Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The lights are all blinking red.

We will not go back.

Mediocre white men think RFK Jr’s pathetic midlife crisis is inspirational. The bar is set so low for them, it’s subterranean.

If a good thing happens for a bad reason, it’s still a good thing.

Not loving this new fraud based economy.

“Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on.”

Disagreements are healthy; personal attacks are not.

The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.

Republicans do not pay their debts.

I’m starting to think Jesus may have made a mistake saving people with no questions asked.

Historically it was a little unusual for the president to be an incoherent babbling moron.

When you’re a Republican, they let you do it.

America is going up in flames. The NYTimes fawns over MAGA celebrities. No longer a real newspaper.

Following reporting rules is only for the little people, apparently.

Prediction: the gop will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

The low info voters probably won’t even notice or remember by their next lap around the goldfish bowl.

Today’s gop: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires Republicans to act in good faith.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

Democracy cannot function without a free press.

Hot air and ill-informed banter

“When somebody takes the time to draw up a playbook, they’re gonna use it.”

It’s easy to sit in safety and prescribe what other people should be doing.

The Giant Orange Man Baby is having a bad day.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Breaking News- Shots Fired at Trump Rally

Reader Interactions

469Comments

  1. 1.

    Campionrules

    If you come at the King, you best not miss(Jesus Christ, and to think this joke applied only to Biden as of a few minutes ago)

  5. 5.

    Leto

    @WaterGirl: This; they’ve spent over 20 years ramping up the violent rhetoric, and here we are. Remember the Capitol Hill baseball game shooting? They’re going to find some way to spin this to Biden’s/Dem’s fault, regardless of who it is. And I fucking hate them for it.

  7. 7.

    Omnes Omnibus

    We already had one asshole in a thread apparently cheering this happening.  Not cool.  If this really was a violent attack on a presidential candidate, this is a really bad development.

  9. 9.

    SiubhanDuinne

    As the SS surrounded him and pulled him off the stage, he was pumping his fist and shouting something. I hope a good lip reader can figure out what he was saying.

  10. 10.

    Eolirin

    @Leto: Hell I’m concerned it’ll just make Trump seem more sympathetic and help consolidate his base, while stirring up even more conspiracy theories, though it’ll depend on who shot at him and why.

  12. 12.

    Scout211

    NBC reported he had blood on his ear, CNN reported blood on his face.

    Wow.  I don’t even know what to say about this.  😳

    ETA:  pic of his face/ear on NBC

  13. 13.

    WaterGirl

    @Omnes Omnibus: Agree, it’s not good.

    But it’s also not surprising with the way Trump has been stirring up violence for years.

    I want to know how someone could get any kind of a gun, even a pellet gun, though security.

    Maybe Trump doesn’t hire the best people, or maybe he thinks his people won’t hurt him, just like he figured on Jan 6. We will find out all of that, and more.

    We just have to be patient.  I may have run out recently, maybe I need to run out for more.

  15. 15.

    stacib

    @Scout211: From the video, the shots were fired, he grabbed his ear and dropped to the ground.  I’ll keep all my snark inside the barriers for tonight.  I agree with the posters who are acknowledging that this can be really bad.

  17. 17.

    TBone

    Maybe he ordered the metal detectors to be ignored, just like he tried to do on J6.

    Shrug.

    Violence begets violence.

  19. 19.

    Dman

    Someones idea of the Reichstag fire?

    sad it’s the first thing that popped into my head, as I am anything but a conspiracy theorist

  20. 20.

    hueyplong

    Probably a good idea to invoke a 24 hour rule — nothing is extra likely a fact for at least 24 hours.

  23. 23.

    Mousebumples

    https://bsky.app/profile/erinbiba.bsky.social/post/3kx73xm2h732m

    ALT text for image –

    BREAKING NEWS CONSUMER’S HANDBOOK

    1. In the immediate aftermath, news outlets will get it wrong.

    2. Don’t trust anonymous sources.

    3. Don’t trust stories that cite another news outlet as the source of the information.

    4. There’s almost never a second shooter.

    5. Pay attention to the language the media uses.

    • “We are getting reports”… could mean anything.

    • “We are seeking confirmation”… means they don’t have it.

    • “[News outlet] has learned”… means it has a scoop or is going out on limb.

    6. Look for news outlets close to the incident.

    7. Compare multiple sources.

    8. Big news brings out the fakers. And photoshoppers.

    9. Beware reflexive retweeting. Some of this is on you.

    ON THE MEDIA

    ONTHEMEDIA.ORG

  26. 26.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    Just had a big shouting match with my father. He’s blaming Democrats for calling him a threat. I’ve been saying it’s Republicans fault for encouraging violence as the solution at every turn.

    Just someone exercising their 2nd amendment rights through the right wing lens with who knows what aims.

  29. 29.

    Leto

    @Eolirin: same; Dems will come out and say that they reject all political violence, LIKE THEY ALWAYS HAVE! But idk. This is a new development in everything and we’ll have to see how it plays out.

  30. 30.

    Mousebumples

    @TBone: Maybe he ordered the metal detectors to be ignored, just like he tried to do on J6.

    Or cheaped out and didn’t get real working metal detectors.

    Either way – as much as I hate Trump – this is Not Good.

  31. 31.

    Eyeroller

    @Eolirin: ​Assuming it was an actual shooting (pellet gun or “regular” gun), historically the perps of this sort of thing have been weirdos with no coherent ideology. But unless the perp is caught it will be easy to blame liberals.

  40. 40.

    Raoul Paste

    This is grim.  I don’t see Trump as a “defiant fist in the air“ type of guy after a close call like this.  But no point in speculating

  42. 42.

    Mousebumples

    @Scout211: you’re welcome. I need to duck out for a bit, but it seemed good to be mindful of.

    And the don’t post anything you’d be concerned about explaining to the FBI if they show up to ask you about it.

  43. 43.

    Suzanne

    Jesus Hussein Christ. This is terrible.

    This is also happening right up the road from me in Butler County.

  45. 45.

    Another Scott

    @debit: I’m sure he’s being checked out.  The Secret Service probably doesn’t want the hospital mobbed with reporters and hangers-on.

    We’ll know some more soon enough.

    Hang in there, everyone.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  49. 49.

    George

    What bothers me is that so many commenters here actually take this seriously before it has been proven to be a serious incident. Occam tells me it’s staged, or at least not what it seems. A gun snuck into a Trump rally? Blood on his face? Fist raised in defiance? No doubt MAGAts and the media talking about the resilience and strength of a 77 year old man surviving an assassination attempt?​

  50. 50.

    Eyeroller

    @raven: I’ll accept your expertise there but my point about what motivates such people still stands.  And also–was the screening for metal objects that bad?  Supposedly it required only transparent bags, as is usual these days in our gun-laden culture.

  51. 51.

    craigie

    My theory: it’s fireworks, he panicked and fell over, bloodied his ear. Now they get to claim Dems are out to get him.

  52. 52.

    Suzanne

    @Mousebumples: So, fun fact about metal detectors, including Evolv (the latest-and-greatest supposedly AI-assisted metal detector): they are crap. They miss a lot.

  53. 53.

    Leto

    @The Kropenhagen Interpretation: just going to say that people routinely ignore all the right wing shooters who shoot up churches, synagogues, night clubs, movie theaters, grocery stores…. pretty much every public place imaginable. You have a combination of a political party who’s continued to ramp up the political violence rhetoric, as well as deregulating every aspect of gun regulations via courts and legislation. Not even going to touch the mental health aspect, that all of us here know is beyond lacking. There’s no “both sides” to this.

  54. 54.

    LAC

    We barely know what happened and already “how this is bad for Biden and Dems” starts…good Lord.  🙄

  55. 55.

    Dman

    1. @Eolirin: agreed whole heartedly with you. This could very well change the course of everything

    The fist pump and yelling FIGHT FIGHT in the open with the gunmans whereabouts still unknown is odd protocol for SS to allow

  56. 56.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Mousebumples:

    I’m so glad you posted that. Thank you. I remember hearing the “On the Media” hosts present it on their radio program years ago, though I no longer recall which in a long series of mass shootings it was in response to. But I thought of it immediately when this story broke and meant to search for it later. So thanks.

  59. 59.

    Leto

    @raven:

    I thought it was a pellet gun because it sounded like one, and they have rapid fire ones. Also it wasn’t an actual gun because his head is still attached to his body, in one piece. But we’ll find out soon enough.

  61. 61.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    @Leto:

    There’s no “both sides” to this.

    I’m sure FTFNYT, the WaPo and Totebagger Radio will disagree with that statement.

  62. 62.

    George

    @hells littlest angel: ​
     Yep. How soon before the hospital bed press conference, or withdrawing from the race and lending his support to JD Vance?

    My god, has no one seen the film “Bob Roberts”?

  63. 63.

    BlueDWarrior

    Not saying anything until we get some actual reports worth a damn. But I’ll of course say that assassinations are as bad as bad gets, because once you let that demon loose it doesn’t stop.

