I’ve waited a couple of days since the attempted assassination of Donald J. Trump before making any public comments. First, I wanted to learn more, which is kinda’ important before leaping to conclusions. Next, I hoped to ponder the facts as they’re known before sharing my public opinion based on incomplete information, or worse, spreading outright falsehoods.
Unfortunately, many others were quick to alchemize their own judgments and rushed to outlandish conclusions, sans any evidence whatsoever. Facts be damned, they saw a golden opportunity to politicize the horror. The worst of these opportunists happened to be two of Trump’s prospective vice-presidential picks.
Within minutes of the attempted assassination, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance tweeted: “Today is not just some isolated incident. The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs. That rhetoric led directly to President Trump’s attempted assassination.”
South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott posted similar asinine rhetoric, hoping to capitalize on the tragedy: “This isn’t some unfortunate incident. This was an assassination attempt by a madman inspired by the rhetoric of the radical left.”
Another Republican, Georgia Congressman Mike Collins tweeted out: “Joe Biden sent the orders.”
Huh? President Biden “sent the orders?”
What the….?
Now, 48 hours later, we still don’t know anything about the shooter’s real motives. Perhaps we’ll never know, for sure. This makes the inflammatory language from MAGA politicians all the more alarming. Fortunately, they weren’t in a position of authority to do any real damage with their stupidity, other than stoke the flames of ignorance.
That’s only a tiny fraction of the MAGA-fueled madness swirling around political circles as Republicans have clearly seized the momentum in the 2024 campaign, just as their national convention is about to begin. Meanwhile, we leftists and Trump critics are being asked to “tone it down.” This is ludicrously ironic, since the same MAGA fanatics (including Trump himself) made sick jokes about Nancy Pelosi’s husband being beaten with a hammer a few years ago and was nearly killed. Now suddenly, they expect our restraint.
Indeed, I was fully prepared to be civil. Yes, I did stay calm. Yes, I reserved my judgment. Yes, I allowed others to vent their frustrations. Yes, I was even wiling to forgive some excesses in the heat of the moment.
But not anymore. No, we will NOT “tone it down” and remain quiet. We will NOT be silenced. We will not stop posting about the grave threat posed by a second Trump presidency. If anything, given the odds against us have increased, our voices are even more important — now.
Why should we on the left “tone it down?” We didn’t do anything wrong here. We didn’t grab a dangerous assault weapon. We didn’t rush out and buy multiple rounds of deadly ammunition. We didn’t construct explosive devices, presumably to kill more innocents. We didn’t plan and scout out a political rally for the optimal killing spot. We didn’t climb up onto any rooftops. We didn’t pull any triggers. We didn’t murder a father and a firefighter, who was hit and killed in the crowd. We didn’t critically injure two other citizens sitting in the audience. We had absolutely nothing to do with any of this. We’re still awaiting an apology, J.D.
Despite the attempted assassination, nothing has changed about the appalling lifetime record and dubious moral character of the most unfit man ever to seek the presidency, just because of the events that happened this past Saturday, tragic and shocking as they were. No doubt, he’s even more of a favorite to win the election now, the unlikely beneficiary of sympathy, and extraordinary PR imagery that’s nearly impossible to counterbalance. Let’s fully concede the enormous impact, and the game-changing tenor, of this past weekend.
But then, let’s also establish some facts (as they are known at this time):
The shooter was NOT a Democrat.
The shooter was NOT an illegal immigrant.
The shooter was NOT an angry political activist from a minority group.
The shooter was NOT a leftist.
The shooter was NOT a socialist.
The shooter was a WHITE, MALE, REPUBLICAN.
Motivation? Who knows? Does it really matter? A troubled kid barely out of high school committed a terrible act. In life and in death, some things just don’t make any sense.
One of the benefits of waiting until facts and evidence comes in is not looking like a blathering idiot when earlier comments and posts on social media prove to be bullsh*t.
The shooter was a registered REPUBLICAN. That’s a fact. So, if you want tone things down in an attempt to discourage violence, maybe Republicans, white males, and gun nuts would be a great place to start.
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Photo Credit: Evan Vucci/Associated Press
