The shooting of Donald Trump is a rapidly developing story. Trump may not have just turned his head when he was hit. The fog of an assassination attempt is setting in. I will update tomorrow if there are significant developments. In the meantime, I will not countenance joking around about the attempted killing of Trump or anyone else. I will block anyone who makes light of this terrible incident or advocates for anything similar.
A Federal Judge in Kansas has allowed Biden's ruling requiring background checks at gun shows to stand, A quote from the story: " Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach also said in a statement that he expects the rule ultimately to be struck down.
“This is a very early stage in a case that is likely to continue for a long time unless President Trump is elected and immediately rescinds the rule,” Kobach said.
(So the big question now after the attempted assassination is will Trump think twice about this even though the gun used belonged to the perpetrators father, presumably purchedIn at a gun store.
The full accurate story here may never come out. There are still questions about Lincoln’s assassination. *Rump may malign the FBI, but many in that organization are on his side. A full investigation will take at least months. Meanwhile he and his ilk will play this for all its worth, and then some. Then there will be controversies over the veracity of the final report if there is one. Remember the Warren Report? A marvelous piece of fiction.
Allegedly the JFK assassination plotting began as early as April, 1961, when President Kennedy refused to be stampeded into ordering air support for the Bay of Pigs invasion of Castro's Cuba.
The far right wing theory being that this refusal amounted to "still more" so-called proof that JFK was some kind of commie sympathizer betraying America.
Based on the examination of 250,000 pages of government documents, Newman's 1995 book Oswald and the CIA presents the narrative that the "CIA had a keen operational interest in Lee Harvey Oswald from the day he defected to the Soviet Union in 1959 until the day he was murdered in the basement of the Dallas Police Department."[7] Kirkus Reviews summarized it as: "Exhaustive, tedious, and diffuse, this study eschews sensationalism but threatens death by minutiae."[7] Calling it a "meticulously documented expose" and a "heavily annotated tome", Publishers Weekly said Oswald and the CIA "reads like an intricate spy thriller [and] serves as a corrective to Norman Mailer's Oswald's Tale."[8]
Though I'm pretty sure Mailer never said "Oswald's Tale" was proven fact, he did do a lot of research. Since Oswald was a very strange person and very dead, I think his life best drawn by a gifted novelist, such as Mailer. Mailer drew my suspicions to George de Mohrenschildt as possibly involved; his assistance and friendship to Oswald and his wife was almost inexplicable.
Personally, I think the CIA was then and for decades out of Presidential control.
Read the review of John Newman's book - Norman Mailer had no knowledge of the way Oswald's files were handled within the CIA, if he had understood even that part of the history, there's no way he would have invented the character "Lee Harvey Oswald" as such in his fantasy, Oswald's Tale.
Btw Norman Mailer was at least as strange as intel operative Lee Harvey Oswald, and they both share one characteristic: NEITHER of them ever shot at President John F. Kennedy, or Patrolman Jefferson Davis Tippit on November 22, 1963, nor at retired General Edwin Walker back in April of 1963.
I find it most ironic that TFG who has instigated and promoted so much violence and hate is the one who is now suffering the consequences...hoisted on his own petard. I do hope it was not an immigrant who pulled the trigger. But Drumpf will now use this as his rallying cry for his campaign, I am sure. That raised fist just made me sick!!!
One of his MAGA morons was quoted by the NYT as saying "Trump was just elected today. He's a martyr!" He wasn't and he's not, but yes, this will become the new theme of his unhinged ranting.
I am terrified that it will be used as reasoning by some crazy Trump supporter, even though apparently the shooter was a registered Republican, to now attack Biden and Harris. I still remember Pelosi's husband being attacked, but the attacker wanted to go after her. When I decided to move to Germany part time, my first reason was gun violence and getting my daughter out of it. My second reason was Donald Trump. If have said all along, if he wins my first reason will be Donald Trump and my second reason gun violence. I was never one to be the frog in the fish tank where the water is turned up. I did not acclimate to the violence I was exposed to living in Chicago.
The year my daughter had her high school exchange partner come from Vienna, we went over gang territory maps, to explain why we were going to pick them up from thrifting in a neighborhood that was between 2 such territories. I was so relieved when she got her turn to go on exchange because she was out of the US and could have a much less stressed childhood.
There is a reason that a Science magazine study reports that US youth are depressed. They said that it used to be youth was happiest time, then people get less happy as they are adults and working years, and then get happier again when they get older, so sort of a u curve of happiness. Now they say, Americans youth are depressed, and things kind of are down until one gets old when it shoots up dramatically. How tragic. I am sure the stress of the violence we live with in the US, which is ever present, contributes to the lack of freedom and happiness of our youth. My daughter certainly felt and feels the difference when she was living in Vienna, and now living in Germany.
I agree with Biden that it is terrible. Complaining about Project 2025 should not be a reason to blame this on Biden or the press. It is truly a terrifying document and the American people should be informed by it.
I lived in Canada in the 60s and early 70s as a teenager, young adult. I still remember the feeling of relief crossing the border back into Canada after visiting friends and family in the States.
