At 8:03, as the woman is being wheeled out on a stretcher, Trump: "That was really something. I want to just thank everybody for the way you behaved. That was beautiful and, at the end, was beautiful — 'Amazing Grace.' Thank you very much. That was beautiful."
Look, from 5:35, is this guy giving the Hitler salute?
No, go to 5:35 and see for yourself. The hand moves up and down. It's a "keep quiet" gesture after there's a bit of yelling in the crowd that has been almost entirely silent. What Trump was calling beautiful was not just the singing at the end — which happened only as they could see the woman was securely in the hands of medical professionals — but the quiet and calm throughout the whole period.
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The spontaneous rendition of "Amazing Grace" should distress Democrats and enemies of America everywhere. That's the heartland of America right there.
That's just what Hitler would have done!
A kind act by good people.
Gosh that's nice.
"A kind act by good people."
Including the President.
If Trump had lept off the podium to give CPR, the MSM headline would have read:
"Trump attacks woman lying unconscious, claims he was "helping" but with no evidence to support that statement."
-XC
PS - yes, I know, a weak update to an old political joke...
I saw the movie “Amazing Grace.” 2006. Pretty good. It was about William Wilberforce and his long and successful effort to abolish the slave trade.
I'm voting for Trump!!
and they probably left the place clean, too.
Leftists and antifa are slobs. They want to take your money to pay for their free basement pot, and they leave a mess.
I guess Trump really did want to save that wretch like me.
I was at a medical event once with an audience full of doctors and a guy in the front row collapsed. The speaker looked down briefly, said "They've got it handled," and just kept right on talking through the CPR, the EMS arrival and the carting away. Trump's handling of the situation was much more graceful.
I'm always cynical about "random, spontaneous gestures."
I saw the movie “Amazing Grace.” 2006. Pretty good. It was about William Wilberforce and his long and successful effort to abolish the slave trade.
What they should do is make a movie about John Newton, the former slave-trader who wrote "Amazing Grace."
(I'm not saying the fainting/medical event was staged, but the Amazing Grace? Suspicion level: High.)
You can really see why the left hates and fears these people so much. This exactly the sort of American moment that makes their skin crawl. God help us.
Anne - I've tried to search and find your post from a few elections ago where you make an argument about NOT voting. I can't seem to locate it. On this election day, any chance to rerun it, or reference it?
There is a point where a lot of hands went up in what looks like a Nazi salute, but it was the moment when the crowd was urged to pray for the woman. That gesture is commonly used while praying for someone in your midst who is not within touching reach. We do it all the time in the Catholic Church when extending a blessing to someone in the congregation.
This guy is a winner. He is a quick thinker and the way he handled this unforeseen situation shows that he can handle any tough situation as president.
Ann the atheist has to say it wasn't just a Christian hymn but how the people behaved. She is right but you bet that spontaneous outpouring scared her. BTW Ann remember that good behavior was probably by Christians. Sorry Ann and fellow atheist Nietzsche - "God isn't dead" .
I'm always cynical about "random, spontaneous gestures."
Trump is a spontaneous, impulsive guy, and when his heart's in the right place, it's a beautiful thing. When an amazing moment comes together like that, I always think, holy spirit.
(I'm not saying the fainting/medical event was staged, but the Amazing Grace? Suspicion level: High.)
I was in a bar one time, and the whole bar started singing American Pie in unison. It wasn't on the radio. You had a table singing it and then the whole damn bar was singing. When you know the words, people join in.
Matthew Sablan,
I expressed the same skepticism.
My problem:
Nobody will ever know unless you live locally. No follow-up journalism is forthcoming. If we could trust the press we might be less cynical.
I just watched that video before I came to Althouse. Then, I watched the Rush video on the side bar.
According to Youtube, it only has 118,000 views. Another video in the side bar is a CNN video "Trump's awkward moment with Ivanka". That's their big takeaway from the rally last night. 510K views.
I'm an atheist. I know the words to "Amazing Grace". If I had been there, I would have sung along. Not because I believe the words would be heard by a supernatural being, but because they'd be heard by the woman in medical distress. To let her know that everyone there was wishing her well. That at that moment, the most important thing was to get her to help safely.
Besides the religious connotations of Amazing Grace, I think of the movie Maverick.