  64. 64.

    cain

    Hold on to your hats, it’s going to get very very turbulent. Right wing media is going to go nuts and Dems are going to be attacked. Now instead of just Biden, it will be all of us. These people are loons and conspiracy theorists – I can see them going off the rails. Democratic offices are going to get targeted. It’s going to be a shit show.

  65. 65.

    Jay

    @George:

    @craigie:

    one does not “fake” events with a Secret Service Protection Detail even though they delete their texts, emails an phone calls immediately after.

  69. 69.

    zhena gogolia

    Trying to channel my human, Christian side (it’s hard): one cannot draw any conclusions from his behavior in the immediate aftermath. Anyone would be in shock and would not be in control of their actions.

  70. 70.

    Josie

    @George: ​
     In the video I saw on another site, he was turned away from the crowd when the shots were fired. It could only have come from the stands behind him.

  72. 72.

    MisterForkbeard

    @schrodingers_cat: I would doubt it’s staged, but given what happened and his literal reaction (watch the video without sound):

    1. His head homes slightly
    2. He touches his hand to the side of his head
    3. He drops and takes cover

    And he’s fine immediately afterwards with some blood on his face. So… airsoft gun?

  73. 73.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Jay: some recording of gun shots and Trump cuts himself as his WWE budies show him how to.

  75. 75.

    Leto

    @Eolirin: same reason athletes on stretchers, being carted off the field, raise their hands. “I’m strong! I’ll be back!”

  77. 77.

    CaseyL

    I don’t want him dead or seriously incapacitated, only because they’d have to nominate someone else, who might not scare the normies as badly.

  78. 78.

    SpaceUnit

    No one around him runs or panics.  They just wait until he stands and start cheering.

     

    Seems . . . odd.

  79. 79.

    Mike in NC

    Surprised it took so long for something like this to happen at one of his hate rallies.

  80. 80.

    cintibud

    Supposedly “the shooter is down”. If there’s a dead body then I doubt it was staged.

  83. 83.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Suzanne:

    A dear friend of mine — I’ve mentioned her before, she was a student at Kent State in May 1970 — grew up in Butler, PA, and I think still has family there.

  85. 85.

    Sanjeevs

    Remember in 2016 he was rushed off staged due to a ‘suspected shooter’ , Got him a whole day of cable coverage

  87. 87.

    Betsy

    @SpaceUnit: Let’s hear it for the ol’ college try.

    (apologies – nine years of this shit has been eight and a half more years than I can take)

  88. 88.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @Dman: My thought too. It may well not have been staged, but it could be used to similar effect. The news said that Trump pumped his fist at the crowd as the Secret Service hustled him away.

  90. 90.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    @CaseyL:

    I don’t want him dead or seriously incapacitated, only because they’d have to nominate someone else, who might not scare the normies as badly.

    That’s my knee jerk reaction but then as we saw with somebody like DuhSantis, Trump Second String doesn’t fully energize the fuckinginsaneracist base the way the Original manages to do.

  93. 93.

    Betsy

    @Omnes Omnibus: i don’t care.

     

    I wish no political violence and yet I can still ardently bemoan that his dick wasn’t  blown clean off 

     

    but “civility!”

  98. 98.

    Splitting Image

    @Betsy:

    I wish no political violence and yet I can still ardently bemoan that his dick wasn’t  blown clean off

    Too small a target.

  102. 102.

    TBone

    Hubby is sure it was staged.  Lifted comment from elsewhere:

    American political landscape following the attempt on Reagan’s life

    In the wake of the assassination attempt, Reagan’s approval ratings jumped — providing a new baseline that propelled his legislative agenda forward and helped translate to his broad-based re-election. By the 100th day of his administration, 51% of Democrats supported him and 70% of independents in addition to 92% of Republicans.

  106. 106.

    CaseyL

    As I said on the thread below, provided this was real and not staged, he’ll react in one of two ways: Either let his physical cowardice be his guide and refuse to go out in public; or proclaim that God saved him and he is therefore The Anointed One.

  108. 108.

    cain

    There is going to be hyperfocus on that shooter. At least they’ll forget about Biden but now the attention will be on Trump. I’m glad he didn’t get hurt, but he’s still a rapist asshole and I hope he learns something from all that rhetoric but likely not.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7q77WKEtgCA

    This one has decent audio that you can hear the report and echo, 3 times I think and then more rapid firing I think.

  109. 109.

    Eric S.

    @Omnes Omnibus: I 110% agree with you. Cheerleading violence should be verboten.

    However, I flipped over to MSNBC for less than 5m and the talking head was going on-and-on about how we can’t have violence in politics. Where the hell has that jerk been for 20 years when the GOP has been pumping violence?

  110. 110.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques:

    The fact that something so outrageous by normal political campaign standards might actually be true?  That in normal times something like that would be unthinkable?  I’m having trouble articulating the inchoate thoughts rattling around at the moment.

    Oh wait, this is Felonious D we’re talking about, nothing’s too outrageous.  Like I said, it’s on-brand.

  111. 111.

    M31

    he only didn’t want metal detectors on Jan 6, didn’t he say something like ‘they’re on my side’?

  115. 115.

    debit

    Looking at the video as the Secret Service rushes him off the stage he kept popping his head up. Why wouldn’t they keep his head down? I watched footage from when Regan was shot and seem to recall him being picked up like a football and hurled into the back of a limo.

  116. 116.

    craigie

    One problem is, if you spend years lying to everyone about everyone, it’s hard for people to believe anything.

  117. 117.

    cain

    @Martin: and not just him – the GOP and Trumpers as well.

    As I said, they going to assume it is the democrats and they are going to be targeted violence – he’s going to target all of us at his rallys going forward.

  118. 118.

    Another Scott

    @SpaceUnit: The before C-Span clip seems to show a few people behind his left shoulder looking over to their right, as if there’s some sort of small commotion in the stands.  Then he touches his ear and crouches down.

    I’m sure there will be a few hundred cell phone videos and photos that come out over time.

    Fritschner’s twitter thing has updates.  He’s apparently fine and being checked out.

    I dread the “never let a crisis go to waste” people plotting their next move.  We, as a country, need to keep our heads now, and still…

    :-(

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  119. 119.

    Eolirin

    If we don’t get someone in custody ASAP and worse if they’re not someone with right leaning ties, this is going to be extremely dangerous.

    Best case politicially is if it’s an aggrieved Evangelical pissed off about betrayal.

  121. 121.

    Mousebumples

    @Suzanne: yikes. Not great. Thanks for the future un-reassurance. 😬

    @SiubhanDuinne: No problem. Happy to share.

    A lot of this also seems relevant to the recent poorly sourced, misquoted Biden drama.

  123. 123.

    O. Felix Culpa

    Once he is fully briefed, Biden will do the right thing because he is a good and decent man. He will express his horror at the event, wish his [possibly injured] opponent a swift recovery, and call for better gun control and a reduction of gun violence in this country.

  124. 124.

    hrprogressive

    @TBone: ​
     

    Reagan for all of his faults wasn’t a Russian-Loving Fascist Dictator Wannabe.

    This also isn’t the America of the 1980’s.

    I cannot imagine Convicted Felon and Alleged Child Rapist Donald Trump garnering support the way Reagan did 40 years ago.

    It’s just not the same zeitgeist

  126. 126.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Betsy: “Civility” wasn’t my point.  Feel free to be an asshole if you want.  I’ve said my piece.

  127. 127.

    Renie

    the whole scenario seems odd.  the crowd extended pretty far to the left for someone to have hit him from that distance.  if it was a rifle that hit the side of his head (ear) there would be more blood. he didn’t seem too injured if he could keep throwing his fist in the air and keep yelling ‘fight, fight’.  if someone was within the crowd, someone would have seen a person with a rifle.   the SUV they put him in didn’t seem to rush out as if he was a person shot in the head.

    already people on twitter are saying it was staged.   whether true or not, this is going to produce more violence and Joe is going to be put in a very dangerous spot going forward.  MAGA and their RW media will blame it all on Democrats.

  128. 128.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @comrade scotts agenda of rage: We’re talking about a guy who tried to stuff the ballot box after he lost the election because he thought it looked awesome. I can imagine Turtle rolling his eyes, sighing and going back to watching a snuff movie with a warm glass of milk on that one.

  129. 129.

    strange visitor (from another planet)

    reposted from below.

    now he doesn’t have to show up at the convention. they can edit his video address to their heart’s content. can we say, “john gill”?

    also, i mean, this sucks. biden has three good days, the press grudgingly notice and this?

  130. 130.

    Suzanne

    @Kelly: So Evolv is the new one that everyone is putting in — sports stadia, amusement parks, public buildings, hospitals, etc. It combines regular magnetometry with some proprietary scanning technology that they are really hazy about describing. There have been some high-profile failures, including a shooting at the amusement park Kennywood. My current project is putting it in, too….. my boss passed along a report indicating that it missed 40% of knives.

  135. 135.

    cain

    @Eolirin: Yup – the churches are going to go apeshit – someone with a bad mental health is going to kill a ‘suspect liberal or democrat’.

