I’m not sure I can really report “from behind enemy lines” anymore. I will continue to give a more Left perspective on things (because many of my friends are Left), but personally I’ve made another step to the Right.
I want to talk about what I’m hearing from my friends online today, after the attempt to kill Trump. They seem to fall into two rather neat categories, quite honestly, with very little middle ground. My friends, the people I personally know, have met and hung out with face to face, and who I would invite over for dinner, are appalled that anyone would try to kill Trump. They are distraught, apologetic, sending thoughts and prayers (in a very not sarcastic way). They are honest. Some of them are feeling a bit raw right now, because they seem to firmly believe that someone from “their side” did this, and it’s making them look at themselves.
The ones who are merely acquaintances, the people who met me once at an author gig, or who know me from reenacting and friended me on FB because of it, those people who are highly unlikely to get dinner invitations, are making the most vile commentary. “Too bad he missed,” seems to be the general theme. I’ve also heard, “Oh, it was faked,” and “This was planned by Trump,” and “It’s payback from the Project 2025 people!” I didn’t bother to try and reason with the people who said these things; I deleted them as friends, removed their name and number from my phone. Those people are not people I will interact with, other than as required at work.
I’m rather horrified at the number of people making the horrid comments. I knew they’d come on public spaces like TikTok, but among those I’d admitted (however little) into my own personal space? I did not expect that. What I also didn’t expect was the civil, polite, and at least seemingly heartfelt words from Left leaders around the country. I’m confused over those few who seemed to think that someone sniping at Trump would equal the Right demanding gun laws be enacted. Oy.
I was 30 years old when 9/11 happened. I was naive, and uneducated about anything political. I’d been very upset that Bush overtook Gore in leading “the free world” and I thought we were in for a rough four years. Then I watched the second plane hit the Twin Towers, and my world changed. I watched Bush, the moment he found out, while sitting in front of those school children he’d been reading to, and I watched his face. I saw the weight of it bear down on him, saw him square his shoulders, and continue on only long enough to close up without freaking out the little ones. And then I watched him be Presidential for the next 8 years. Not perfect, no. Not every decision made was good. I still made fun a little of his ears, because they were kind of prominent. But I was proud of him, and of America.
Watching the video of Trump being shot was kind of like that moment that Bush was informed about the planes on 9/11. It was a defining moment for me. I watched Trump not only NOT run away, I watched him looking at other people to see if they were okay, I saw him fighting to stand up and fist pump, I saw his desire to go on with things despite what was going on around him. That was a truly historic moment. I believe, as many others do, that that single moment won him the election.
A long time ago, someone told me that heroes don’t run away from gunfire, they run toward it. I wish I could remember who it was, but that really doesn’t matter right now. Trump was willing to stand there and do whatever needed doing. He’s going to the funeral of the man who died behind him, which is the right thing for him to do. I watched him act with courage. He didn’t cower, and he didn’t run away. I know damn well that Biden (if he’d even registered there was gunfire going on around him) would have hit the deck and stayed there, and been bodily removed by Secret Service when the threat was taken down.
I’ve heard a lot of people (and oddly enough, a good number of them have identified as Republican for a very long time, and some are even people I’ve turned to for good quality conservative information) say that this was some kind of hoax. Not that nothing happened, but that it was planned. That someone sent the guy up to the roof to shoot Trump.
I’ve heard that it was Trump himself who staged it. I can tell you that is not correct. I don’t care how big your balls are; at no point do you tell someone to attempt a head shot (even “to miss”) when you don’t intend the target to die. That’s not a “hoax” thing. Those were real bullets, and we know this because three people were injured and one is dead. They were aimed at Trump’s head, and we know this because of who ended up getting shot, the image of the bullet whizzing past Trump’s head, and the graze of his ear. If someone was aiming somewhere else, the shots would not have been grouped at Trump’s head area; they would have been scattered around or in a line toward the part of the body they wanted to hit. So no, Trump did not arrange this shooting. It is not a publicity stunt. The damage that could have occurred even without a direct hit is terrifying (check out this TikTok video where it’s all explained in simple terms, but avoid the comments for the sake of your blood pressure).
Did the Left, in some organized way, plan this as an attack? No, I don’t think so. First, they would not have used someone so inexperienced. Second, they’d have gone for a different kind of shot; head shots are notoriously difficult.
