Minutes after shots were fired, right-wing social media influencers and elected Republicans began insinuating that powerful figures were responsible, directly or indirectly, for the attempt. Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) posted to X that “Joe Biden sent the orders,” garnering over 4 million views, and later called for Biden to face charges for “inciting an assassination.”
More broadly on social media, a TikTok user who posts under the handle @theoldermillenial.1 told his 1.2 million followers, “I guess because the court cases weren’t going so well, they decided to try a different avenue. Guys, don’t forget, this is what the left is capable of.”....
[M]isinformation experts urged the public not to share unconfirmed information online.... But far-right channels on encrypted platforms were abuzz with a mixture of shock, rage and conspiracy theories. Triumphant slogans (“You missed!”) and calls for civil war captioned the instantly totemic image of a bloodied but defiant Trump raising a fist with the flag in the background. Without any clear word from authorities on suspects or motives, MAGA extremists instantly embraced the idea of a politically motivated assassination attempt. Disinformation swirled as trolls looked for easy clicks by sharing uncorroborated footage and information about people they claimed to be the assailant.
This makes it sound as though people were just exploiting the opportunity to draw traffic to their accounts, but it is the completely natural and uncontrollable need to communicate about an unfolding event. We're supposed to wait for "clear word from authorities"? We're still waiting for clear word from authorities about the JFK assassination!
It's absurd to ask us to shut up, and it will be absurd even after the authorities serve up something they say is clear word.This post, like my last one, gets my "civility bullshit" tag. I'm all for civility, by the way. I'm just observing that the calls for civility come from those who want to tamp down the kind of vivid speech that they would like if it served their side.
Just 2 days ago, I encountered the NYT White House Correspondent Peter Baker using the expression "if you're going to shoot at the king you better not miss."[T]here is a problem with Twitter's clipped language and vast dissemination. Among the thousands or millions of readers of a post like "If you try to kill the King, you best not miss’ #HangThemAll" are confused, paranoid, angry people who might hear a message to go out and kill somebody.
I recommended against using the shooting-at-the-king metaphor. I say that to all sides and — am I the only one? — I avoid civility bullshit. But I suspect The Washington Post of moving to shut up the vibrant speech that burgeoned out of the Trump assassination attempt. It's so terribly politically convenient, and the Post has not inspired confidence in its neutrality.
Are we not supposed to speculate about why the Secret Service did not secure the rooftop across which the sniper crawled?
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Someone needs to shove a microphone in front of Peter Baker and ask some questions.
Is "stochastic terrorism" a right wing conspiracy theory now? Just a short time ago it was a handy charge to throw at Trump. The press gave Fico in Slovakia the same Trump treatment, and then after the assassination attempt, leaders in Europe were saying, well, you know he had it coming, he wasn't one of us and he got elected. OK, I added that last part. Basically this is the second time in a few short months that the exact same thing has happened.
WaPoo edited the American flag out of their front page "iconic" photo.
They are disease.
Those examples were no worse than the blatant refusal of mainstream media to admit Trump took at least one probably two bullets in an assassination attempt. It took two hours for Lester Holt to admit what was absolutely obvious from the first three seconds. Worse were Democrat Congresscritters tweeting “we missed” and the cochair of the J6 committee tweeting “get some shooting lessons so you don’t miss next time.”
That’s evil. That’s beyond politics as usual. That is the result of believing your own “end of democracy” bullshit.
Until your trusted news outlets can get together with your trusted Federal authorities and establish the official explanation, which will clear the left of any responsibility for everything they have said and done about and to Trump, kindly shut up, they explained.
But....why is the story solely focused on the reactions of supporters? Why no mention of the hateful deluge of comments bemoaning a failed attempt? Isn't this the real story, the thin veneer of civility so easily discarded to reveal the slouching beast beneath?
'Time to put Donald Trump in the bullseye', says President Biden, a few days ago. Where is the juxtaposition of 'Saving Democracy', the rally cry heading up the bottomless pit of dangerous invective that has been feeding these impulses?
'Saving Democracy' would mean giving all 3 candidates adequate SS security details. Actions point the way to intention.
“Official word from authorities” would require the press and their reported authorities to have a good track record worthy of waiting for.
Unfortunately that’s not the case.
I told my kids about this yesterday and told them to watch how much changes in the story within hours. So far I heard:
- Chinese man
- two shooters
- Trump hit by glass/shrapnel and not bullet
- crowd spotted shooter at least a minute ahead of time (this appears to have some
Evidence behind it which is concerning to say the least)
- it was antifa (that was hilariously said within an hour of the shooting)
I could go on.