    I hope it is some right winger – white straight male. Otherwise…

  138. 138.

    Archon

    When you want to turn a republic into a dictatorship you get enemies, ask Julius Caesar

  139. 139.

    RaflW

    I was 9 when there was the attempt on Gerald Ford. Didn’t help him win.

    We have no idea yet what went down, or how this will all redound.

  140. 140.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @cain: I hope it is some right winger – white straight male. Otherwise…

    Won’t make a shred of difference to those people.

  143. 143.

    Hilbertsubspace

    There were several attempts on Obama, but none that got close to him (Bullets fired into White House, Sniper rifle in Denver before a rally).  This is awful.

    I’m glad Trump seems to be okay, and  I look forward to voting against him.

  144. 144.

    trucknuts of damocles

    @Omnes Omnibus: jfc, if someone had shot hitler in the 20’s, you’d be the one chiding people who celebrated for incivility. this is the country trump and his followers want, he’s getting what he deserves. you had better wake up to the fact that you’re in a world-wide war against fascists. there will be blood.

  146. 146.

    Dman

    There are reports and a video on Tikwhatever that has audio of SS yelling shooter down B4 Trump is brought off the ground and does his FIGHT FIGHT and fist bump

    so my above statement regarding how odd it seemed to allow this would be moot

  147. 147.

    cain

    @raven: I speculate that this might also turn into visceral anger at the press as well. If I were reporters, I would be packing bear spray.

  148. 148.

    Leto

    Something that the talking heads have explained, is that the reason he dropped down is that is what the SS teaches their assigned person to do. Something funny happens, drop down. He turned, grabbed his ear, then dropped down. Then the SS jumped up on stage and threw their bodies over him. So his lizard brain remembered how to protect itself. Then he was actively fighting them to fist pump, and show “he’s strong”, while being led off stage and to the armored SUV. Also, his route to a pre-cleared hospital was already planned so it would be straight there, no stops, no trying to grab the wheel and take him back.

  149. 149.

    LadySuzy

    I’ve become so cynical that, as others, I just couldn’t help thinking about a false flag. I thought about Russia damn it. It seems Trump was hit on the ear and he will be fine.

    Either the person missed him, or a pretty good sniper did his job.

    But we have to brace ourselves, because there is a strong possibility that it was an unstable person who is terrified of a Trump presidency.

    God. We absolutely didn’t need this.

    We all know that Trump will EXPLOIT THIS TO THE MAX.

    This is getting pretty ugly.

    Fear is high on both sides. Unstable people represent a threat. To both Trump and President Biden. The threat assessments will go through the roof.

    Damn. Damn. Damn.

  151. 151.

    TBone

    Again with the infighting and name calling.  Sheesh, I do not feel sorry for someone who brought this on himself.  He encouraged violence in so many ways, so many times, and he does not give a single shit about ANY other human or American citizen.

  152. 152.

    WaterGirl

    @FreeThinkingRedneck:

    Comment deleted above.

    That’s your first comment on Balloon Juice. I approved it, and you are immediately being given a 3-day timeout for promoting violence. If your first comment is promoting violence, you are not welcome on Balloon Juice. WG

  155. 155.

    Nelle

    Attendees being interviewed are saying that two other attendees were shot.  NBC reporting.

  156. 156.

    Mike E

    Joe and Donna, mother and son eyewitnesses interviewed on NBC saying two people carried out injured…”vote for Trump”

    And now “senior law enforcement saying this was a serious attempt on his life”. Let the speculation fly

  157. 157.

    cain

    @LadySuzy: Fear is high on both sides. Unstable people represent a threat. To both Trump and President Biden. The threat assessments will go through the roof.

    Yes good point – we’ve now turned this into a powder keg and I’m not sure if the media is smart enough to understand this.

  158. 158.

    Leto

    @raven: yeah, a lot of the crowd down front turned around towards the camera and were saying that, as well as flipping the bird. Class to the end.

  161. 161.

    BC in Illinois

    I just turned off NPR news.

    “Trump has been riding high . . . thinking he can win . . . since the debate of two weeks ago, when President Biden performed just disastrously . . . ”    [CLICK]

  164. 164.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @cain:

    we’ve now turned this into a powder keg

    Who’s this “we,” kemosabe? :)

    That said, you are right that this is a potential powder keg. I’m glad that we have a cool head in President Biden to make a non-inflammatory response, once he gets the facts.

  168. 168.

    MagdaInBlack

    MTG is already on twitter caterwauling that this is the Democrats fault for demonizing trump supporters.

  169. 169.

    Scout211

    @Leto: So his lizard brain remembered how to protect itself

    Not that any reports right now are 100% accurate, but I read that the Secret Service agents immediately shouted, “Get down!” to Trump and that prompted him to drop.

  171. 171.

    cain

    @O. Felix Culpa:

    I think this is where being ‘presidential’ might be good. But the press is going to be asking him some pretty stupid questions.

    But attempting to murder a presidential candidate is serious business and it should shock the nation. Even if that candidate is Trump. I would much prefer we defeat his ass in elections.

  172. 172.

    Lyrebird

    @Leto: Agreeing with every concerning fact and opinion you have posted right here, thank you.

    @Eolirin: Yes.

    And while I usually let myself use hyperbole and be unfair and all on these threads, rn I am definitely team

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Everyone should also remember not to say something that they would be ashamed of later.

    Or that would get COLE in trouble, or WG her excellent self.

    Sad and volatile situation.

  174. 174.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Archon: I know, it is an odd though that might have been one of his own supporters who shot him, but such are the times we live in.

  176. 176.

    TBone

    @Another Scott: well, if he’s not smart enough to keep his head down 😆 and insists on remaining a target while pumping his fist in the air, I’m gonna say hinky!

  177. 177.

    Poe Larity

    Isn’t the anti-christ supposed to survive death?

    Revelation 13:1 symbolically depicts the Antichrist as a beast that has seven heads, ten horns, and wears ten crowns. But then Revelation 13:3 talks about one of the heads being mortally wounded. Many students of prophecy interpret this symbolism as an assassination attempt on the Antichrist’s life. The fatal wound, however, will somehow be healed, and all the world will marvel and follow the Antichrist (Revelation 13:3-4). This will be the Antichrist’s grandest and most impressive feat, mimicking the resurrection

  179. 179.

    Mai Naem mobile

    Ugh, I’ve been thinking of the Reichstag fire moment since TFGs been running. Not saying this is it but who the hell knows anymore. Also, the stupid media is going to be now broadcasting every damn rally of this raging syphilitic a-hole.

  180. 180.

    RandomMonster

    I’m an atheist, but if I were writing a horror novel about the anti-christ, I would have the anti-christ mastermind an assassination attempt with the perpetrator a crazed leftist. Builds instant sympathy for the devil and anger at his foes.

  181. 181.

    Spanky

    Great. The only thing worse than Trump as martyr is Trump as near-martyr. They’ll make hay out of this.

    Maybe it’s a disgruntled Nikki supporter.

  182. 182.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @cain:

    But the press is going to be asking him some pretty stupid questions.

    Yes. Another day ending in “y.”

    But attempting to murder a presidential candidate is serious business and it should shock the nation. Even if that candidate is Trump. I would much prefer we defeat his ass in elections.

    100% agree.

  184. 184.

    cain

    Looks like one audience member was killed and the shooter is dead according to the attorney general.

  185. 185.

    Archon

    @O. Felix Culpa: Definitely not, but the near future in the United States is going to be very, very rocky. Trumps rhetoric along with project 2025 don’t exactly project future peace and tranquillity. And even if we win you think the right is going to peacefully except it?

    Best to hope for the best but prepare for the worse.

  187. 187.

    Leto

    @Scout211: 100% they were shouting this, you can hear it. But they also brief the protectee (is that the right term?) to drop down. Regardless, they got him secured and out.

  192. 192.

    Scout211

    @cain: source?

    ETA: Never mind

    Here is local news.

    BUTLER, Pa. (AP) — Donald Trump’s campaign said in a statement that the former president was “fine” after a shooting at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. A local prosecutor says the suspected gunman and at least one attendee are dead.

    “President Trump thanks law enforcement and first responders for their quick action during this heinous act,” spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement. “He is fine and is being checked out at a local medical facility. More details will follow.”

    The Secret Service said in a statement that “the former President is safe.”

    Butler County district attorney Richard Goldinger said in a phone interview that the suspected gunman was dead and at least one rally attendee was killed.

  193. 193.

    cain

    I’m more worried about our nation and what this political violence is going to do. I think we’re in serious trouble.

  194. 194.

    Omnes Omnibus

    OTOH:

    Ragnarok Lobster 

    @eclecticbrotha

    Regardless of what happened today, Trump is still an insurrectionist and a convicted felon who wants to use Project 2025 to wreak havoc upon this country.

  195. 195.

    Shakti

    And this is why I am maladaptively day dreaming so much.
    This is tiresome. I’m pretty sure this wouldn’t happen if we had sanity with gun laws but we have to ask the arms dealers want so we get ammo vending machines instead.

