too, but then I remembered that Trump is a psychopath; the people who were wounded, and the man who was killed, are mere objects to him.
I don't think he just "mouthed" it. I am fairly certain that in at least one video (the one where you can also hear someone saying "let me get my shoes" or something like that, you can hear him shouting it, repeatedly. He just didn't have a microphone in front of him, but it's audible. He wasn't trying to be secretive or "send signals" - he was right out there with it.
I am sad for the people attending this lie fest for trump that lost their lives.
There are just too many strange things about this incident for me to believe it's all on the up and up.
One thing for certain is that the orange monster will use this to raise money and paint the Democrats and President Biden responsible for the violence.
Thanks Steven. But I'm feeling a little cynical and satirical this morning. Those damn democrats, hate guns and violence… wouldn’t shoot a horse thief. So, I’m certain I got a flash email from NYT 5 minutes after the shot rang out, “Great theater ala Ronald Reagan!” Did everyone get their email?
CFDT loves those guns. I will say, he is more trusting and braver than I ever gave him credit for. But, desperate times require desperate action, right?
For us gun haters, sad as any shooting is, the fact CFDT feels desperate is good news.
E. B. White wrote to a man who said he had lost faith in humanity: “Hang on to your hat. Hang on to your hope. And wind the clock, for tomorrow is another day.” Quote Via Heather.
While predictable that Trump will henceforth use this as his primary rallying cry, it will be critical to counter inflammatory rhetoric with calls to beat swords into plowshares
How could security... which was extensive and had clues ... have not been more aggressive? There were issues at the magnetometer. And people checking the roofs of the buildings? Something is fishy.
I had a similar thought when I learned the shooter was just outside the perimeter of the rally venue, on a roof. Don't the Secret Service/FBI/SWAT teams typically place sharpshooters on nearby roofs that have a direct line of sight to the stage? Was security that lax? Seems very odd to me....
It sounds like it was a Secret Service sharp shooter on a roof who took out the shooter on a roof on the other side of the stage. It just seems odd not to have had someone on that roof too. Short of sharp shooters? Any Secret Service agent would do.
Let’s morn and care for the people who were injured and died. I don’t give a hoot about Trump. He is pro AR15 and incites violence. Just like Hitler in his trajectory forward, this works for click bait propaganda in his favor. I dont think it was staged but I also don’t think Trump would flinch at getting rid of a shooter as a prop for his quest to win at any cost.
There are monsters in our midst, which brings to mind this quote:
“Monsters exist, but they are too few in number to be truly dangerous. More dangerous are the common men, the functionaries ready to believe and to act without asking questions.” - Primo Levi
Trump’s fist pump says it all about the man. He’ll fight even when he’s down. Not what I would consider a great example for a guy who’s just been shot , but we already knew that. I just hope that if they are correct in identifying the assassin as a a Republican, he’ll learn some introspection about how his words and actions don’t only affect the Dems that he attacks.
Thanks again Steven for this much needed commentary.
And the actions we must all take to quell the hateful vengeful violent talk of Tyrump, his followers, and Far Right social platforms. We must stop Tyrump but not with violence no matter what he says. I am deeply saddened by the attempted assassination on Trump. This is horrible. 💔🇺🇸 Stop the violent talk!
The tffg Republicans have been advocating for violence since tffg became their nominee against Hillary Clinton.
Not that we ever wanted to see something like this happen, but we laughed out loud when tffg asked "how something like this could happen in America"!!!!
This is the country where guns are valued over our own children, our own citizens, with its staggering number of mass shootings and murders every year, for which the Republicans offer their disgusting "thoughts and prayers" every single time, and do nothing except loosen the practically-nonexistent gun laws and wear AR-15 lapel pins.
They have sown the seeds of violence, revelled in it when it is used against someone they don't like, and now they too are victims of it. How short-sighted of them not to see this coming. Just like tffg supporters who don't realize that he will turn on them in an instant should he regain office.
Truly, the human species is the stupidest one on the planet.
When asked what he would do to stop mass shootings, Donald said, "Get used to it." This was one of our daily mass shootings. 20 year old kid who was bullied. Has an AR-15, a tool and ammo designed to kill humans. Sound familiar Donald? More than 300 Americans have been shot to death and 1,200 shot and wounded this year in mass shootings. Now Donald has the experience of being a victim in a mass shooting. "Get used to it."
He also said, at the mall rally before the insurrection, to let his followers keep their guns because "they're not here to shoot me" or something close to those words. When he thought everyone with a gun was his own cult follower who would not be aiming at him, he was just fine with it. The trouble with crazies is they're crazy and it's hard to aim such a weapon.
Will we never learn that gun ownership must be tightly controlled, regulated and monitored? That any potential owners must go through rigorous background checks and have to take detailed training sessions? That certain weapons - handguns, semiautomatics - should be banned outright? Will we never learn that the 2nd Amendment was essentially framed to encourage States to join the Union by allowing them to maintain their own militias, and not to encourage mayhem on our streets? Will we never learn that it is abhorrent that teachers and children have to live in fear of being massacred in their classrooms?