How about instead we teach our citizenry how to spot BS from any form of outlet.
Right wing conspiracy theory = bad misinformation.
Left wing conspiracy theory = something worth front paging.
Got it.
Disinformation is swirled in the Wapoo blender.
Specialties for their coprophagic fanbase.
“ ‘MAGA extremists instantly embraced the idea of a politically motivated assassination attempt.’ ”
Really.
What else could it be?
Misinformation like the PA State Police insisting that Trump had been hit by shards of glass from a teleprompter screen not a bullet, even though the videos clearly showed the teleprompter screens intact as Trump was tackled by his security detail?
That kind of misinformation?
"Lets shut down X" is precisely one of the key takeaways I expected from the New Soviet Democraticals in the wake of this event.
That and "We must confiscate all the guns!"....and ...."we must censor all content for the good of everyone!"
And, in fact, we have already heard all 3.
But the most galling, and you knew this was coming and was pointed out by Althouse, is the Python-esque "Lets not quibble about who killed who" civility BS from the usual suspects as a way to get past the implications of their own rhetoric according to their own "rules".
Calvinball rules as it turns out.
I thought about saying something yesterday, but refrained because I thought it inappropriate and indeed hateful.
I’ll say it now. What did Merrick Garland’s DoJ know about the threat and did they withhold information? We find out all to often these are “known wolfs”., not lone wolfs. Maybe this time it was but will the FBI hide information as they have done with recent high profile shootings? The one sided legal system needs to come to an end yesterday. If it doesn’t, then the violence will get worse.
I will say this as well, without knowing more: I pray and fear for the parents and family of the shooter who will now be caught up in a lifelong political maelstrom that they did not create.
On a related note:
The story coming out on the shooter is to me a worst case scenario for the secret service.
So far it’s that an untrained 20 year old with no significant prior preparation gained access to an obvious shooting platform with direct line of sight from well within basic rifle shooting range, was spotted by crowds welll beforehand, and still managed to make a successful assasination attempt in that Trump lived by an inch - whether his own head movement or wind or all of the above.
Now that. That is a terrifying story to me.
I thought that the article was going to be about "staged" being number two on Twitter, per a columnist at the Toronto Star, but it is to be disappointed to imagine that the press will treat Trump and Republicans fairly.
What we know about the ‘attempted assassination’ at Trump rally in Butler, Pa.
That's clickbait from The Philadelphia Inquirer.
There might well be a good justification for the scare quotes but I haven't been able to think of one.
Maybe some intern thought "alleged assassination attempt" required too many characters.
Beautiful line about JFK. FBI has a reputation in recent years for fabricating crimes (remember Flynn?) Or covering them up (laptop) on a partisan basis. It is natural to say that with them investigating, we'll never know what happened.
How do the stars have to align to achieve a tie in the Electoral College, then the House possibly electing Bobby K? Of course, Bobby doesn't have Secret Service protection.
In 2017 a NYC Central Park production of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar put a Trump-like person in the role of the assassinated Caesar.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/julius-caesar-shakespeare-in-the-park-trump-any-truth-behind-the-controversy/
In 2017 Madonna said she "thought an awful lot about blowing up the White House."
https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/madonna-defends-blowing-white-house-comment-violent-person/story?id=44972325
Days ago, in July 2024 President Joe Biden said “It’s time to put Trump in the bull’s-eye.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/12/us/politics/biden-speech-detroit.html
[Plus, there's been endless anti-Trump lawfare for the last 8 years.]
Which conspiracy are we talking about?
Trump may have a group of Secret Service that he gets to select as his personal protective detail, but it seems clear the Secret Service failed on an event-wide basis.
That could be a lack of resources detailed to the event by Secret Service HQ (either by omission or commission), negligence in execution on the site, or both.
Free speech is free speech, WaPo. Reality is an organism that needs to be fed by different points of view. Maybe you’re just not into that.
Leland: "The one sided legal system needs to come to an end yesterday. If it doesn’t, then the violence will get worse."
The New Soviet Democraticals have already completely destroyed so many norms and crossed so many Rubicons already, they have no choice but to accelerate all efforts in every area to remove Trump from the equation.
That is what I expect to see.
how to explain SS sniper locating assassin position so quickly?
it looks to me like SS was waiting for assassin to get in position!
TreeJoe said...
On a related note:
The story coming out on the shooter is to me a worst case scenario for the secret service.