    I should be terrified of all the shit this will unleash. But I got hurricane season to think about and the rent is too damn high.

  196. 196.

    cain

    @Danielx: I don’t know if he will. But I know that he will use it to try to kill his legal court stuff and his cult followers will be putting pressure/death threats on the remaining cases.

  198. 198.

    oldgold

    This is from a staff writer for the WaPo

    “Butler county district attorney Richard Goldinger tells me Trump was grazed by gunfire but is safe. An audience member was killed and the shooter is dead. Another person is in serious condition, the prosecutor said.”

  199. 199.

    Mo MacArbie

    Milwaukee’s gonna be an even bigger shitshow now. Can’t have the governor beef up security; he’s a Dem. The federal government? Ha! They’ll want Kyle Whats-his-face to lead volunteers.

  201. 201.

    cain

    So I think the gun noises makes sense now given what the DA said. Basically, there was 3 reports from a gun (rifle?), and then a flurry of gun noises. Given that the shooter is dead, the shooter shot 3 times and then LEO fired back simultaneously.
    ETA huh, what are the odds of getting #200 twice in one day..

  204. 204.

    CaseyL

    I had lunch with a friend who said this year reminded her of 1968.

    I said, “Well, no high-level political assassinations, much less two of them.”

    The murders of MLK Jr. and RFK did not, as I recall, result in a flood of sympathy for the Democratic Party. Certainly not at the ballot box.

    If the GOP does try to make a Law&Order issue of this to attack the Dems, I do hope the Dems can put forward someone who can speak very bitingly about Gun Culture and the GOP.

  205. 205.

    Juju

    @schrodingers_cat: I didn’t know what was going on until my niece sent me a text. It doesn’t say much for his security. I thought everyone was supposed to be screened to get in. It just seems weird that if he was hit, no else near him was hit. I wonder if he injured himself when ducking for cover?  I guess we shall see.

  207. 207.

    Chris Johnson

    @SiubhanDuinne: Tucker Carlson immediately had an incredibly well-framed, perfectly angled photo to use. That’s… fucking deeply weird. Proper Iwo Jima shit, framed against bright blue sky with Trump’s fist sticking up there. So, somebody just happened to be in exactly the right spot, pretty much ON STAGE, ready to take the right photo at just the right moment. Note however that Trump pumped his fist like eight times, and the photographer caught one of those times just right.

    It’s a hell of a photo. It’s also immediately in the possession of Tucker Carlson. Why is it immediately in the possession of Tucker Carlson to post within minutes?

  210. 210.

    Leto

    And now MSNBC has some MAGA woman on, and they’re just letting her free speak “what she saw” and just… jesus, stop it.

  211. 211.

    geg6

    @debit:

    You recall correctly.  The fact his head was up and visible is bad security.  They should have been holding his head down and carrying him off the stage.

  213. 213.

    Belafon

    @O. Felix Culpa: The victimhood will be off the charts. That’s a prediction I’m confident in.

    And the answer is “Violence is not how you resolve anything. When you constantly tell people that the solution to problems is guns, someone is going to decide that’s the way to solve it.”

  214. 214.

    raven

    @Chris Johnson: Yea, and they have a shooter that is so accurate he can graze someone in the ear. Get a grip.

    Lady who was in the first row is saying on the news says there were two shooters.

  216. 216.

    cain

    @Chris Johnson: I would say just about everyone there is a Tucker fan and someone probably took a shot and immediately sent it to Tucker.

    Let’s tone down on these conspiracy theories. This is a proper assassination attempt, where people have died including the shooter.

  218. 218.

    schrodingers_cat

    @raven

    Okay this is what I posted.

    @ManyWorlds1Cat

    I condemn political violence. We need gun control now. There is only one candidate in the race who is advocating for sensible gun legislation.

  219. 219.

    Jeffro

    @Chris Johnson: Carlson is the one who, multiple times this year (including at least once to trumpov’s face) hinted that dark and sinister powers would have to ‘kill him’ (trumpov).

    I don’t care who did it or why – I will still work my ass off to oppose this clown ever being near the WH (or any other elected office) ever again.

  220. 220.

    Eyeroller

    @raven: I would take that with a very large grain of salt.  The second shooter is often imagined, and if real may well have been a SS agent.

    Eyewitness reports are very, very unreliable.

  221. 221.

    Spanky

    @raven: Eyewitness accounts are shit. And I can’t see how anyone at a Trump rally is going to have a reasoned, thoughtful comment.

  222. 222.

    moonbat

    I hope the FCFFG is fine.

    And I am so cynical at this point I’m wondering how many times Putin has seen the original Manchurian Candidate.

  224. 224.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    Every time I see the Secret Service abbreviation my visceral reaction is it’s a reference to an historical entity with a well-documented track record of genocide (and plenty of other atrocities if that wasn’t enough).

    Purely a visceral reaction, possibly enabled by the fact the context of the conversation is political violence, a fascist major political party. etc.

  226. 226.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    If one wants to be conspiracy theory, that cabal of billionaires who tried to forced Biden out of the race. Well if Trump were to Trump off to that Great Trump Tower in the Sky, there is no VP so the GOP convention becomes that jungle convention  they are dreaming off were they get to pick the winner. The they get their Generic Republic (now with less Trump) for the election.

    This is so dumb I could easily see Peter Thel doing this.

  227. 227.

    brendancalling

    @Wapiti: no one

    Until otherwise demonstrated, I say this was staged.

    A REAL assassin would have used something more powerful than a BB rifle.

  229. 229.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    This was Trump reaping what he sowed. It’s fucking terrible. The professional victims are gonna make it all about themselves while ignoring what happens at schools and theatres and gay clubs and synagogues and…

  230. 230.

    Jay

    @raven:

    Given the quality of people that 34 Felonies Rapist Pedo Rallies attract, 34 Felonies Rapist Pedo may not have even been the target, and if there were two shooters, odds are, given the other victims, that they were shooting at each other.

  232. 232.

    AxelFoley

    @WaterGirl:

    You can’t spend 4-8 years provoking violence without the result being… violence.

    Exactly. Oh, but you should see all the MAGAts on Twitter calling the rest of us evil for clowning Trump’s ass. Trump ushered in this climate of political hate.

  233. 233.

    Chris Johnson

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques: Not known. I do however ask: how did a gunman stand, aim, and fire in THAT crowd? I have already said how I think it is dangerous for Trump to betray his right wing, as in repudiating Project 2025. I didn’t think it was safe for him to do that.

    I don’t know how a gunman with any weapon, even an airsoft or pellet gun, would stand and fire at Trump from within THAT crowd without anything done about it. Why did the Trump fans literally on all sides of the shooter not interfere?

    One answer that would conclusively dispose of that objection would be: no person levelled a gun at Trump, but someone dropped a series of firecrackers. Explosions went off, but there was no person standing levelling a gun, therefore no Trump fan was presented with the sight of a man aiming a weapon at their candidate, therefore nobody acted.

    Surely there were a lot of cell phones in use and a lot of video? Where is the video of the person aiming the gun?

  234. 234.

    Belafon

    4:21 PM PT — A source who has spoken with a member of the Secret Service tells TMZ, Trump was not hit by a bullet. Rather, a bullet hit his teleprompter and the glass struck him by the ear.

    We’re also told 2 people at the rally were hit by gunfire and are in the hospital. We do not know their condition. Sources say the shooter was taken down by Secret Service. The Associated Press says the shooter is dead and one attendee was killed.

    https://www.tmz.com/

    We might find out that there was a fight that broke out in the audience and a stray bullet hit the teleprompt.

  235. 235.

    Martin

    @Belafon: Oh, we resolve lots of things with violence. When democratic institutions fail to do their jobs, we substitute violence, which is why it’s important for those institutions to work well.

    There’s going to be more of this, I suspect.

  236. 236.

    Mai Naem mobile

    I wonder if Melania has a clause in her prenup that requires her to show up for events such as these.

  238. 238.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Jay: Didn’t that happen to FDR – an assassination attempt on him to turned out to be mob hit on a man standing next to FDR?

  239. 239.

    Leto

    @raven: well now we have grassy knoll shit here, but it’s what they always do after a shooting. Interview people, “what did you see… oh, there was someone in the water tower? Oh, someone under the stands? And someone in a blimp? Well, Chuck, it seems there was a highly coordinated attempt but we don’t really know anything at this point, and we’re still waiting for the FBI to even open their notebooks but we’re sure to keep everyone updated.”

    I muted her after she started speaking about how Trumpov was there in Butler, in 2016, and how it “was magical”. Just fucking no.

  242. 242.

    eversor

    What goes around comes around.  Suck it.  I say this as someone who’s been shot at and been shot.  You fuckers want weapons out this is what happens.

  243. 243.

    Mai Naem mobile

    @Belafon: i thought TFG did not need a teleprompter. So all that shark electricity stuff is written on a teleprompter?

  244. 244.

    RandomMonster

    Ugh. The identity of the shooter is going to be critical. Just like every other shooting in America.

  246. 246.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Chris Johnson: Good points, and it looks like we will just have to wait and see.