Violent rhetoric mixed with the availability of firearms is dangerous to everyone.. It's statistically true that right wing violence is more common than left wing these days, but it was just a matter of time until violence against their side happened too. Irresponsible political expediency must be reined in. The right should not be surprised by this incident. They are mostly to blame
There are some odd things about this whole business. How did the shooter get onto a rooftop near the venue? Why wasn't the Secret Service on that roof? Also, some reports are saying that Trump was grazed with glass fragments, not a bullet. Why did the Secret Service allow him to stand up, shake his fist and yell? Something stinks. Reichstag fire?
Jul 14·edited Jul 14Liked by Lucian K. Truscott IV
I am very curious about the details, including what sort of firearm the shooter was using. Had it been a semiautomatic, there would have been carnage. Could a bullet graze Trump's cheek and do so little damage? P.S. Have learned from FBI reports via the media that it *was* an "AR-15 style" semiautomatic. Now I'm wondering why more people weren't killed or wounded. So many questions . . .
Now that bump stocks have been legalized by the Supreme Court it could have been fully automatic causing even more carnage — just because Clarence Thomas found a way to ignore the original intent of the lawmakers who wrote that law. That is how the Los Vegas shooter was able to kill so many people in such a short time.
The MAGAt response is going to quickly negate any possible bump the sympathy vote would have given him. We just have to keep on message. Project 2025, civil rights, democracy, perils of deregulation to our safety, climate change, etc.
I wouldn’t want to be within a mile of him, have you thought about how many people would want to kill him. How about someone that lost family members to Covid and considers him complicit in their deaths, or maybe someone from Ukraine who lost loved ones to the Russian brutality. That number could be in the thousands. The safest place for him from now on is in jail and we know how safe jails are. 🤷♂️ You reap what you sow, the devil must be watching out for him, he dodged his karma one more day, but eventually he’s going to run into it, and then there will be hell to pay 💥
This shooting was very very unfortunate. Not for Trump or the Republicans but for Biden and the Democrats. This will only harden and energize the deluded, worshipful cultists who form his “base.” And as I said while watching CNN tonight (agreeing with LKT), his liars and apologists will say the shooter was a Democrat (whether true or not) and that Democrats are responsible for this. Trump will be greeted at the convention as a war hero with standing ovations and shouts and whistles and tears of gratitude. Out of decency, Biden will be limited in his personal attacks on Trump, but The Dump will spew the same lies and hatred. This is a win for the GOP, a loss for the Democrats. And Trump’s stupefying run of luck continues. He’s lucky to be alive.
I believe Trump (despite his sophisticated campaign managers) will be unable to maintain discipline and will overplay this, blaming Biden, “the Left” et al. The fist-pumping was surely lapped up by his base, doubtful that independents, the undecideds and double-haters saw it that way.
Yes, Biden needs to pivot Asap to talk about gun violence, the threats to all ordinary Americans, especially kids. I think about election workers, judges, FBI agents getting death threats on a regular basis, threats that can’t be minimized because we are awash with guns.
The significance of this can't be overemphasized, I think we all need to refrain from political comments about it until we know more, and give it a couple of days to sort out. Already some politicians are incredibly blaming Biden and others further extolling Trump as a martyr. Let the shock wear off a bit.
I agree with Tom. We need to give this some time and get more reliable information. I must say I am not surprised, but I thought it would be someone coming after Biden/Harris or some other prominent Dem.
The fact that this was directed at Trump tells me there is some other social dynamic brewing under the surface we have not been talking about. 20-something male in rural PA? This is going to get weird.
Jul 14·edited Jul 14Liked by Lucian K. Truscott IV
Yes, as you say”Guns are a scourge” and yet they are everywhere here in America.I don’t go to movies much but when I do I always check out the exits” just in case”.I really don’t think we will ever get guns under control given how darn many of them are awash in this country.Maybe we could have gun-free zones where firearms are prohibited?I certainly don’t wish ill on anyone, including Mr Trump but his party has made it possible for machine guns to be legal.Pure insanity.
Jul 14·edited Jul 14Liked by Lucian K. Truscott IV
ONE COMMENT — NO! He did NOT “just turn his head” when the bullet grazed him. He had been looking to his right for at least several seconds — maybe as much as five or more seconds, based on the video I watched several times tonight — and he was talking to the crowd off in that direction, granted doing so somewhat animatedly, as usual, when he suddenly put his hand up to the side of his face and drew it away possibly with blood on it. A shooter with a good scope would have, for several seconds, had a generally straight on view of his face from the direction the bullet came, even if he was moving his head a bit as he talked … One can only guess as to the ability of the shooter to hit such a small target from hundreds of yards away.
I have no idea what that means in the context of who held the gun, or why people in the stands were hit by bullets and seriously injured or killed, while Trump was grazed in the ear. But he did NOT “just turn his head” and thus ruin a shot, based on watching the news footage.
And, I totally agree that we need to VOTE Mr. Trump out of our lives, not resort to some Wild West solution to our real and enduring problems …
"ONE COMMENT — NO! He did NOT “just turn his head” -Agree.