If you watch that guy - (he is easy to spot near the guy with the green hat) you see that his arm is going up and down as if to quiet the crowd.
The hands going up we’re not Nazi salutes. When evangelicals pray over someone or give them a blessing they hold their hand out over the person or put their hand on the person. That’s what they were doing. This is America, not Nazi Germany. And it’s amazing how many people live in a country with tens of millions of evangelical Christians and don’t have the faintest idea of how they conduct themselves.
I was at a medical event once with an audience full of doctors and a guy in the front row collapsed. The speaker looked down briefly, said "They've got it handled," and just kept right on talking through the CPR, the EMS arrival and the carting away. Trump's handling of the situation was much more graceful.
When I was young boy, I was in church and the man behind me had a heart attack. The people around him helped him, and called an ambulance. But the way I remember it, the priests barely stopped the service. They didn't come all the way down and make sure he was all right. They were in a hurry, they had a schedule, they had a sermon to preach, they had a message to convey. And they missed an opportunity.
People who are organized and disciplined--Trump is not--are more prone to scheduling sins like this. They are in a hurry and so they miss something important.
There was a study done of theology students that's pretty remarkable. They're running late for their Good Samaritan sermon, and they run right by a Samaritan who needs their help.
Right before 5:29 someone yells out "Quiet down". Then the Nazi with the big gray hair motions with his arm all straight and Nazi-like, for the crowd to quiet down.
He must be a Nazi.
A nation made up of Ann the Athiests would never produce moments like this, or a society like ours. Athiests are free riders on the virtue of others.
People are sheep. Stupid, stupid sheep.
The "Quiet down" comes at 5:25.
What Lexington Green said. Spot-on. I watched it live, and thought to myself I wonder who will be the first to post pictures of these people praying and call them Nazis.
Re:the Nazi. Yeah - it's definitely a "Quiet down" motion.
But he's probably still a Nazi. They are all Nazis! and racists.
There is a side to Trump that the press will not allow you to see. Like the above event, and the Pittsburg Rabbi who commented on how warm and caring Trump was in person.
I made this comment here a couple of times. When I was teaching, I had a student who worked for Trump as a mid-level manager at one of his NJ golf courses. She absolutely idolized him. She said he stopped by about every month or two, went out of his way to greet everyone personally, and even remembered people's names. He went out of his way to mingle with the restaurant staff and the grounds people, many of whom were minorities. She said that he seemed to enjoy this more than his meetings with the management staff.
Isn't it funny that with the tens of thousands of people who worked for the Trump Organization, they couldn't find one room maid or light bulb changer to drag out and attest to what a bad guy he was? You can get 100 university professors who never met him to call,him Hitler, but not one such person who worked for him.
That is, not until he got to the White House.
A normal reaction by normal people. There really are not enough normal people these days. If there was, this election would not be close.
richlb said...
"Anne - I've tried to search and find your post from a few elections ago where you make an argument about NOT voting. I can't seem to locate it. On this election day, any chance to rerun it, or reference it?"
"We're sending this mailing to you and your neighbors to publicize who does and does not vote."
Anybody who went to college can tell you that the Hitler salute was developed by Hitler telling a crowd to quiet down.
Anybody who went to college can tell you that the Hitler salute was developed by Hitler telling a crowd to quiet down.
The "Hitler salute" was how Western Civilization has saluted since Roman times up to WW II.
I suppose the D-hack press are all over the not-a Nazi Salute. Is that first on George Clintonopolis talking point this AM?
(I'm not saying the fainting/medical event was staged, but the Amazing Grace? Suspicion level: High.)
If by "staged" you mean, organized, sure. It was organized. People had a few minutes and somebody decided to organize an Amazing Grace sing-along. It was staged in that 5 minute span. No need to be cynical about it.
Let me throw some doubt on your cynicism! How would you plan such a thing weeks or months in advance?
"We're going to train our people and the next time somebody has a heart attack at a Trump rally, I want them to wait six minutes and then break out into Amazing Grace. Here are the lyrics because I know nobody knows this song. Be sure to stop after the first couple of verses, otherwise it will look suspicious. Of course you will be paid to do this. Also there will be no leaks of this because we are a tightly organized, well-oiled machine and I kill all leakers."