    I am just speculating for , well I rather not say why.

  247. 247.

    Eyeroller

    @Belafon: That makes a lot more sense.  There was no way he was shot with a bullet (as opposed to a pellet) with so little damage.  I knew it had to be either a grazing or some kind of shrapnel and I have no firearms experience, other than to know that a bullet will do a lot of damage, more than most people realize.

    It would be crazy if it was some dispute among the attendees but not aimed at Trump.

  250. 250.

    Belafon

    We treat this as an assassination attempt until proven otherwise. And our response is “When you tell people that guns are the answer, someone is going to pick up a gun. And that is the wrong way to solve this. It is solved by voting.”

  254. 254.

    Gravenstone

    @raven: Trump has been making the press their collective enemy for nearly a decade now. Not surprised one or more of his cultists is going rabid at a visible “enemy” in the aftermath.

  256. 256.

    Chris Johnson

    @WaterGirl: I would keep a sharp eye out for whether we have another troll infestation of new nyms, but now they are all coordinated and demanding violence.

    I have said numerous times that I do not trust people lobbying for civil war, and whatever the details, I consider this the political moment to NOT DO any such thing, nor do violence, nor allow or excuse or ANY of that.

    It stops right now. It stops with whatever the hell that was.

  258. 258.

    SpaceUnit

    Damn, the water tower.  The one place the Secret Service wouldn’t check and secure.

  261. 261.

    Spanky

    The rally was at Butler Farm Show, Inc. on Evans Road in Butler, and I’m not finding a water tower nearby.

    Back to Google Maps ..

    Eta: ok, it’s about 1200 feet north east of where I’m thinking the stage would have been.  I must be wrong about the stage. That’s a really ambitious shot.

  263. 263.

    MisterForkbeard

    @Martin: Yeah. I’ve been expecting this for awhile. It’s bad, but as Trump, Republicans and SCOTUS (but I repeat myself) keep continually screwing up democracy and shutting down opposition, we’re going to see more of this.

    It’s a really bad situation.

  266. 266.

    Elizabelle

    I am sure President Biden is going to be very gracious and express sympathy and put the DOJ and FBI on this immediately.  Keep me posted on when he says something.  (Coming late to this thread; haven’t read the comments.)

  267. 267.

    Captain C

    @Chris Johnson: Given how many MAGA cultists are chickenshit cowards IRL, I could see them freezing and not doing anything even if they saw someone aiming a rifle at their Dear Leader.

  268. 268.

    Gravenstone

    @Nelle: Not surprising, since there were people surrounding him on multiple sides. Shots missing their central target aren’t going to magically stop. They’ll hit something/someone downrange.

  269. 269.

    Maxim

    @CaseyL: I am pretty sure that one of the signs of the antichrist is supposed to be surviving an attempt on his life. So his base will love that interpretation, because they think he’s the second coming.

  270. 270.

    Elie

    The target of the assasination attempt on Roosevelt  (FDR) was Roosevelt —  Chicago Mayor Cermak was in the way….  At least that is the formal history…

  272. 272.

    Jackie

    @Spanky:

    Maybe it’s a disgruntled Nikki supporter.

    My thought went to a pissed off evangelist upon learning a national abortion ban was no longer part of the GQP Convention mantra per TCFG’s order.

  274. 274.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    @The Kropenhagen Interpretation:

    The professional victims are gonna make it all about themselves while ignoring what happens at schools and theatres and gay clubs and synagogues and…

    Butbutbut, the blood of those innocents (well, accept for Teh Gayz in the world of the American Taliban) is required to propitiate the God of the Second Amendment.

    I know, I’m snarking but every day there’s a mass shooting, seemingly on a daily basis (the definition of “mass shooting” differs believe it or not–I’m sure that’s a deliberate effort by gundamentalists to obfuscate the data and impact of gunz) and I begin to wonder.

    One of the most affecting documentary shorts you’ll ever see is about mass shootings where they film the everyday places where one happened while playing the 911 call over top the very banal visual.

  276. 276.

    BellyCat

    The only possible silver lining is that the media (and this here blog)  get to focus on something other than Biden’s cognitive abilities. Suspect this might not be much of an improvement to desired election outcome?

  277. 277.

    Elie

    Sorry —

    My comment about FDR’s attempted assassination in Chicago —  I forgot and used my real name instead of my Nym

  278. 278.

    different-church-lady

    If it’s alright with you folks, I’m going to just give up on this timeline and act as though the rest of history doesn’t exist.

  279. 279.

    stacib

    @Maxim: LOL, I’ve already seen that posted on HuffPo just minutes ago except he isn’t the anti-Christ but the savior who has been spared by God.

  281. 281.

    Jeffro

    @Elizabelle:I am sure President Biden is going to be very gracious and express sympathy and put the DOJ and FBI on this immediately.

    I’m sure, too, because he’s a better person than I am, and I’d be like, “Well, since I have ‘IMMUNITY’, I’m putting exactly NO ONE on this case…best wishes, you violence-inciting orange shitstain”

  282. 282.

    raven

    It’s probably going to be hard to find any Biden supporters in the crowd to interview.

  285. 285.

    Mike E

    What this was I have no idea but I am sure we won’t know anytime soon. Silly season is now being written by Hunter S. Thompson hopped up on street drugs, avoid the 24 hour news coverage.

  286. 286.

    Interstadial

    @Starfish: Modern cameras can be set up to take a number of photos in very rapid succession.  Then one can pick out the best one.  This is definitely what a pro photographer would do during a live event.

  294. 294.

    trnc

    @Dman: ​
     

    pretty sure noone here insisted it was staged,

    I didn’t rule it out, especially after seeing how slowly he moved to drop to the stage floor, but I guess he’s just old and out of shape.

  298. 298.

    p.a.

    His followers are such trash their reactions my end up hurting that campaign.  For the most part they don’t do “sadly aggrieved.”

     

    And if any of them bring up how they’ve been demonized, pls note the left has been demonized since McCarthy the 1919 Red Scare.

  299. 299.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    @comrade scotts agenda of rage: One of the most affecting documentary shorts you’ll ever see is about mass shootings where they film the everyday places where one happened while playing the 911 call over top the very banal visual.

    That does sound powerful. Do you know the name?

  300. 300.

    Gravenstone

    @cain: Secret Service typically locks down any structure with an overview of a protectee event. Someone missed what in retrospect would seem to be an obvious vantage point during the security sweep.

  301. 301.

    TBone

     

    @comrade scotts agenda of rage: I have that exact same phenom/reaction.

    I was once under the eye (sharpshooters on rooftops) of the Secret Service protesting Ronald Reagan.  I was the only protester there, so I stuck out like a sore thumb.

  302. 302.

    Jackie

    I fully expect the GQP National Convention to announce they now support strong gun control laws*.

    *snark to the nth degree

  303. 303.

    Juju

    @Suzanne: When I went to a HRC rally it was like going through the airport security. They went through my purse , I had to empty pockets and went through a metal detector and some people  also had the wand thing done. I can’t imagine Trump Secret Service wouldn’t insist on the same.

  304. 304.

    YY_Sima Qian

    Where it was staged (my cynical self has my own suspicions, what kind of firearm does so little damage, what are the odds of a grazing wound to the head), Trump & the are will try to take advantage of it just the same. The media coverage will shift attention from Biden’s age & competence for a while, but it will also remove the oxygen from Biden’s campaign for just as long.

    F*ck! Flying back to the U.S. in a couple of days. Here I thought visiting before the election would be safe. Will definitely tell my parents to accelerate their relocation back to China.

    Do people still think Adam L. Silverman has been hyperventilating wrt to a civil war in the U.S.?

  305. 305.

    Gravenstone

    @Belafon: “When you tell people that guns are the answer, someone is going to pick up a gun. And that is the wrong way to solve this. It is solved by voting.”

    I expect this will be the core of the Biden administration statement on the incident.

  306. 306.

    Soprano2

    This is terrible for a number of reasons. I’m glad TCFG is ok. Guns are the problem. How did someone get a gun in his rally is a big question that needs to be answered. It’s terrible that someone is dead. What a cluster fuck this is. The breaking news handbook is a good guideline for situations like this. There will be a lot of disinformation out there about this. I’m withhold judgment on anything at least until tomorrow.

  307. 307.

    different-church-lady

    If you thought you’d already seen people saying the stupidest things possible on the internet, prepare yourselves.

  308. 308.

    Gretchen

    Trump’s head was turned when he was hit. It looked like the shot came from behind him. An eyewitness said something about someone on a water tower was shot.

  310. 310.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @Juju: Same procedure going to a Biden rally in 2020. It took forever to get through security because they were being so thorough.

  311. 311.

    hotshoe

    @Eyeroller: ​ I have no shame at conspiracy thinking: if shot came from a water tower which Secret Service “should” have secured before event, maybe there are a group of the SS guys he has abused and sickened to the point where some of them decided to just not notice a person in the tower … not that any of the SS guys would actually do the shooting … but “carelessly not notice” a potential sniper spot overlooking the man they have come to despise??