But I guess we won't. Not yet at any rate. Not when the unfortunate target of yesterday's assassination attempt is going to swagger onto the stage at the Republican Convention tomorrow like a conquering hero. Not when the occasion is going to be used as a means to rile up his MAGA base and give them tacit encouragement for further violence if their repugnant views do not prevail.
We are not going to learn while Hollywood continues to glamorize violence with a deluge of TV shows and films where the difference that separates the good guy from the bad guy is that the good guy gets to fire the last bullet.
1963, 1965, 1968 and again in 1968...I was 13, 15, and then,18 years old, a turbulent teenage era. We do not want to have a political assassination happen again in our country. As badly as we want to avoid another term of Donald Trump in office, avoidance of it in such a violent manner is not the answer. He will, no doubt, bleed the attempt on his life to the max, touting it as his 'Martyring For America'. He simply uses everything he can to glean the attention he needs. His followers will, no doubt, bump up the donations of support, doing what they feel is the right thing to do for the man's aspirations. But, as another writer reminds us and encourages us to do, we who oppose Trump and what he stands for have to remain steady. Surely we owe our children that.
I don’t want to believe that Trump would kill innocents to get his way, but he could hardly have scripted this more to his advantage. (And he did say he could "shoot somebody" and get away with it)
Democrats make a HUGE mistake by failing to look at this contest in story terms. It’s not policy that will win the vote but NARRATIVE. And as of this morning, Trump is cast as the "Resilient Hero" and Biden is trending toward King Lear.
Let's also keep in mind that the reason Donald Trump is probably alive today is that he had people to protect him and respond immediately when an unstable white male fired off an AR-15. The victims of Sandy Hook, Uvalde, Parkland, Las Vegas and more other tragedies than I can count weren't so fortunate. And he and his followers (including those who filled yesterday's campaign rally) have consistently worshipped the AR-15 (and guns in general) above the lives of people slaughtered by them.
The word “martyr” frightens me. As does fear mongering. And finger pointing. Politicizing. Buck passing. Blaming. There’s just so much wrong with all of this. But worst was Trump’s MAGA salute imploring his minions to “fight”.
That’s what I saw too. His protection detail was trying their best to shield him from a shooter and all he was doing was making himself a target by standing there gesturing and mouthing that word. He. Is. Killing. All. Of. Us!
I think this is why some people believe it was staged. For a minute, I thought so too, but then I remembered that Trump is a psychopath; the people who were wounded, and the man who was killed, are mere objects to him.
I don't think he just "mouthed" it. I am fairly certain that in at least one video (the one where you can also hear someone saying "let me get my shoes" or something like that, you can hear him shouting it, repeatedly. He just didn't have a microphone in front of him, but it's audible. He wasn't trying to be secretive or "send signals" - he was right out there with it.
Exactly. I didn’t like the use of martyr.
The insane Supreme Court immunity decision.
The Biden debate debacle.
Project 2025 reveal and controversy.
The democratic push against Biden.
And now an assassination attempt.
It’s July.
It’s going to be a hot summer.
I ready to check out.
Make that a LONG hot summer.
And a long one!
I am sad for the people attending this lie fest for trump that lost their lives.
There are just too many strange things about this incident for me to believe it's all on the up and up.
One thing for certain is that the orange monster will use this to raise money and paint the Democrats and President Biden responsible for the violence.
Thanks Steven. But I'm feeling a little cynical and satirical this morning. Those damn democrats, hate guns and violence… wouldn’t shoot a horse thief. So, I’m certain I got a flash email from NYT 5 minutes after the shot rang out, “Great theater ala Ronald Reagan!” Did everyone get their email?
CFDT loves those guns. I will say, he is more trusting and braver than I ever gave him credit for. But, desperate times require desperate action, right?
For us gun haters, sad as any shooting is, the fact CFDT feels desperate is good news.
E. B. White wrote to a man who said he had lost faith in humanity: “Hang on to your hat. Hang on to your hope. And wind the clock, for tomorrow is another day.” Quote Via Heather.
CFDT?
Convicted felon Donald trump
Thanks, I didn't know either.
Convicted Felon
While predictable that Trump will henceforth use this as his primary rallying cry, it will be critical to counter inflammatory rhetoric with calls to beat swords into plowshares
Supreme Court will disagree with your premise ! Money and Gun are Freedom of Expression !
How could security... which was extensive and had clues ... have not been more aggressive? There were issues at the magnetometer. And people checking the roofs of the buildings? Something is fishy.
I had a similar thought when I learned the shooter was just outside the perimeter of the rally venue, on a roof. Don't the Secret Service/FBI/SWAT teams typically place sharpshooters on nearby roofs that have a direct line of sight to the stage? Was security that lax? Seems very odd to me....
Chris Wray is going to be crucified even tho the roof was under local jurisdiction apparently.
I don’t believe the FBI oversees the secret service. Does anyone else know?
Think correct. But he had press conf and sounded very defensive.
I’m looked it up. They are under Homeland Security.
It sounds like it was a Secret Service sharp shooter on a roof who took out the shooter on a roof on the other side of the stage. It just seems odd not to have had someone on that roof too. Short of sharp shooters? Any Secret Service agent would do.