Tens of thousands of decent American patriots who are motivated to vote for republicans up and down the ballot to help continue the incredibly successful conservative policies of this administration.
People who break out with a soft rendition of "Amazing Grace" in a moment of quiet.
Its so easy to see why LLR NPChuck despises them so very very much, along with his lefty allies.
bagoh20 said...
Anybody who went to college can tell you that the Hitler salute was developed by Hitler telling a crowd to quiet down.
This comment is highly under-rated.
At Obama rallies, they got the heart attack victim to sign a new willleaving everything to the DNC. Then they got his/her voting card and ID so that their vote can be "D" for perpetuity.
A nation made up of Ann the Athiests would never produce moments like this, or a society like ours. Athiests are free riders on the virtue of others.
I would like to bless her for taking the time to watch the video, and for finding the important stuff for us.
I am pretty much a free rider on the Althouse blog!
I associate the lugubrious “Amazing Grace” with funerals. If I had a medical emergency and people started singing that hymn I would totally freak out.
That was extraordinary
Freak out and free ride, that is your prerogative, just as spontaneous singing of"Amazing Grace" is.
There was a study done of theology students that's pretty remarkable. They're running late for their Good Samaritan sermon, and they run right by a Samaritan who needs their help.
@Saint Croix, I believe the story to be apocryphal, but even so, in the parable the Samaritan helps a poor Israelite who has been robbed and beaten, even though Israelites and Samaritans back then liked each other about as much as modern Israelis and Palestinians do.
An atheist should not be explaining this to you.
Seems pretty spontaneous to me after watching the video. What is most remarkable to me is that after the crowd gets a little squirrelly at 4 minutes in, they immediately respond to the quiet down from the other crowd members. I don't think most crowds would respond like that.
St. Croix at 7:50 - I asked my priest about that once and he told me they are instructed to keep going with the mass and let whoever takes care of it, take care of it. It is not that they are ignoring it, it is the way they are trained. I said to him that is really strange. He never gave me a reason why they are instructed to do that.
Also worth noting, this was the third rally of the day for Trump, and it was close to midnight.
@Birches That's called "manners" and being "polite". Lost words in our Marxian culture today. Actually those traits are so "regressive " and are being displayed by the deplorables according to our secular elites.
They want to take your money to pay for their free basement pot
Don't be silly. If it's free, they don't need your money to pay for it. (They may want your money to pay for the tasty snacks they'll want later, though.)
The evidence mounts that Trump and his supporters are just good ole' decent people. Today the NYT had a story with the headline: "Trump Closes Out a Campaign Built on Fear, Anger and Division".
Amazing Grace is a song that's been recorded by many American musicians. As someone mentioned upthread, it's often sung at funerals and memorial services. Many movies have incorporated the song into it's soundtrack. I grew up in a east coast liberal environment and I was familiar with that song since I was a kid. The first verse is probably one of the most commonly known lyrics in all American music, and the tune is catchy and easy to sing. From, Amazing Grace... to, ...I was blind but now I see- I bet 100 million Americans know those words.
"Divisive" is disagreeing with a Lefty.
It'll keep happening as long as there are still Lefties and Righties.
I remember that when this happened at Obama rallies in 2008, the media reported it as though fans were swooning from excitement at being so close to greatness.
What Sydney said about the arm up in the air, it is a praying over someone move. Lefties wouldn't recognize it.
@Saint Croix, I believe the story to be apocryphal,
Well, you would be wrong.
but even so, in the parable the Samaritan helps a poor Israelite who has been robbed and beaten, even though Israelites and Samaritans back then liked each other about as much as modern Israelis and Palestinians do.
My understanding is that the "Samaritan" in the study was in obvious distress. You can quibble about the study parameters if you want to, but first you have to acknowledge the study exists.
A non-scientist should not have to explain this to you!
I asked my priest about that once and he told me they are instructed to keep going with the mass and let whoever takes care of it, take care of it. It is not that they are ignoring it, it is the way they are trained. I said to him that is really strange. He never gave me a reason why they are instructed to do that.
Jesus reduced all our rules to two.
Love God.
Love your neighbor as yourself.
richlb said...