"A shooter with a good scope would have, for several seconds, had a generally straight on view of his face from the direction the bullet came, even if he was moving his head a bit as he talked … "
-(a) Respectfully, the shooter's optics, weapon, and ammo haven't been released. (b) Your statement doesn't factor in what the shooter saw whether w/optics or not nor is it known if it was recently calibrated (c) The number of shots fired by the shooter hasn't been released. (d) The shooter hasn't been identified. (e) The reported distance is circa 135m. (e) The location of the wounded in relationship to the shooter and Trump are UNKNOWN, nor are matched to each shot. Until the scene is reconstructed including the weather/wind and test firing the weapon w/the same ammo, there's NO way of knowing what the shooter saw thru optics or at the end of the barrel. Don't assume he had a clear field of vision to Trump, At this time one cannot rule out he didn't, so the shooter made one by targeting what was in the way.
Therefore, there are far too many unknowns to go beyond your first statement. The FBI and ATF will reconstruct the scene and some to all unknowns will become knowns.
When politics is the primary or only lens used to view events and people, it's bound to dismiss, divert, or dilute fuller thought. Same applies if the lens is religious.
Was tempted NOT to respond to the poster however the poster began with the statement "One Comment", and then proceeded to make many. Shoulda' heeded his own words.
I have this feeling that he got hit with something other than a round or shrapnel. It was the way he grabbed his face like he had been stung by a wasp. I think a stray round hit something that broke and hit him. Is that technically shrapnel? Whatever.
Jul 14·edited Jul 14Liked by Lucian K. Truscott IV
Doesn't matter if it was a bullet frag, glass shard, metal from a bleacher, or a round. Any of them could kill/maim a person. The still closeup shown on the teevee is inclusive due to the amount of blood.
PS Have a thing about the word shrapnel because it is a man's last name who developed ord that fragmented much deadlier and in a greater radius (air burst) than its predecessors. That family name is sullied by how it has been used since the late 1700s.
Shadow, I just learned the history of the name. Thank you for educating me today. I strive to learn something new every day, and you have helped me achieve that. It is a word that has been used for so long, and I never would have thought it was someone's last name.
Your approach is exemplary, Kathy J. one that serves you well and speaks well of self. In most incidences, learning something new, includes unlearning the old by replacing it w/the new.
Yes, there are a lot of unknowns. Is there anybody out there with sniper training who can add to the technical analysis? I need to check in with a couple of my vet buddies.
The first thing a LE or Mil sniper should say is sniping aint a suicide mission, followed by there isn't enough facts [knowns] to analyze. Snipers don't guess unless they want to guess what bullet has her/his name on it when others return fire cuz the sniper's guess missed.
From the looks of it the people who were hit were in the stands behind him and thus likely in the line of fire. This wasn’t a Las Vegas shooting involving hundreds of shots, had it been all of the chumps in the stands behind him would have been hit.
Jul 14·edited Jul 14Liked by Lucian K. Truscott IV
Only saw the replay once. My eyes saw people in the stands behind Trump react and turn to their right BEFORE Trump was struck. Sound travels much slower than a round. The time they turned it's more likely than not 2 if not more were sent. Ain't going to spend any time on it because it ain't worth my time and more importantly it is being investigated using resources and tools specific to the tasks at hand. Can wait for the answers.
I am surprised that the gun control advocates, especially the parents who lost kids at Sandy Hook, don’t run ads telling people that guns are now the number one killer of kids. I see their ads all the time on YouTube but they should start with that fact before people can skip the ad. Most people I know are shocked when I tell them about this and some are skeptical because they assume the media would be all over it instead of just accepting gun violence as the way things are now.
The assassin had made his own gun which can happen anywhere. Gun can drastically reduce gun crimes, but can’t totally eliminate them. The assassin has now become a hero for many in Japan because he forced a discussion of Abe’s party’s long ties to the Moonies. Now Japan has even called for the banning of the Unification Church.
The assassin was distraught because the Moonies had destroyed his family by getting his vulnerable mother to donate all of their money.
The Unification Church has been very powerful in Japan and allowed to operate unchecked because of its close ties and strong support of Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party. The LDP is conservative, not liberal in the sense Americans use that word. In some countries the term “liberal” actually is meant in the sense of “libertarian”. For example Australian Liberal Party is also conservative/ center-right. It gets very confusing. Thank God for Wikipedia!
This article gives a good overview of this bizarre story.I think you can read one or two Atlantic articles for free.
This is off topic but I think people should know that the Moonies had extremely close ties with Republicans back in the 90s. They were big donors and had considerable clout because they owned the rightwing Washington Times and UPI — still own those news outlets. That relationship blew up in Republicans’ faces when they held a ceremony for Reverend Moon in the Senate Dirkson building where Moon was crowned and proclaimed himself to be the Messiah. (There were a few Democrats that had received $$ from Moon also in attendance.) Republicans could have gotten away with it if the investigative journalist John Gorenfeld had not written about it. The rest of the media turned a blind eye to the influence Moonies had on Republicans even though Moon had been praised by top Republicans such as George HW Bush and John Ashcroft. That all stopped after the crowning ceremony was made public. Now the government keeps close tabs on donations from the Unification Church.
I doubt it, too, Patris. Lots of money and power at stake for those promoting guns. Plus ego, ideology, paranoia, hate and fear, and more than ever these days, political cynicism, revenge, and retribution.