    It would certainly be worth the risk of losing your job to be rid of that crime boss.​

  312. 312.

    Suzanne

    @Juju: I would hope so, too. But magnetometers can be adjusted for sensitivity, and thorough searches are time-consuming, so I am sure that things get missed all the time.

  313. 313.

    Eyeroller

    @Soprano2: Apparently it wasn’t someone at the rally, it was somebody at a nearby water tower with a direct line of sight that the Secret Service inexplicably failed to secure.  A huge failure on their part even if one hates Trump.

  315. 315.

    Maxim

    @stacib: Exactly. The irony, of course, being that that’s exactly how believers are deceived by the antichrist into thinking he’s the real deal.

  317. 317.

    Jay

    @Gravenstone:

    If it was a water tower.

    What we know, know, know,

    Shots were fired.

    2 dead, 1 wounded,

    34 Felonies Rapist Pedo got hit by a chunk of debris from his teleprompter.

    We will know a bit more tomorrow and in the coming week.

  319. 319.

    Elizabelle

    @Jay: Wild.  I had heard of Mayor Cermak’s death before; totally forgot it happened at an FDR event.

  320. 320.

    OGLiberal

    I’m in Nashville because my company made me move re-locate here.  We have a house in NJ and rural NE PA.  We’re getting ready to sell the NJ house (on the Shore – we should get a lot) so my family is at the PA house so we can more easily prep the NJ house for sale, after which they are going to move to Nahville.  They are terrified because we always mask due to my son’s illness.  We’re hoping they can get everything delivered (tough in rural areas) until I get back there in two weeks.

    Weird to say this but I think Nashville is the safest place for us now.  Monmouth County, NJ is filled with wingnuts.

  321. 321.

    NobodySpecial

    @RandomMonster: Yes, we need to know if it’s a “sad person with mental illness” or “a terrorist.”

    Color me unsurprised by this – we’re not that far removed from someone trying to murder the Speaker of the House’s husband with a hammer.

  325. 325.

    trnc

    @YY_Sima Qian: ​
     

    Where it was staged (my cynical self has my own suspicions, what kind of firearm does so little damage, what are the odds of a grazing wound to the head), Trump & the are will try to take advantage of it just the same.

    I saw an unconfirmed report that the bullet hit a teleprompter and the glass hit his ear. Agree that he’ll get a sympathy boost. Would love to think there might be a bit of conversation about guns around this.

  326. 326.

    Princess

    Occam’s razor suggests this indeed was an assassination attempt.

    But I confess that my first thought was of Bob Roberts. Surely I’m not the only one here who remembers that movie.

  328. 328.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @YY_Sima Qian: No, I never thought Adam was wrong about that.  But he hasn’t been exactly forthcoming with ideas about what we’re supposed to do about it. His diagnosis doesn’t do us a lot of good without at least some pointers towards a treatment plan.

  329. 329.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Soprano2: I’m glad TCFG is ok.

    I agree, as odd as I find it saying those words,

    If the gun man succeeded would have turned Trump into a Martyr, venerated like forever by the MSM and if that was vile enough, who ever replaced Trump on the ticket would have been generic republican and really, really hard to beat.

  330. 330.

    different-church-lady

    I’m going to limit my comments to what I know for a fact.

    I know for a fact that my desk is getting sick of the feeling of my forehead crashing into it.

  332. 332.

    lowtechcyclist

    Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., who was shot and injured in 2017 when a gunman opened fire on Republicans during a baseball practice, condemned Democratic rhetoric leading up to the attack.
    “For weeks Democrat leaders have been fueling ludicrous hysteria that Donald Trump winning re-election would be the end of democracy in America,” he said in a post to X. “Clearly we’ve seen far left lunatics act on violent rhetoric in the past. This incendiary rhetoric must stop.”

    Yeah, Steve – our ‘incendiary rhetoric’ consists of telling people what’s in Trump’s plan for 2025. GFY, bub.

  333. 333.

    Elie

    @Uncle Cosmo:

    Yes.. he was corrupt. We only have the vagaries of historical accounts either way.  Lord knows Chicago was a corrupt town so it wouldn’t be a surprise.

  334. 334.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    @The Kropenhagen Interpretation:

    I spent time trying to find it (again).  I’m gonna need to go back and plow thru the shorts program at the True/False film festival.  It’s where I originally saw it.  It’s on YouTube.

    I posted about it sometime in the last year here but can I find it now?  Of course not.  I’ll keep at it and if I see you in another thread tomorrow, I’ll post a link.

    Found it: Speaking is Difficult.  There are two released cuts, I think I saw the shorter version at True/False.  Anyhow, here’s both:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98K_-PXPefo

    https://www.newyorker.com/video/watch/speaking-is-difficult-2

  335. 335.

    Princess

    @Eyeroller: That’s unconscionable. The SS more and more shows itself to be inadequate to its task. I hope Biden’s team is better quality.

  337. 337.

    Citizen Alan

    @Eolirin:

    No, the evangelicals still love him. My immediate thought is that it’s someone working for putin. Either putin wants him out of the way so that a stronger republican can win or putin would use this to goose his ratings.

  344. 344.

    Eyeroller

    @Belafon: Not a water tower, but another obvious line of sight.

    If the SS told Trump that there were too many hazards around and he brushed them off, then I’m sympathetic to them. If it was a fairground it would indeed have had a lot of buildings.

    The shooter seems to be wearing camo, not something associated with liberals but who knows.  As I have mentioned, a lot of these political assassins (would-be and successful) are weirdos with no coherent political ideology.

  351. 351.

    Another Scott

    @Eyeroller: @Belafon: @Princess:

    Remember the checklist posted earlier.

    We don’t really know what happened yet.  We have a bunch of people quickly reporting things that might or might not be accurate.

    Hang in there, everyone.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  353. 353.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Eyeroller: As I have mentioned, a lot of these political assassins (would-be and successful) are weirdos with no coherent political ideology.

    And a lot of these political extremist exist in a kind of political quantum state were their politics go left to right and back on a daily bases.

  354. 354.

    Eyeroller

    @KenK: I think there is almost no chance of a second shooter.  People hear ricochets and such and imagine a second shooter.  Or could have been an SS agent for all we know at this point.

  355. 355.

    Jay

    @Princess:

    Given the Qfolk, Rage Farmers, Cultists, Gunhumpers that follow 34 Felonies Rapist Pedo guy around like deadheads,

    Occams Razor say this was a personal beef between 2 of the cult that wound up with gunplay and stray bullets,

    but we will learn more over the coming days.

  356. 356.

    different-church-lady

    @Another Scott: ​

    We have a bunch of people quickly reporting things that might or might not be accurate.

    And we still will two weeks from now.

  357. 357.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Gretchen:

    That makes sense. I was trying to work it out and I thought he was saying “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!”  That’s certainly what I would have been saying.

  362. 362.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    @WaterGirl:

    He wanted the SS to let his supporters through security with their weapons on Jan. 6th because they were’t there to hurt him. I wonder how he feels about that now…lol! While I don’t want anyone to shoot or kill Felonious D and I’m not happy that this happened, as far as his injuries go I don’t give a shit about him.

    Just like he doesn’t give a shit about so many other people. Fuck him.

  364. 364.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Citizen Alan: My immediate thought is that it’s someone working for putin. Either putin wants him out of the way so that a stronger republican can win or putin would use this to goose his ratings.

    And the elite sniper Putin sends missing the target and killing a bystander would be 100% on brand for the Russian Federation.

  365. 365.

    cmorenc

    Would-be assassins of Democratic / progressive political figures seem to have had more accurate aim than those of would-be assassins of Republican political figures whether by skill or luck.  The one thing all these would-be assassins had in common was a serious mental wire loose somewhere, even if arguably there may have been sinister masterminds behind one or two of them.

    Democrats / Progressives:

    JFK: succeeded

    RFK: succeeded

    MLK: succeeded

    GOP:

    Reagan: failed

    Trump: failed

  367. 367.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @different-church-lady:

    I know, but seriously (NOT A JOKE!) he referred two or three times to “Donald,” not “Former President Trump.” Biden has the human being front and centre. He is a much better and more admirable person than I am.

  370. 370.

    Chris Johnson

    @Jeffro: Tucker Carlson is the one who literally interviewed Putin, enthused over Russian supermarkets, and has been insisting the nation would be racked by civil war Real Soon Now ™.

    If he has been planting seeds about how he was sure Trump was going to be assassinated, that makes me even more suspicious that this stinks to high heaven. I know how these people work. If all this has been telegraphed even more than I knew it was, then I want to see camera footage from the far side of Trump. I want to see if there is injury to his ear before his hand goes up there, because that’s the first thing he does, is the hand goes up to the ear. If his ear’s nicked and that’s why his hand goes there, fine. I see no reaction from anybody before that point, just startle at distant pops.

    The area immediately behind him is a SEA of people. Who else got hit?

  371. 371.

    NobodySpecial

    @Gravenstone: “I wouldn’t waste a bullet on him. I wanna beat his ass at the ballot box and hide the Bible if God’s watching.”