So far it’s that an untrained 20 year old with no significant prior preparation gained access to an obvious shooting platform with direct line of sight from well within basic rifle shooting range, was spotted by crowds welll beforehand, and still managed to make a successful assasination attempt in that Trump lived by an inch - whether his own head movement or wind or all of the above.
Now that. That is a terrifying story to me.
Bingo.
Every trained soldier took one look at the labeled top down map of the shooting and knew that the Secret Service was part of planning this. It was such an obvious mistake it could not be incompetence. Nobody would plan a security detail without posting backside on the most obvious approach to shoot the speaker.
This is so blatant and so obvious.
We try to fit these events into our gestalt. When I looked on Twitter yesterday in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, a lot of the posts there claimed that it was all something staged by Trump, or that Trump had maybe been shot with a BB gun and was overplaying his reaction. People on the left weren't expressing a lot of sympathy or horror. People on the right were speculating about FBI or CIA involvement....We'll see how it develops. It looks like the Secret Service screwed up, but I don't think such screw ups are necessarily indicative of a nefarious plot....I do, however, think that the people on the left express their opinions with more hateful language and gestures than people on the right. Some people on 1/6 behaved riotously, but I don't see how their behavior was worse than all the arson, looting and murders surrounding BLM events.....I wondered how the news organizations would deal with that iconic photo. Here's how: They don't show it or they show it only fleetingly in a montage of photos.
How do we know the shooter was untrained with no significant prior preparation? Seems to me he did have a lot of skill, shooting like that from a blazing hot rooftop. Does that not take that much skill?
Oh, the ongoing saga of assassins with three names and assumed conspiracies and purported links to government agencies.
Lee Harvey Oswald --> JFK
James Earl Ray --> MLK Jr.
Thomas Mathew Crooks --> DJT
There is nothing new under the sun.
There is no conspiracy, when the left and the media has been denigrating those on the right for decades, acting out extreme violence for decades.
It’s pretty clear where the roots of this behavior comes from.
My dumb guess is that police had responsibility for being on the rooftops and secret service was unsure if the guy might be a cop. It is a super dumb idea but what happened was much dumber.
The Biden Administration screwed up the withdrawal from Afghanistan. I don't think this was part of a plot to transfer all of America's latest weaponry into the hands of the Taliban. It was due to incompetence....I don't see how it's possible to carry out these perfectly executed plots in some endeavors and screw up so badly in other areas. Well, with the exception of Espstein.
Welp CBS news is calling in an attempted assassination and the coverage is pretty even handed.
But they add 7 of 10 of the last presidents or candidates blah blah like it's just part of the job, bfd.
Of course.
Maybe instead of the “kill the king” thing, we should say, “If you’re going to take Vienna, take Vienna.” What are the chances that some impressionable lunatic will actually try to take Vienna?
All I can say is, if this guy really was a first-time assassin it was mighty ambitious of him to start with Trump. He might have done better to try shooting Chuck Norris first, then work his way up to Trump by easy stages.
Thanks for using garnering in your headline. I “get” it.
I don't follow the fever swamps, but the instant J6 Reichstag myth seemed to be the point when the sewer overflowed into the mainstream. All those police were allegedly killed, when it was a Capitol cop who did the single killing (and got away with it).
It takes a certain level of tenacity and desire/will to die to keep shooting after essentially showing himself. Maybe he felt protected by all those police on rooftops.
I hope they release a tox report.
How do we know the shooter was untrained with no significant prior preparation?
We don’t know about “no preparation” but the no professional training is pretty easy to determine for a 20yo. That distance is not a difficult shot for the average hunter and less half the distance our Army requires for qualification with M-16, which is essentially the same gun.
For the deranged Left “staged event” crowd I wonder about their sanity, since projection is their favorite tool. Does it mean they or their party faithful are willing to have bullets absorbed by a ballistic vest and take a round through the ear just to prove a point? Really? And they think Trump is brave or reckless enough to do that? That he’s that trusting of a sharpshooter to nail his ear given the wind and other variables? I know a lot of lefties. I don’t know any that recklessly devoted to power.
On the shooter, not the Police. Well..maybe...
Mattman26 - Vienna is being taken, over the long term, if you know what I mean.
The tweet is now deleted, but images are still on X.
Just last week Biden tweeted it was time to put Trump in a "bullseye."
I will say this as well, without knowing more: I pray and fear for the parents and family of the shooter who will now be caught up in a lifelong political maelstrom that they did not create.
Seconded.