I'm actually shocked to hear people are trying to claim Biden ordered it..I thought about the fact that if it had been done to Biden, they would be calling it a false flag, staged for sympathy. Of course, Democrats won't say that.
Jul 14·edited Jul 14Liked by Lucian K. Truscott IV
I fear that I found quite a few comments on Facebook saying maybe it was a false flag. I have good news, though. It looks like the gunman was a registered Republican right wing nut wearing a T-shirt from a far right gun group called Domimion Ranch. On Facebook, I have asked who could name a woke liberal who would fire an AR 15 into a crowd. Hearing none, I concluded that it didn't happen. It was the gun nut. The following I'm not sure about but I've read that Trump was actually hit by glass shattering from his teleprompter. I cannot tell you that this is definitely correct but it could be. I will be working on possible jokes if it turns out he was showing his courage by fighting his way through a shattered teleprompter. MAKE.THAT.DEMOLITION RANCH-- can't scroll up to edit
No one should be surprised. Watch this clip describing how just this past May Trump accused Biden of trying to assassinate with the Maralago search for the classified documents Trump had refused to return.
I’m not shocked since Trump has already accused Biden of trying to assassinate him by authorizing the use of deadly force by the FBI in that Maralago raid. He twisted the standard wording of the document authorizing it so he could make than insane lie. He knows it wasn’t true but anything to rile up his base….
Very scary! I wonder what will happen next! I just hope there is excellent security for Biden, and of course Trump!
Guns have no place in our society. Gun Control not controlling girls as Biden stated! I wonder when we will find out who did this? It's a good thing Trump turned his head or you know what would have happened, it would have been much more serious!
Peace and Love to this world! Enough! Enough! Enough!
They have the same kind of Secret Service security for Biden. It’s shocking that the snipers at the Trump rally didn’t notice a shooter on the roof but were able to see and kill him immediately after he shot. This is a huge fail on their part.
I have come to the conclusion that the only solution to gun violence is for people to demand the repeal of the Second Amendment. Even then, it will take a hundred years to get the assault rifles and other weapons off of our streets.
Better yet keep the amendment as but follow it to the letter. Muskets and flintlock pistols only. Republicans like to follow their special excerpts from the Bible and the laws when it benefits as does the Supreme Court. When it was written in 1791 it referred to muskets. So everyone can have a musket or a flintlock pistol but not any other kind of weapon.
Awful. Wish school shootings had gained the attention of citizens regarding the danger of fire arms and the expansion of the 2nd Amendment. My heart goes out to families of victims. Finally, we do not need any more martyrs.
Republicans only seem to understand problems if they are personally affected by them. In the 90s I had a Congressional Rep who opposed government health care programs. Then she got breast cancer so she started a program to help women get treatment for that — but only that — problem. A few years later a close relative was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and suddenly she started supporting funding for mental health. They lack empathy for people who are not like them because they see them as losers who are responsible for their problems.
Oh please. Uvalde, Newton--they were much worse. Dead children. Itʼs incredible that those can happen here. Dead adults, especially political adults, not so much.
The shooting of Donald Trump is a rapidly developing story. Trump may not have just turned his head when he was hit. The fog of an assassination attempt is setting in. I will update tomorrow if there are significant developments. In the meantime, I will not countenance joking around about the attempted killing of Trump or anyone else. I will block anyone who makes light of this terrible incident or advocates for anything similar.
Thanks, Lucian. We will await on your further comments.
With you
A Federal Judge in Kansas has allowed Biden's ruling requiring background checks at gun shows to stand, A quote from the story: " Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach also said in a statement that he expects the rule ultimately to be struck down.
“This is a very early stage in a case that is likely to continue for a long time unless President Trump is elected and immediately rescinds the rule,” Kobach said.
(So the big question now after the attempted assassination is will Trump think twice about this even though the gun used belonged to the perpetrators father, presumably purchedIn at a gun store.
For more on the shooter's background see https://www.yahoo.com/news/heres-know-thomas-matthew-crooks-084127479.html
The full accurate story here may never come out. There are still questions about Lincoln’s assassination. *Rump may malign the FBI, but many in that organization are on his side. A full investigation will take at least months. Meanwhile he and his ilk will play this for all its worth, and then some. Then there will be controversies over the veracity of the final report if there is one. Remember the Warren Report? A marvelous piece of fiction.
Typo: Kennedy was shot in 1963, not 1961.
Allegedly the JFK assassination plotting began as early as April, 1961, when President Kennedy refused to be stampeded into ordering air support for the Bay of Pigs invasion of Castro's Cuba.