I think that the kid who shot at Trump was twisted and influenced by the violent rhetoric that’s pumped 24/7 into the brains of these kids, through social media and the news. I suspect he worked alone, because if he’d had a handler, it would have turned out differently. I don’t think it was a “mass shooting gone wrong” because the kid got off some 8 shots before he was taken down by the gov’t sniper.
There’s so much that went wrong on Saturday. The Secret Service didn’t do their job as well as they should have. That area should have been thoroughly cleared many hours before the event, and police or Secret Service should have been up there, planted and watching. They should have had larger Secret Service agents being bodyguards, because no matter how you slice it, Trump is a large guy. Not only is he the owner of a wide waistband, he’s also fairly tall (either 5’11” or 6’3″ depending on who you ask). Putting little women my height (5’1″) to guard him was fine, but putting them in front was just tactically stupid. No matter how good a guard those three ladies were, none of them were tall enough or beefy enough to cover Trump when the shots rang out. They could have been employed in many other ways, but as body guards, they were nigh on useless.
It’s being widely reported that the man who shot Trump’s would-be assassin was fired. That appears to be true, and is being reported as true across the board. However, a short video that purportedly was made by the Secret Security sniper, has been debunked as false. AP (who isn’t perfect, but isn’t horrid either when it comes to this kind of fact checking) is reporting that Jonathan Willis is not a person employed by Secret Security, and was not the person who shot the would-be assassin, and is not the person who was fired.
I do not think that the Trump who was shot on Saturday is the same man who was in office four years ago. I think he has learned, and grown. He seems to have toned down the “mean tweets” a lot. He’s been more careful of his words. I had been noticing that before all this, and watching his response to the shooting really cemented it for me.
I still wish we’d had better choices for the election. I think someone younger would have been a much better idea. I think a younger President would be better for the country as a whole (for many reasons, but mainly because people who are over 75 really don’t have the same connection with today’s America that people under 65 have). But we don’t have a younger option. We have Trump, and we have Biden. The winner of that contest should be eminently clear now.
Comments
13 responses to “Assassination (Attempt)”
You are not left. You are liberal. There is a massive difference.
And, everything you said is absolutely correct. There is no way a “hoax” was planned by Trump that included in any way live fire. And, yes. there was either massive incompetence (and laziness) on the part of the USSS, or there was deliberate malice. It is amazing how much malicious stuff you can get away with if you disguise it as incompetence.
I did notice, watching Trump enter the RNC, all the Secret Service bodyguards were tall men. Coincidence? I doubt it.
Finally, I have no doubt that social media played a part in this attempt. The absolute hatred, most of which is based on nothing more than headlines, that people have for Trump is unprecedented in my experience. And, a most likely cause is social media echo chambers. Ask someone who abhors Trump why, and you will find out it is meaningless hype, and personality issues, not anything even remotely policy driven.
Not everyone who hates Trump is stuck in an echo chamber or does so without any understanding… but the vast majority sure do. I have made certain through the past several years to be certain that my dislike of people is *for reason* and never “just because.” I think that’s incredibly important. So is LIKING someone… having a feeling can be an indication, and it can mean that I *personally* don’t want to be physically close to a person (with no other caveats), but that’s not a good reason to trust or be wary of a whole party or platform. There must be reasons.
Agree totally.
My generalizations were just that. A broad brush, and I recognize it is improper to paint all with the same stain.
But, there are entirely too many people (on both sides) that never look at information from the other side. (that is what i mean by echo chamber). Or, they get their news from FB/X/IG, which means they read nothing past the headline.
I learned a long time ago to have a trust but verify when it comes to the news. 48 hours after the event, and suddenly it is a very different story. But, all too many people have moved on by that point.
And, yes, you are absolutely correct. It is possible to like or dislike someone just because. But, when that comes to politics, I think I want a better explanation.
The notion that this event would cause the right to push for gun control is an exercise in projection that’s been around for a long time. The previous version was the notion that blacks owning guns would produce such a reaction. Both notions say a lot about the bigotry of the person saying it, and nothing valid at all about the gun policy principles of the right.
As for the Secret Service, their performance was truly appalling and every time their boss opens her mouth a new set of obvious lies come out. Given that she works for Mayorkas I suppose we should not be surprised that doing a good job isn’t expected, but still.