Ana Kasparian
@AnaKasparian
Those alleging that someone shooting at Trump today was “staged” with zero evidence are loathsome, disgusting people who play a big role in tearing this country apart. Imagine providing cover for horrific political violence. Beyond shameful.
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8:00 PM · Jul 13, 2024
Worse were Democrat Congresscritters tweeting “we missed” and the cochair of the J6 committee tweeting “get some shooting lessons so you don’t miss next time.”
Can you provide links? All I saw is that a facebook page associated with one of Bennie Thompson's made the "don't miss" post. I'll bet that person does not have a job this morning.
Unless you can document these horrible accusations, you are just as bad as all the leftists you are condemning.
Ooops, I should have said "facebook page associated with one of Bennie Thompson's staff"
" a lifelong political maelstrom that they did not create."
They created him. At 20 y/o, the upbringing has to be looked at.
In the land that the Swamp and the WaPoo created "misinformation experts" were born. When I see the phrase "misinformation expert", my mind goes to the Southern Policy Law Center which is fountain of 'misinformation". A pox on all of them.
Oh, the ongoing saga of assassins with three names
I think the press tends to run with all three names so as to minimize confusion and blowback as to other people named Thomas Crooks or Lee Oswald. It's not necessarily an indication the killer typically went by all three names in daily life.
Field Marshall Freder: "Can you provide links? All I saw is that a facebook page associated with one of Bennie Thompson's made the "don't miss" post. I'll bet that person does not have a job this morning."
It was a field leader of Thompson's. I posted her message along with her name yesterday on the longer thread.
Last name "Marsaw" I believe.
Wasn't difficult to find....like Allan Baake wasn't hard to find.
" a lifelong political maelstrom that they did not create."
Walter: "They created him. At 20 y/o, the upbringing has to be looked at."
Perhaps. I was considering the possibility the immediate and extended family are not responsible.
There is no way that Trump supporters are going to believe an investigation done by the Biden DoJ led by Merrick Garland that exonerates the people who have been calling for Trump to be stopped by any means necessary (even if that is in fact the truth).
It was a field leader of Thompson's. I posted her message along with her name yesterday on the longer thread.
I was objecting to Mike claiming it was Bennie Thompson himself along with his assertion that other "Congresscritters" were tweeting "we missed".
We're supposed to wait for "clear word from authorities"? We're still waiting for clear word from authorities about the JFK assassination!
Outstanding, Althouse, simply outstanding.
Freder: "I was objecting to Mike claiming it was Bennie Thompson himself along with his assertion that other "Congresscritters" were tweeting "we missed"."
I know. Some presentations online of that Field Director's message are quite unclear in the imnediate aftermath of this assassination attempt.
Unlike many of the years long hoaxes pushed against Trump where the purposeful twisting of reality continues to this day: Fine People hoax, Jan 6 "insurrection", drink bleach, collusion/hoax dossier, etc.
Field Marshall Freder: "Can you provide links? All I saw is that a facebook page associated with one of Bennie Thompson's made the "don't miss" post. I'll bet that person does not have a job this morning."
I'm definitely taking the under on that bet.
People will be pushing conspiracy theories until the Secret service explains why that roof top wasn't guarded. 300 yards from Trump - with a clear shot. And no one was there. This is security 101. Unbelievable!
And how did this 20 y/o loser know this was the place to go?
Biden has been saying all along that Trump is a 'threat to our democracy' and a 'threat to the country,' and that he should be put in the cross-hairs.
Not sure how much more you need...
'People will be pushing conspiracy theories until the Secret service explains why that roof top wasn't guarded. 300 yards from Trump'
I heard more like 130 yards, which is an easy 8-iron for me these days. Very close...
I see two options here:
1. The Secret Service is not competent.
2. The Secret Service was involved.
Am I missing any?
People will be pushing conspiracy theories until the Secret service explains why that roof top wasn't guarded. 300 yards from Trump - with a clear shot. And no one was there. This is security 101. Unbelievable!
Was a lot less than 300 yards. It was barely over 400 feet. That's a chip shot even for a once-a-year deer hunter. We're lucky it was a leftist soy-boy who probably didn't even know how to zero his gunsights.
And how did this 20 y/o loser know this was the place to go?
Probably an MK-Ultra robot the CIA or FBI has been training for years for just this moment. They probably dropped him off on their way into the grounds.
I do not take quickly to conspiracy theories, but the longer I think about this the more I come around to 'how could the SS possibly have missed this?'. Just look at the aerial view of that site. It beggars belief.
Of course, we will never get answers.
"Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity." - Robert Hanlon
The Secret Service screwed up. The shooter got to 130 yards of the president with a rifle easily capable of making the shoot at 300 yards. Although spotted by local residents observing the rally from outside who repeatedly alerted local law enforcement to the threat, the shooter had over three minutes to get in position and take a shot and was not confronted or engaged until after he got three shots off, thankfully missing his intended target (Trump's head). How on Earth could this have been allowed to happen? Sheer incompetence.
Trump and our country was very, very lucky. The type of firearm used was immaterial; a Civil War rifled musket or a cheap single shot rifle from Wal-Mart could easily make the shot in the hands of a typical teenage deer hunter. This was the shooting scenario equivalent of a two foot putt. The shooter screwed up, too. Again, thankfully the kind of people who would attempt such things aren't great at actually carrying out their plans successfully. Even so, the shooter got three shots off, narrowly missing. I believe that the first close miss that caused Trump to turn his head towards the shooter is what saved his life... the bullet that struck his ear would instead have hit him in the back of the skull.
Everyone's familiar with the philosophical question of whether it would have been moral to assassinate Hitler in 1937. When a political party spends 8 years demonizing the leading political opponent, comparing him to Hitler, calling him an existential threat to Our Democracy (tm), proposes legislation to strip Secret Service protection from him, and tells its supporters that he must be stopped by any means necessary... what do you expect? People not to pick up on the repeated hint dropping? After all, wouldn't taking out Hitler have been a laudable act?
If the assassin had succeeded, the country would have been thrown into violent turmoil. How do you think MAGA would have reacted to Trump being murdered? The difference is, the people who like guns are also proficient in their use. The Left is playing with fire, thinking they are the ones who will prevail in conflict with what they see as the Deplorable idiotic Right... you know, the folks with the guns who like to hunt and fish, who join the military to serve in the infantry. Yeah, right.
There are probably three amazing photos from this event. Trumps fist and the flag, trump head down, bleeding, and trump at the exact moment a bullet went past his head. (It's unclear which bullet that was, but in the photo it appears to be right at ear level.)
So Some folks are annoyed that these pictures are being used for, essentially, political marketing purposes.
But I can't help but imagine what would be happening right now, on the left, if that picture showed the exact moment when Trump's head exploded. Kathy Griffin, for instance.
So I don't want to hear any civility crap about politicization.
Bennie Thompson is a FAT AF criminal grifter of a politician. Fuck that gas bag.
Bennie Thompson is a FAT AF criminal grifter of a politician. Fuck that gas bag.
If the info is not official it's misinformation and conspiracy theories. Stange how all these right-wing fever dreams pan out to be fact.
Disinfo might be the close up photo of the dead shooter on X last night before I went to bed. In the image you could see his face. His head was posed so that you could not see the entrance or exit wounds. I thought Jesus was this real or a photoshop. Well someone leaked this. I realized that the image was real this morning as his high school photos popped up on the news.
John,
At least one report had a local cop climb up to investigate, shooter aimed at him, cop backed dowm.
" do not take quickly to conspiracy theories,"
I used to be this way, but now I am more skeptical of the "official narrative" and these theories are very good ways to test the narratives for truth value. Especially when the official narrative is far more implausible than the conspiracy theory. Although "plausibility" is a quality that can be modified by propaganda.
Conspiracy theories? Bwahahaha! Here's one. Maybe this demented 20 year-old took to heart the message that Trump was the "greatest threat to democracy" the Democrats and their media consorts have peddled for years. Maybe he decided to accept Biden's invitation to "put a bullseye on Trump" and used the rooftop provided by the Secret Service. Or is that too complicated?
If the SS sniper or other LEOs saw him before he fired, why didn't they warn the other agents to get Trump surrounded and off the stage, or did they? Those earpieces aren't for show.
Here's a "conspiracy theory" come true. Jonathan Willis, the Secret Service sniper who took out the shooter has publicly confirmed that he had the shooter in his sights for three minutes before the shooter shot Trump and the spectators. Secret Service brass would not give him permission to shoot.
Any questions?
"Jonathan Willis, the Secret Service sniper who took out the shooter has publicly confirmed that he had the shooter in his sights for three minutes before the shooter shot Trump and the spectators."
It sure looks like that's what's going on with the sniper on the roof behind Trump. That guy's sure scoping out something over there…
"If the SS sniper or other LEOs saw him before he fired, why didn't they warn the other agents to get Trump surrounded and off the stage, or did they? Those earpieces aren't for show."
Good question. If they're reluctant to shoot the guy, at least get Trump down and covered.
It's fishy.
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