The far right wing theory being that this refusal amounted to "still more" so-called proof that JFK was some kind of commie sympathizer betraying America.
https://www.kennedysandking.com/john-f-kennedy-reviews/into-the-storm-by-john-newman
Review of a book on the general topic by a former US military intelligence officer and professor of history.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_M._Newman
Oswald and the CIA
Based on the examination of 250,000 pages of government documents, Newman's 1995 book Oswald and the CIA presents the narrative that the "CIA had a keen operational interest in Lee Harvey Oswald from the day he defected to the Soviet Union in 1959 until the day he was murdered in the basement of the Dallas Police Department."[7] Kirkus Reviews summarized it as: "Exhaustive, tedious, and diffuse, this study eschews sensationalism but threatens death by minutiae."[7] Calling it a "meticulously documented expose" and a "heavily annotated tome", Publishers Weekly said Oswald and the CIA "reads like an intricate spy thriller [and] serves as a corrective to Norman Mailer's Oswald's Tale."[8]
Though I'm pretty sure Mailer never said "Oswald's Tale" was proven fact, he did do a lot of research. Since Oswald was a very strange person and very dead, I think his life best drawn by a gifted novelist, such as Mailer. Mailer drew my suspicions to George de Mohrenschildt as possibly involved; his assistance and friendship to Oswald and his wife was almost inexplicable.
Personally, I think the CIA was then and for decades out of Presidential control.
Read the review of John Newman's book - Norman Mailer had no knowledge of the way Oswald's files were handled within the CIA, if he had understood even that part of the history, there's no way he would have invented the character "Lee Harvey Oswald" as such in his fantasy, Oswald's Tale.
Btw Norman Mailer was at least as strange as intel operative Lee Harvey Oswald, and they both share one characteristic: NEITHER of them ever shot at President John F. Kennedy, or Patrolman Jefferson Davis Tippit on November 22, 1963, nor at retired General Edwin Walker back in April of 1963.
"The evidence is the conspiracy."
I find it most ironic that TFG who has instigated and promoted so much violence and hate is the one who is now suffering the consequences...hoisted on his own petard. I do hope it was not an immigrant who pulled the trigger. But Drumpf will now use this as his rallying cry for his campaign, I am sure. That raised fist just made me sick!!!
The evil orange menace is not suffering! He will play this incident to the hilt; his martyrdom will escalate dramatically.....
My fear as well
Yup. Absolutely.
One of his MAGA morons was quoted by the NYT as saying "Trump was just elected today. He's a martyr!" He wasn't and he's not, but yes, this will become the new theme of his unhinged ranting.
Disgusting and disturbing, isn't it???
My fear as well
I am terrified that it will be used as reasoning by some crazy Trump supporter, even though apparently the shooter was a registered Republican, to now attack Biden and Harris. I still remember Pelosi's husband being attacked, but the attacker wanted to go after her. When I decided to move to Germany part time, my first reason was gun violence and getting my daughter out of it. My second reason was Donald Trump. If have said all along, if he wins my first reason will be Donald Trump and my second reason gun violence. I was never one to be the frog in the fish tank where the water is turned up. I did not acclimate to the violence I was exposed to living in Chicago.
The year my daughter had her high school exchange partner come from Vienna, we went over gang territory maps, to explain why we were going to pick them up from thrifting in a neighborhood that was between 2 such territories. I was so relieved when she got her turn to go on exchange because she was out of the US and could have a much less stressed childhood.
There is a reason that a Science magazine study reports that US youth are depressed. They said that it used to be youth was happiest time, then people get less happy as they are adults and working years, and then get happier again when they get older, so sort of a u curve of happiness. Now they say, Americans youth are depressed, and things kind of are down until one gets old when it shoots up dramatically. How tragic. I am sure the stress of the violence we live with in the US, which is ever present, contributes to the lack of freedom and happiness of our youth. My daughter certainly felt and feels the difference when she was living in Vienna, and now living in Germany.
I agree with Biden that it is terrible. Complaining about Project 2025 should not be a reason to blame this on Biden or the press. It is truly a terrifying document and the American people should be informed by it.
I lived in Canada in the 60s and early 70s as a teenager, young adult. I still remember the feeling of relief crossing the border back into Canada after visiting friends and family in the States.
I feel this safety from guns here in Germany too.
J.D. Vance is already blaming Biden and the Democrats!
Vance gives hillbillies a bad name.
That is disgusting...the take the lowest road possible always. Joe B. takes the high road.
What is so brave in fist pumping? He didn't even finish his speech. Teddy Roosevelt would have finished his---and that is a fact!
RIGHTO!! Just a bee sting!!
Violent rhetoric mixed with the availability of firearms is dangerous to everyone.. It's statistically true that right wing violence is more common than left wing these days, but it was just a matter of time until violence against their side happened too. Irresponsible political expediency must be reined in. The right should not be surprised by this incident. They are mostly to blame
Mike Collin’s , Maga is accusing Joe Biden of arranging this shooting.
Does this Maga garbage ever stop?
Also wacked out Ronnie Jackson is blaming the Democrats for ordering the shooting .
These people disgust me .
Figures that their response to violence is to try and incite even more violence
That didn’t take long. I believe it was a set up.
There are some odd things about this whole business. How did the shooter get onto a rooftop near the venue? Why wasn't the Secret Service on that roof? Also, some reports are saying that Trump was grazed with glass fragments, not a bullet. Why did the Secret Service allow him to stand up, shake his fist and yell? Something stinks. Reichstag fire?
I am very curious about the details, including what sort of firearm the shooter was using. Had it been a semiautomatic, there would have been carnage. Could a bullet graze Trump's cheek and do so little damage? P.S. Have learned from FBI reports via the media that it *was* an "AR-15 style" semiautomatic. Now I'm wondering why more people weren't killed or wounded. So many questions . . .