  373. 373.

    hueyplong

    @Elizabelle: President-elect Roosevelt was riding with the Chicago mayor in Miami when the gunman struck. The mayor was killed.

    If I were trying to kill the mayor, I’d figure the toughest time to try would be the only time secret service guys were on the scene.

  375. 375.

    YY_Sima Qian

    @trnc: Anything w/ power to be shot from that distance should have absolutely shattered the teleprompter glass, there should be video evidence easily available.

  376. 376.

    Another Scott

    Biden just did a little Q&A at Rehoboth Beach, DE.  All I heard was “I have opinions but I’m waiting on facts” at the end.  The NPR guy said that he said he hopes to speak to Trump soon.

    WhiteHouse statement.

    Hang in there, everyone.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  377. 377.

    Mike in NC

    I’ve seen a few bumper stickers: “Trump 2024. No more bullshit.” He’s such a crass, vulgar piece of garbage and so are the people at this rally, cursing the cameras and making obscene gestures.

  380. 380.

    Chris Johnson

    @brendancalling: Impossible that it was a BB rifle. Seems there was either the shooter, or someone planted there, up on a roof outside the security perimeter. That means some kind of sniper rifle, but also a bullet large enough that it beggars belief Trump’s ear was intact as it was. Or… a blank, and a blood capsule, and a bunch of people dressed as Secret Service inexplicably not covering Trump’s head with their bodies for second after second so he could be photographed pumping his fist like eight times and shouting ‘Fight fight fight!’

    That seems odd. Why not cover him? Is that not their training? Which Secret Service were they? Does Trump get to retain the Secret Service that were loyal to him specially, the ones that Joe Biden didn’t want around? If they’re the ones loyal to him why do they not cover him with their bodies?

  382. 382.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Suzanne:

    And Dr. Ruth Westheimer. One time in NYC, I was at a restaurant in Rock Center, and she and friends were at the next table celebrating her 68th (?) birthday. I joined in when they sang “Happy Birthday” to her, and she flashed me a smile during the song and said “Thank you” on her way out. RIP.

  385. 385.

    Uncle Cosmo

    Count me surprised none of the leagle egals this blog is crawling with have brought up the two obvious words: Cui bono?

    Frankly the most likely to benefit from this situation are not TCFFG or the hangers-on around him like Reinhard-Heydrich-lookalike Stephen Miller, but the oligarch-thugs bankrolling the campaign and hot to parlay the incident into total control of the gummint. If Trumpolini had been killed they’d get all the benefits of his martyrdom plus the opportunity to elevate an easily-controlled candidate of their choice without most of his obvious flaws. Now that he’s survived, they still get the martyrdom.

    What makes me apprehensive is that there are a lot of people who are (or could be painted as) on our side of the aisle who could be provoked into making the attempt. All you’d need is a recent hardworking immigrant whose following family was caged at the border by Trump’s goons and whose children were ripped from their mother’s arms and delivered for adoption to some fundanazis. Find such a person, amplify his outrage, lead him to some firearms training and a weapon, then have a thoroughly suborned Secret Service detachment look the other way as he drifts into the crowd with a weapon in his pocket…gesummaria.

  386. 386.

    Chris Johnson

    @cain: No, there’s video of a man on the far side of a building’s white roof. Apparently outside the security perimeter. Not a water tower. Some BBC person was interviewing some guy who had a whole elaborate story about failing to make the Secret Service and police interested in the man with a rifle on the roof. I find it hard to believe typically right-wing cops would take no interest in this.

  388. 388.

    WaterGirl

    @Chris Johnson: I talked to Cole as soon as I put the guy in a timeout.  We agreed that if a person’s very first comment on BJ is in support of violence, that’s not a commenter that is welcome on Balloon Juice.

    That’s when I went back and edited my original reply.

  389. 389.

    evodevo

    @Eyeroller: Well, back in the Eighties when I worked at the U of KY, ole GWHB came to campus for a visit, and the Biol. bldg was locked down, with SS on the roof.  And there are a LOT of bldgs in that area…

  391. 391.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Uncle Cosmo: Objection your’ honor!

    I will submit for evidence post #226 to the court were I  knowingly and with deliberate forethought preformed a hopelessly ill informed speculation in the manner as you described.

  392. 392.

    YY_Sima Qian

    @O. Felix Culpa: I had thoughts about how to avoid that [higher intensity] civil war, or put the anti-Fascist coalition in a better position to win one should it happen: hold the WH in Nov., hold the Senate & win as many other races as possible, nuke the filibuster, pack the courts, defund & rebuild local law enforcement wherever possible, defund the programs that are feeding the techno-authoritarian VC tech bros currently enjoying a feeding frenzy, purge the military of reactionaries, purge federal law enforcement of reactionaries, use every lever of power w/in the confines of the laws to hold back the reactionaries, ignore the gentlemanly rules & norms. However, events may over take any such efforts.

    Adam was more warning people to take the possibility seriously, & prepare at a personal level contingency plans for ourselves & our families. Me personally, that means staying away from the U.S. after this upcoming trip, get my parents back to China ASAP, &  develop alternative plans for my children’s secondary education (the primary plan had always been primary & lower middle schools in China, High School & beyond in the States).

    Still will donate to Ds for the election, crossing my fingers that they do any good.

  393. 393.

    Eyeroller

    @evodevo: Some President, can’t remember who or when, visited my university, which isn’t too far from DC. Maybe GHWB?  I didn’t attend but I heard there was a sniper on every surrounding building (of course closer in than at a typical fairgrounds but still..). It seems like a major lapse of security.

  396. 396.

    Citizen Alan

    @Eolirin: Honestly, it’s entirely possible that the shooter went after him because the guy’s dog said trump is a space alien from planet zog. None of us know shit right now.

  398. 398.

    Jobeth

    Oh ffs MSNBC interviewing a woman wondering where all this hate comes from. She’s wearing a “know your parasite” t shirt that describes Joe Biden as a Luna tick. No self awareness whatsoever.

  399. 399.

    different-church-lady

    I’m looking around here and I’m thinking there’s a bunch of people who, in the coming days, ought to feel mighty stupid regarding what they’re saying right now, but probably won’t.

  400. 400.

    Eyeroller

    @Odie Hugh Manatee: ​I’m sure he got hit by shrapnel from the teleprompter lens. That can create a fair amount of blood. We should stay away from conspiracy theories here.

  404. 404.

    Princess

    @Chris Johnson: when Obama chose Biden as VP I went down to Springfield. They spoke in an area ringed with buildings and there were snipers on every one. It seems bizarre that the SS did not attend to this — I almost wonder if we’ll find the shooter was himself SS.

  406. 406.

    Jackie

    @Gretchen: He was also heard saying he needs his shoes. Why would dropping to the ground cause his shoes to fall off? Too large in order to accommodate lifts?

  408. 408.

    Eolirin

    @Citizen Alan: I’m not asserting anything about the actual circumstances, I said it would be a best case scenario for the aftermath if this ends up being an Evangelical read:anti abortion fanatic. You implied that was impossible, and I pointed out there are in fact people on the far right fringe in that community that are really mad about the platform language.

    Of course we have no idea what actually happened.

  409. 409.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Jay: Thanky kindly. I actually remembered Zangara’s name, it’s close to the surname of “Uncle Tony,” one of Dad’s best friends in high school, but was too chickenshit to venture it…

  410. 410.

    Suzanne

    I follow a funny Xhitter account called Pittsburgh Scanner, which alerts me to hilarious happenings all over the city (last week, some people in the next neighborhood over were having a naked car wash and twerking)…… but right now it is not so funny. Apparently there is at least one person driving around Allegheny General Hospital and screaming about the rally and acting erratically.

    Now it’s saying that there is a growing police presence around the hospital.

    ETA: Four LifeFlight helicopters have landed there in the last hour or so and it is thought that Trump is on one of them.

  412. 412.

    p.a.

    Every Dem election office, not to mention people, better be on guard for the duration.  Those people haven’t needed excuses to commit violence.

     

    Also too, maybe we now get to use the “disturbed individual” get-out-of-jail card.

  415. 415.

    evodevo

    @Eyeroller: Yep..there was the UK med center complex, dorms, all kinds of bldgs in the immediate area.  I’m assuming they were all patrolled too, lol.  There were a couple of suits with earpieces in the stairwell when I went up to my classroom.  Just stared at them and went past…

  417. 417.

    SiubhanDuinne

    I’d love to stick around until this thread goes T-Bogg, but I’m not see much new here nor hearing anything new on the T&V machine, so I think I’ll go to bed. Night, all.

  420. 420.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    @debit:

    Reagan was lighter. The SS would need a forklift to move Felonious D in the same manner.

    His head keeps bobbing up because it’s the lightest thing on his body, nothing but air in it.

  421. 421.

    Nukular Biskits

    I’ll not share my first thoughts as they border on conspiratorial, but I will say this is yet another reminder that it’s WAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYY past time for us to address gun violence in this country.

    Sadly, however, even the deaths of kids aren’t enough to make a difference.

  422. 422.