The leftists in power mouthing platitudes about how horrible this event was are doing exactly that. Mouthing platitudes because that’s what’s expected. Behind closed doors you can be certain they are screaming
“How could he miss?”. They want Trump dead. They’ve been unable to bankrupt him or get him into prison, lord knows they have certainly tried hard to achieve that. Having failed to neutralize him they now WANT HIM DEAD. And you can bet the next attempt will be by a professional.
As for Bush….He should be tried and hung for treason. If for no other reason for signing that abomination called The Patriot Act.
People talk about how horrible violence is. They forget the reality that
Violence Is Golden. It is the ultimate and final arbiter of who wins and who loses. The communist left learned this lesson and embraced it a long time ago. If we don’t do the same we are doomed. Peaceful solutions only work when you are dealing with people who believe in peace. The left DOESN’T. That is the cold harsh reality of life.
right on! as ol’ Ronnie Raygun said- you want peace prepare for war.
We the People want peace. We the People will fight a war… the hate filled left will push until we are in a corner..
the “switch” will get thrown..
Dan,
Violence is definitely *an* answer. It’s not the one I want to see employed. I don’t think it’s going to, at a large level, thanks to this attempt on Trump’s life. Too many people have seen it as a wake up call. I’m not interested in calling for people to pick up their guns and start shooting people, but for sure I’ll be protecting myself and my family from anyone who does.
The Left may not believe in peace despite the words they’re saying, and they definitely don’t understand the dichotomy between their words and their actions, but that doesn’t mean that We the People must be violent. We can protest, stand our ground, make it clear we’re not moving out of the way, vote for things, etc. We don’t have to start a war, though.
Or as I put it to my kids when they were in school, we don’t start fights in this family but we damn sure end them. Don’t hit first but be prepared to make that second shot good enough that your opponent doesn’t get up.
Let’s examine the evidence, shall we?
1) The SS, like all subhuman gestapo filth in America, works for the demonrats.
2) The SS did everything in it’s power to ALLOW the assassin to take his shots.
3) The SS ORDERED the countersniper with the a bead on the assassin NOT to take him down.
4) The SS fired the guy after he decided to take the assassin down against orders before he could murder Trump.
It doesn’t take a certified super genius to do the fucking math here.
Allyson I’m glad to hear you’re clear eyed about this event, as pointed out above being a classic Liberal is far different than being a Leftist. Regardless of what the DC swamp critters try to tell us, the kid on the roof was a Leftist, as are those people with the disgusting comments you alluded to. Most are useful idiots being manipulated.
The ethos of the military and most police is to run towards the gunfire while others run away, the saying has been around for decades, lived by those with honor and duty in their hearts. Heroes are the ones who didn’t make it home after paying the ultimate price while doing their duty.
I just got an email from my sister w/ a nonsense pro-Biden meme. This is a woman w/ a PHD and is one of the most serious individuals you could ever meet (think Lilith from Cheers). But when it comes to politics, she’s completely social ‘left’ and always has been.
I didn’t respond to it. No reason to start a family fight over it. She lives in a state that will go D even if the GOP nominated Jesus himself so it doesn’t much matter.
I’ve also seen other mostly reasonable associates who lean left glom onto the ‘fake news’ thing like a drowning man to a life preserver. It’s their personal ‘QAnon’/Crisis Actor moment but they refuse to see it.
They also like to tout the whole ‘Republicans are hypocrites for calling for gun control now” bit. Can’t actually show any calling for it but they keep repeating it. Honesty has never been a gun control advocate’s strength.
Count me in the “staged” camp. Not a hoax, and not by Trump. But it had to have been a plot. There’s no way that pure incompetence makes everything break just perfect in every way randomally to allow this to happen. The asshole was actually spot on with his shot, except for two factors, a 5mph right wind which generated a 1″ left drift, and Trump turning his head at precisely the right moment.
Yeah….he may have been a lone wolf actor. Or not. We’ll never know. The FBI has already destroyed any evidence that doesn’t serve the lefts agenda. But there is no doubt that security was massively flawed, most certainly deliberately. I suspect that almost all of Trumps outdoor rally’s had deliberate flaws put in place HOPING some wacko would take a shot at him. And the left WILL try again. They simply can’t risk losing in November. For many of them a Dem loss would expose them to possible prison time. They will do literally ANYTHING to maintain their hold on power.
no matter who wins in november I believe we will never see a single democrat go to prison . republicans are out there bleating about “holding people accountable” and when “convictions” come you will see zip. like the baldwin fiasco a bunch on minions will go down and the real guilty will skate off into the sunset with their millions