Now that bump stocks have been legalized by the Supreme Court it could have been fully automatic causing even more carnage — just because Clarence Thomas found a way to ignore the original intent of the lawmakers who wrote that law. That is how the Los Vegas shooter was able to kill so many people in such a short time.
Exactly!!
I agree - my first instinct!!
This is right out of the fascist playbook for taking over. Hitler had his Reichstag fire. This assassination attempt may serve the same purpose.
The second coming of Hitler.
The MAGAt response is going to quickly negate any possible bump the sympathy vote would have given him. We just have to keep on message. Project 2025, civil rights, democracy, perils of deregulation to our safety, climate change, etc.
Anyone think Trump will have an epiphany about gun violence after that? I didn't think so.
He will just say to the victim’s family, “Get over it”.
Yes - they volunteered to be there...
I wouldn’t want to be within a mile of him, have you thought about how many people would want to kill him. How about someone that lost family members to Covid and considers him complicit in their deaths, or maybe someone from Ukraine who lost loved ones to the Russian brutality. That number could be in the thousands. The safest place for him from now on is in jail and we know how safe jails are. 🤷♂️ You reap what you sow, the devil must be watching out for him, he dodged his karma one more day, but eventually he’s going to run into it, and then there will be hell to pay 💥
I am grateful that "our side," such as it is, has more forbearance than the "Second Amendment people" and their friends.
Exactly
If you recall, when covid was killing thousands of Americans, his comment was "..it is what it is."
So you're right...he will say "get over it', except not for himself. The whining will begin shortly, if not already.
This shooting was very very unfortunate. Not for Trump or the Republicans but for Biden and the Democrats. This will only harden and energize the deluded, worshipful cultists who form his “base.” And as I said while watching CNN tonight (agreeing with LKT), his liars and apologists will say the shooter was a Democrat (whether true or not) and that Democrats are responsible for this. Trump will be greeted at the convention as a war hero with standing ovations and shouts and whistles and tears of gratitude. Out of decency, Biden will be limited in his personal attacks on Trump, but The Dump will spew the same lies and hatred. This is a win for the GOP, a loss for the Democrats. And Trump’s stupefying run of luck continues. He’s lucky to be alive.
They were going to vote for him anyway. Undecided voters will be horrified at the way the Trump mob and Trump himself handles this.
I believe Trump (despite his sophisticated campaign managers) will be unable to maintain discipline and will overplay this, blaming Biden, “the Left” et al. The fist-pumping was surely lapped up by his base, doubtful that independents, the undecideds and double-haters saw it that way.
Yes, Biden needs to pivot Asap to talk about gun violence, the threats to all ordinary Americans, especially kids. I think about election workers, judges, FBI agents getting death threats on a regular basis, threats that can’t be minimized because we are awash with guns.
Yes, and yes!
The significance of this can't be overemphasized, I think we all need to refrain from political comments about it until we know more, and give it a couple of days to sort out. Already some politicians are incredibly blaming Biden and others further extolling Trump as a martyr. Let the shock wear off a bit.
I agree with Tom. We need to give this some time and get more reliable information. I must say I am not surprised, but I thought it would be someone coming after Biden/Harris or some other prominent Dem.
The fact that this was directed at Trump tells me there is some other social dynamic brewing under the surface we have not been talking about. 20-something male in rural PA? This is going to get weird.
20-something *registered Republican* male in rural PA. Weird and weirder.
I agree. The Republicans are already making fools of themselves over this. Let them. Keep track of what they say. It will come back to haunt them.
Yes, as you say”Guns are a scourge” and yet they are everywhere here in America.I don’t go to movies much but when I do I always check out the exits” just in case”.I really don’t think we will ever get guns under control given how darn many of them are awash in this country.Maybe we could have gun-free zones where firearms are prohibited?I certainly don’t wish ill on anyone, including Mr Trump but his party has made it possible for machine guns to be legal.Pure insanity.
Try to edit here but is unavailable.
A lot of times you have to wait a while especially if you want to edit on the same device you posted with. That’s been my experience anyhow.
Thank-you.
ONE COMMENT — NO! He did NOT “just turn his head” when the bullet grazed him. He had been looking to his right for at least several seconds — maybe as much as five or more seconds, based on the video I watched several times tonight — and he was talking to the crowd off in that direction, granted doing so somewhat animatedly, as usual, when he suddenly put his hand up to the side of his face and drew it away possibly with blood on it. A shooter with a good scope would have, for several seconds, had a generally straight on view of his face from the direction the bullet came, even if he was moving his head a bit as he talked … One can only guess as to the ability of the shooter to hit such a small target from hundreds of yards away.
I have no idea what that means in the context of who held the gun, or why people in the stands were hit by bullets and seriously injured or killed, while Trump was grazed in the ear. But he did NOT “just turn his head” and thus ruin a shot, based on watching the news footage.
And, I totally agree that we need to VOTE Mr. Trump out of our lives, not resort to some Wild West solution to our real and enduring problems …
"ONE COMMENT — NO! He did NOT “just turn his head” -Agree.