    Another Scott

    @YY_Sima Qian: Human brains don’t think clearly in times of stress.

    Take a deep breath and don’t make rash decisions.  It’s the weekend – no need to decide things quickly.

    Hang in there YY and everyone.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  434. 434.

    Bill Arnold

    @The Kropenhagen Interpretation:
    Lifts, I say. He was afraid it will become generally known that he lies about his height.
    Better than even odds (imo) that the press will speculate about this.
    The Secret Service may have (cold reading) seriously fucked up here. Dead and wounded attendees is horrible.

  436. 436.

    Jackie

    @The Kropenhagen Interpretation: 😂

    Just saw TCFG supposedly said “I felt the bullet ripping through the skin. The bullet pierced the upper part of my right ear.”

    Of course it could have been a fragment ricocheting from the podium, but TCFG will only accept a bullet wound for fundraising purposes.

  439. 439.

    Archon

    Can’t wait for the media to ask Biden if he planned Trumps assassination during his 4 hour work days.

  440. 440.

    YY_Sima Qian

    @Another Scott: All of these decisions have been in the works for some time (other than not visiting the US again), most for reasoning not having to do w/ US political environment, & all of them are reversible (well, my parents have no interest living out the rest of their lives in the US, away from family).

    I am under no illusion that the PRC represents any kind of safe harbor, given the trends in the political developments here, & the fact that should the reactionaries win in Nov. & the PRC & the US get into a shooting war, Wuhan is will be high on any MAGA nuclear targeting list (lots of industry including semiconductors/optical communications/space/defense industries, lots of academic institutions including military research institutes, base for the PLA airborne corps, & the source of the “Plague”).

    I do think the PRC is much better prepared to accommodate the dramatic changes being & to be wrought by AGW, as long as the CPC regime does not collapse, & as long as thermonuclear war does not supersede the effects of AGW.

  441. 441.

    Chris Johnson

    @Geminid: I caught a bit of a livestreamer, and a news person reported that Trump had issued a statement that a bullet had gone through his ear.

    If that’s real, then Trump is claiming a sniper bullet literally went through his ear, though I supposed you could interpret ‘barely nicked’ as ‘through’. I don’t feel you could penetrate someone’s ear even with a BB (which this could not have been) without a lot more blood than was visible on him. I guess it’s time to go to bed, and tomorrow, see if that was really a thing Trump insisted was true.

  445. 445.

    Chris Johnson

    @Jackie: That at least is not hard to understand. He does wear massive lifts, and it’s in character for him to insist that he continue to wear them and not be seen without them, and there is nothing about being a vain lift-wearer that warrants the death penalty, so criticizing the man for being weird about his shoes is no bueno.

    He wears giant lifts and stands funny, big deal. We have more important concerns.

    In fact, all those felonies and being a convicted rapist don’t warrant the death penalty either, and that’s a damned important point. We still want justice. Not law of the jungle.

  446. 446.

    WaterGirl

    @Jobeth:

    Oh ffs MSNBC interviewing a woman wondering where all this hate comes from. She’s wearing a “know your parasite” t shirt that describes Joe Biden as a Luna tick. No self awareness whatsoever.

    Wow.

  447. 447.

    Geminid

    @Chris Johnson: I wonder if you saw my reply to you this morning, talking about computer security maven Jackie Singh. She might interest you if you don’t know her already.

  448. 448.

    Another Scott

    Meanwhile, … Phys.org:

    A planet relatively close to Earth could be the first ever detected with a potentially life-sustaining liquid ocean outside our Solar System, according to scientists using the James Webb space telescope.

    More than 5,000 planets have been discovered outside of the Solar System so far, but only a handful are in what is called the “Goldilocks zone” — neither too hot or too cold — that could host liquid water, a key ingredient for life.

    The exoplanet LHS 1140 b is one of the few in this habitable zone, and has been thoroughly scrutinized since it was first discovered in 2017.

    It sits 48 light years from Earth, which equates to more than 450 trillion kilometers (280 trillion miles) — relatively close in the vast distances of space.

    The exoplanet had been thought to be a small gas giant called a “mini-Neptune” with an atmosphere too thick with hydrogen and helium to support alien life.

    However, new observations from the Webb telescope have confirmed that the exoplanet is in fact a rocky “super-Earth”.

    It is 1.7 times bigger than Earth, but has 5.6 times its mass, according to a study published late Wednesday in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

    ‘Best bet’ for ocean world

    The Webb telescope was able to analyze the planet’s atmosphere as it passed in front of its star.

    There were no signs of hydrogen or helium, which ruled out that the planet was a mini-Neptune.

    The density of the planet indicates that it “actually has large quantities of water,” study co-author Martin Turbet of France’s CNRS scientific research center told AFP.

    It could be a truly immense amount of water.

    All the water in Earth’s oceans represents only 0.02 percent of its mass. But 10 to 20 percent of the exoplanet’s mass was estimated to be water.

    Whether or not this water is in liquid or ice form depends on the planet’s atmosphere.

    “We do not have direct evidence that it has an atmosphere, but several elements point in that direction,” Turbet said.

    Lead study author Charles Cadieux, a PhD student at the University of Montreal, said that “of all currently known temperate exoplanets, LHS 1140 b could well be our best bet to one day indirectly confirm liquid water on the surface of an alien world”.

    […]

    It was only 100 years ago when Hubble showed that the Milky Way is not the only galaxy in the universe. We’re still learning an awful lot about this amazing existence we find ourselves in.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  452. 452.

    citizen dave

    @Princess: I remember watching the movie Bob Roberts, and thinking it was a good movie/satire.  Tim Robbins is the writer, director and star.  What I mostly remember since though is Jack Black (Tenacious D fan here) talking about how lovely and nice Tim Robbins was to him by putting Jack in the movie, and how grateful Jack was.

    Time to watch it again.

  454. 454.

    wjca

    @Eyeroller: The second shooter is often imagined, and if real may well have been a SS agent.

    But a reputed second shooter would be oh soooo convenient, should the dead shooter turn out to be nothing like a liberal crazy.

  455. 455.

    Ruckus

    @Eyeroller:

    A bullet could have struck him in the ear. The ear is somewhat flexible and it could have just grazed the ear.

    The point is that we do not know all the details at this point in time. What kind, caliber of gun was used, if this guy actually knew how to use a gun, at least more than point and pull the trigger. There are a lot of questions that are getting answers here on BJ.

    And no one here has any of the actual answers, other than a shooting incident happened.

  456. 456.

    Sister Golden Bear

    @Interstadial: Also, to state what should be obvious, press photographers at a campaign event are positioned close to the stage in places where they’re going to get good shots.

    No real mystery about how the AP photographer got the shot, although he’ll probably get a Pulitzer nomination for it.

  457. 457.

    Nelle

    @Dman: IF he did, Biden would be immune, right?  I don’t believe for a minute he did, but IF he did, he would be immune.

  458. 458.

    Ruckus

    @trnc:

    He is old and his shape is definitely out of so I wouldn’t rule out shock or really not understanding what just happened to him. Sure, if you are not thinking you might be shot at you’d likely not drop to the ground, especially if you are his age and at his level of physical agility and mental ability. Now if you’ve been shot at before, you might think differently. It is weird to be shot at, even unintentionally, for most of us it doesn’t happen very often. Thankfully.

  461. 461.

    Ruckus

    @Gravenstone:

    They do everything they can do, but there are limits to everything humans attempt. Stopping someone with a gun, in a country that allows them to the level we do in this one is difficult. Sure they were illegal to have at an EX president’s speech, that does not mean it couldn’t happen.

  462. 462.

    Princess

    @WaterGirl: I have photographic evidence! Actually I think if you were closer to the stage you’d be less likely to have noticed them —the ones I photographed would have been beside where it sounds like you were standing.

    It was honestly chilling to see them.

  464. 464.

    SomeRandomGuy

    @WaterGirl: No. You watched a nasty set of people set up a nasty trap for the first public moment where the President wasn’t at his best, and people started SCREAMING that it was OBVIOUS that Biden was a staggering, drooling, useless, bag of bones.

    If this removes their chance for continued lies, that part of it is good, even though you’d never have asked for it. A horrible weather event might have done the same thing.

    Judaism says you should never delight in the suffering of others, but if a man suspected of being a serial killer is suddenly crippled, and the murders stop, you can certainly be glad no murders are occurring. So too can you accept any benefit that accrues to this undesired event.

  465. 465.

    Mike in Pasadena

    @SpaceUnit: Most people in the vicinity of gunshots panic and start running. They don’t bend their knees a tiny bit, stand immediately upright, feet remain glued to the ground, and look around. They RUN!

  467. 467.

    Mike in Pasadena

    @cain: Interesting that he immediately grabs the ear facing away from the camera. Where did the shots come from? He was looking kind of towards the shooters position.

  468. 468.

    brantl

    @SpaceUnit: The shot hit the top back part of his ear, and then seems to have blown blood onto his cheek, this should mean the shot came from behind him. Odd that he has no blood on his hand, I would touch where I was shot, to see how bad it was, wouldn’t you?

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