Or a drone.
Let’s morn and care for the people who were injured and died. I don’t give a hoot about Trump. He is pro AR15 and incites violence. Just like Hitler in his trajectory forward, this works for click bait propaganda in his favor. I dont think it was staged but I also don’t think Trump would flinch at getting rid of a shooter as a prop for his quest to win at any cost.
If not staged, how did the shooter get past security and Secret Service?
Summer of 1968…modernized.
There are monsters in our midst, which brings to mind this quote:
“Monsters exist, but they are too few in number to be truly dangerous. More dangerous are the common men, the functionaries ready to believe and to act without asking questions.” - Primo Levi
This needs some updating too. 😕
Trump’s fist pump says it all about the man. He’ll fight even when he’s down. Not what I would consider a great example for a guy who’s just been shot , but we already knew that. I just hope that if they are correct in identifying the assassin as a a Republican, he’ll learn some introspection about how his words and actions don’t only affect the Dems that he attacks.
Trump should have thought twice about that fist pump and yelling on the way to safety. Just, who does that?
A person who staged an incident.
It came to my mind last night as it was happening !
I don’t disagree, but I have doubts about how Our Supreme Court will see the reality !
Thanks again Steven for this much needed commentary.
And the actions we must all take to quell the hateful vengeful violent talk of Tyrump, his followers, and Far Right social platforms. We must stop Tyrump but not with violence no matter what he says. I am deeply saddened by the attempted assassination on Trump. This is horrible. 💔🇺🇸 Stop the violent talk!
The tffg Republicans have been advocating for violence since tffg became their nominee against Hillary Clinton.
Not that we ever wanted to see something like this happen, but we laughed out loud when tffg asked "how something like this could happen in America"!!!!
This is the country where guns are valued over our own children, our own citizens, with its staggering number of mass shootings and murders every year, for which the Republicans offer their disgusting "thoughts and prayers" every single time, and do nothing except loosen the practically-nonexistent gun laws and wear AR-15 lapel pins.
They have sown the seeds of violence, revelled in it when it is used against someone they don't like, and now they too are victims of it. How short-sighted of them not to see this coming. Just like tffg supporters who don't realize that he will turn on them in an instant should he regain office.
Truly, the human species is the stupidest one on the planet.
When asked what he would do to stop mass shootings, Donald said, "Get used to it." This was one of our daily mass shootings. 20 year old kid who was bullied. Has an AR-15, a tool and ammo designed to kill humans. Sound familiar Donald? More than 300 Americans have been shot to death and 1,200 shot and wounded this year in mass shootings. Now Donald has the experience of being a victim in a mass shooting. "Get used to it."
He also said, at the mall rally before the insurrection, to let his followers keep their guns because "they're not here to shoot me" or something close to those words. When he thought everyone with a gun was his own cult follower who would not be aiming at him, he was just fine with it. The trouble with crazies is they're crazy and it's hard to aim such a weapon.
Will we never learn that gun ownership must be tightly controlled, regulated and monitored? That any potential owners must go through rigorous background checks and have to take detailed training sessions? That certain weapons - handguns, semiautomatics - should be banned outright? Will we never learn that the 2nd Amendment was essentially framed to encourage States to join the Union by allowing them to maintain their own militias, and not to encourage mayhem on our streets? Will we never learn that it is abhorrent that teachers and children have to live in fear of being massacred in their classrooms?
But I guess we won't. Not yet at any rate. Not when the unfortunate target of yesterday's assassination attempt is going to swagger onto the stage at the Republican Convention tomorrow like a conquering hero. Not when the occasion is going to be used as a means to rile up his MAGA base and give them tacit encouragement for further violence if their repugnant views do not prevail.
We are not going to learn while Hollywood continues to glamorize violence with a deluge of TV shows and films where the difference that separates the good guy from the bad guy is that the good guy gets to fire the last bullet.
Can we not be better than this?
I understand the gun was his fathers.
1963, 1965, 1968 and again in 1968...I was 13, 15, and then,18 years old, a turbulent teenage era. We do not want to have a political assassination happen again in our country. As badly as we want to avoid another term of Donald Trump in office, avoidance of it in such a violent manner is not the answer. He will, no doubt, bleed the attempt on his life to the max, touting it as his 'Martyring For America'. He simply uses everything he can to glean the attention he needs. His followers will, no doubt, bump up the donations of support, doing what they feel is the right thing to do for the man's aspirations. But, as another writer reminds us and encourages us to do, we who oppose Trump and what he stands for have to remain steady. Surely we owe our children that.
I don’t want to believe that Trump would kill innocents to get his way, but he could hardly have scripted this more to his advantage. (And he did say he could "shoot somebody" and get away with it)
Democrats make a HUGE mistake by failing to look at this contest in story terms. It’s not policy that will win the vote but NARRATIVE. And as of this morning, Trump is cast as the "Resilient Hero" and Biden is trending toward King Lear.
tffg would murder his own children for a buck.
Absolutely!
I wish I didn’t agree.
Agreed
Yikes! A fascist folk hero!