"A shooter with a good scope would have, for several seconds, had a generally straight on view of his face from the direction the bullet came, even if he was moving his head a bit as he talked … "
-(a) Respectfully, the shooter's optics, weapon, and ammo haven't been released. (b) Your statement doesn't factor in what the shooter saw whether w/optics or not nor is it known if it was recently calibrated (c) The number of shots fired by the shooter hasn't been released. (d) The shooter hasn't been identified. (e) The reported distance is circa 135m. (e) The location of the wounded in relationship to the shooter and Trump are UNKNOWN, nor are matched to each shot. Until the scene is reconstructed including the weather/wind and test firing the weapon w/the same ammo, there's NO way of knowing what the shooter saw thru optics or at the end of the barrel. Don't assume he had a clear field of vision to Trump, At this time one cannot rule out he didn't, so the shooter made one by targeting what was in the way.
Therefore, there are far too many unknowns to go beyond your first statement. The FBI and ATF will reconstruct the scene and some to all unknowns will become knowns.
Common sense. What a rare commodity hereabouts lately, Shadow.
Sad and true.
When politics is the primary or only lens used to view events and people, it's bound to dismiss, divert, or dilute fuller thought. Same applies if the lens is religious.
Was tempted NOT to respond to the poster however the poster began with the statement "One Comment", and then proceeded to make many. Shoulda' heeded his own words.
Have a wonderful late night and Sunday
I have this feeling that he got hit with something other than a round or shrapnel. It was the way he grabbed his face like he had been stung by a wasp. I think a stray round hit something that broke and hit him. Is that technically shrapnel? Whatever.
Doesn't matter if it was a bullet frag, glass shard, metal from a bleacher, or a round. Any of them could kill/maim a person. The still closeup shown on the teevee is inclusive due to the amount of blood.
PS Have a thing about the word shrapnel because it is a man's last name who developed ord that fragmented much deadlier and in a greater radius (air burst) than its predecessors. That family name is sullied by how it has been used since the late 1700s.
Shadow, I just learned the history of the name. Thank you for educating me today. I strive to learn something new every day, and you have helped me achieve that. It is a word that has been used for so long, and I never would have thought it was someone's last name.
Your approach is exemplary, Kathy J. one that serves you well and speaks well of self. In most incidences, learning something new, includes unlearning the old by replacing it w/the new.
Yes, there are a lot of unknowns. Is there anybody out there with sniper training who can add to the technical analysis? I need to check in with a couple of my vet buddies.
The first thing a LE or Mil sniper should say is sniping aint a suicide mission, followed by there isn't enough facts [knowns] to analyze. Snipers don't guess unless they want to guess what bullet has her/his name on it when others return fire cuz the sniper's guess missed.
Joohn Choe did an analysis I saw on facebook
From the looks of it the people who were hit were in the stands behind him and thus likely in the line of fire. This wasn’t a Las Vegas shooting involving hundreds of shots, had it been all of the chumps in the stands behind him would have been hit.
Only saw the replay once. My eyes saw people in the stands behind Trump react and turn to their right BEFORE Trump was struck. Sound travels much slower than a round. The time they turned it's more likely than not 2 if not more were sent. Ain't going to spend any time on it because it ain't worth my time and more importantly it is being investigated using resources and tools specific to the tasks at hand. Can wait for the answers.
I wondered about that, why there were not more casualties.
One rally goer, a young man, was interviewed and said, "Now more than ever we gotta vote for Trump!"
Sick
He can only vote once....I hope.
I don’t know. My father, a lifelong Republican, always said, “vote early, vote often!” It was a Republican mantra, according to him.
I remember all of them - and where I was. Is this an American thing alone? Will it cram some sense into people? I doubt it.
Shinzo Abe, the former Japanese prime minister was assassinated, so no, not just an American thing.
You’re right of course - it’s just damn more rampant here.
Yes, but these people like guns and think itʼs okay for them to be carried, concealed or not. If it wasnʼt okay, maybe it wouldnʼt have happened.
And fewer children would be dead..
This! Gun violence is a top killer of children! And the orange one is shocked, shocked, that such a thing could happen. Jesus wept.
I am surprised that the gun control advocates, especially the parents who lost kids at Sandy Hook, don’t run ads telling people that guns are now the number one killer of kids. I see their ads all the time on YouTube but they should start with that fact before people can skip the ad. Most people I know are shocked when I tell them about this and some are skeptical because they assume the media would be all over it instead of just accepting gun violence as the way things are now.
Now all of a sudden, guns are a bad thing? Hmmm - who was it that wanted 'the mags turned off...they're not here to hurt me!' ?
I do recall that as a matter of fact.
🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆
Something doesn't smell right here. The fact that Flynn and Prince are on Team Trump should give everyone pause.(Active measures?)
The assassin had made his own gun which can happen anywhere. Gun can drastically reduce gun crimes, but can’t totally eliminate them. The assassin has now become a hero for many in Japan because he forced a discussion of Abe’s party’s long ties to the Moonies. Now Japan has even called for the banning of the Unification Church.
The assassin was distraught because the Moonies had destroyed his family by getting his vulnerable mother to donate all of their money.
The Unification Church has been very powerful in Japan and allowed to operate unchecked because of its close ties and strong support of Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party. The LDP is conservative, not liberal in the sense Americans use that word. In some countries the term “liberal” actually is meant in the sense of “libertarian”. For example Australian Liberal Party is also conservative/ center-right. It gets very confusing. Thank God for Wikipedia!