"Anne - I've tried to search and find your post from a few elections ago where you make an argument about NOT voting. I can't seem to locate it. On this election day, any chance to rerun it, or reference it?"
"We're sending this mailing to you and your neighbors to publicize who does and does not vote."
My (Hispanic) wife got one of those this year - she was PISSED.
We prolifers used to tell abortion workers down at the clinic: "We're praying for you." The response was very revealing: some were pleased and some practically wanted to take out an injunction or made brushing gestures to get the grace off as it came down from the heavens or shouted STOP IT. It was always a question whose response indicated they were as truly believers as we were.
nowhere near as moving as Dem's "Amazing Hate"
@Saint Croix, I followed your link and the funny thing is that I remembered that study as I was reading. Plus one for you.
But the actor curled up in pain in the alley is nowhere described as a Samaritan. In fact the parable is accurately summarized in the first paragraph under "Summary."
One of the bright sparks over at Coyne's place always refers to these as Nuremberg Rallies. The interesting thing is that it seems to enhance his credibility with the gallery, as if he had said something profound.
I was telling this Tall Tale of Trump to my Lpog and couldn't remember the name of the song, but came up with "Graceful Dead".
@Saint Croix, I followed your link and the funny thing is that I remembered that study as I was reading.
The abstract is here, and it's really quite trivial: people in a hurry are less likely to be diverted by a distraction. The more interesting finding is "Religious personality variables did not predict whether S would help the victim or not. However, if S did stop to offer help, the character of the helping response was related to his type of religiosity."
Extending the arm towards the person you are praying for is common in many Christian churches. There's no rule as to the correct way to do this, other than throwing up a Hitler salute is not advisable, so you will see variations.
Blogger wildswan said...
We prolifers used to tell abortion workers down at the clinic: "We're praying for you." The response was very revealing: some were pleased and some practically wanted to take out an injunction or made brushing gestures to get the grace off as it came down from the heavens or shouted STOP IT. It was always a question whose response indicated they were as truly believers as we were.
I'm happy you got the reaction you were actually praying for.
Blogger Saint Croix said...
Jesus reduced all our rules to two.
Love God.
Love your neighbor as yourself.
You forgot #3
Mow down refugee victims of your voracious consumer culture with an A-10
Also, we play Amazing Grace in our church as part of normal worship. I was actually baptized with that song.
Didn't some young women purportedly faint at Obama rallies?
@Howard - well aren’t you the jerk today? Which culture do YOU live in? The one without consumption of goods?
The Deplorables actually are America's super elite. Among them Amazing Grace is traditionally sung from memory and without musical accompanyment. It is the Star Spangled Banner of the evangelicals.
but the Amazing Grace? Suspicion level: High.
I'm sure someone was planted to start singing. I don't care. The point is....Trump lit a forest fire with a single match. Singing "Amazing Grace" just captured the moment.
Now, if they start singing "Battle Hymn of the Republic".......
Howard typifies the Democrats: the way they are so gracious in victory, so full of sportsmanship in defeat.
Plus one for you.
That's good because I'm negative 4 on the Daily Kos thread!
all this math is killing me
Blogger Oso Negro said...
@Howard - well aren’t you the jerk today? Which culture do YOU live in? The one without consumption of goods?
I'm a jerk every day. People love that about me. Being in waste management, we've had enough consumer culture for a hundred lifetimes.
Hey BM, you guys already won, even if the Dems take the house. Why so touchy when everything is going your way?
Mow down refugee victims of your voracious consumer culture
Who are these people? I thought the caravan was fleeing violence and oppression in Central America?
with an A-10
Overkill. A Predator drone will do.
Was she okay?
Is she okay?
Why so touchy when everything is going your way?
Because I'd like to see you act like a normal human being. Why is that so effing hard for you?
Howard goes full Ethel Merman.
gahrie said...
Mow down refugee victims of your voracious consumer culture
Who are these people? I thought the caravan was fleeing violence and oppression in Central America?
No gahrie.
Republicans are the cause. Not failed states. Republicans.
And Capitalism.
Don't forget how our freedom and prosperity endangers poor people around the world. We need to join with democrats and end this whole freedom and prosperity thing.
It's sad that Amazing Grace will now be labeled a song sung only by white supremacists.
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