This article gives a good overview of this bizarre story.I think you can read one or two Atlantic articles for free.
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2023/10/shinzo-abe-assassination-japan-unification-church-moonies/675114/
This is off topic but I think people should know that the Moonies had extremely close ties with Republicans back in the 90s. They were big donors and had considerable clout because they owned the rightwing Washington Times and UPI — still own those news outlets. That relationship blew up in Republicans’ faces when they held a ceremony for Reverend Moon in the Senate Dirkson building where Moon was crowned and proclaimed himself to be the Messiah. (There were a few Democrats that had received $$ from Moon also in attendance.) Republicans could have gotten away with it if the investigative journalist John Gorenfeld had not written about it. The rest of the media turned a blind eye to the influence Moonies had on Republicans even though Moon had been praised by top Republicans such as George HW Bush and John Ashcroft. That all stopped after the crowning ceremony was made public. Now the government keeps close tabs on donations from the Unification Church.
Let the eagle fly... Oops I meant let the MONEY fly.....
WOW WOW WOW this is amazing
I find it extremely odd that most of the US media has ignored this shocking story. You know it would have gotten a lot of clicks so why bury it?
I doubt it, too, Patris. Lots of money and power at stake for those promoting guns. Plus ego, ideology, paranoia, hate and fear, and more than ever these days, political cynicism, revenge, and retribution.
I'm actually shocked to hear people are trying to claim Biden ordered it..I thought about the fact that if it had been done to Biden, they would be calling it a false flag, staged for sympathy. Of course, Democrats won't say that.
Some might think it …
I fear that I found quite a few comments on Facebook saying maybe it was a false flag. I have good news, though. It looks like the gunman was a registered Republican right wing nut wearing a T-shirt from a far right gun group called Domimion Ranch. On Facebook, I have asked who could name a woke liberal who would fire an AR 15 into a crowd. Hearing none, I concluded that it didn't happen. It was the gun nut. The following I'm not sure about but I've read that Trump was actually hit by glass shattering from his teleprompter. I cannot tell you that this is definitely correct but it could be. I will be working on possible jokes if it turns out he was showing his courage by fighting his way through a shattered teleprompter. MAKE.THAT.DEMOLITION RANCH-- can't scroll up to edit
I have not seen any verification of the business about glass being the cause of the bleeding so it probably has to be abandoned as a theory.
No one should be surprised. Watch this clip describing how just this past May Trump accused Biden of trying to assassinate with the Maralago search for the classified documents Trump had refused to return.
https://youtu.be/ENIqsUQX2sU?si=8Vgob6SLDgRIgWtb
I’m not shocked since Trump has already accused Biden of trying to assassinate him by authorizing the use of deadly force by the FBI in that Maralago raid. He twisted the standard wording of the document authorizing it so he could make than insane lie. He knows it wasn’t true but anything to rile up his base….
Let them keep doing it. That road leads to a second term for Biden.
Very scary! I wonder what will happen next! I just hope there is excellent security for Biden, and of course Trump!
Guns have no place in our society. Gun Control not controlling girls as Biden stated! I wonder when we will find out who did this? It's a good thing Trump turned his head or you know what would have happened, it would have been much more serious!
Peace and Love to this world! Enough! Enough! Enough!
They have the same kind of Secret Service security for Biden. It’s shocking that the snipers at the Trump rally didn’t notice a shooter on the roof but were able to see and kill him immediately after he shot. This is a huge fail on their part.
I have come to the conclusion that the only solution to gun violence is for people to demand the repeal of the Second Amendment. Even then, it will take a hundred years to get the assault rifles and other weapons off of our streets.
Better yet keep the amendment as but follow it to the letter. Muskets and flintlock pistols only. Republicans like to follow their special excerpts from the Bible and the laws when it benefits as does the Supreme Court. When it was written in 1791 it referred to muskets. So everyone can have a musket or a flintlock pistol but not any other kind of weapon.
Awful. Wish school shootings had gained the attention of citizens regarding the danger of fire arms and the expansion of the 2nd Amendment. My heart goes out to families of victims. Finally, we do not need any more martyrs.
Really. Come on. He LOVES his gun fanatics.
Shortly after the incident, Trump posted on Truth Social, “It is incredible that such an act can take place in our Country.”
Why is he surprised? He has been encouraging violence for 8 years.
The only reason he finds it incredible is because it happened to him. He is used to thinking himself untouchable.
Republicans only seem to understand problems if they are personally affected by them. In the 90s I had a Congressional Rep who opposed government health care programs. Then she got breast cancer so she started a program to help women get treatment for that — but only that — problem. A few years later a close relative was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and suddenly she started supporting funding for mental health. They lack empathy for people who are not like them because they see them as losers who are responsible for their problems.
Oh please. Uvalde, Newton--they were much worse. Dead children. Itʼs incredible that those can happen here. Dead adults, especially political adults, not so much.
Apparently this area in open-carry. Sigh…😣
He advocates violence. He may even rally his Proud Boys, etc to start taking revenge on whomever he thinks is responsible. You reap what you sow.