Multiple things are true about Trump's shooting
Political violence is wrong. And Trump is the candidate of political violence.
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I picked a hell of a night to log off.
We were planning to run an RNC table-setter today — it’ll instead run tomorrow as a special edition — but as the weekend unfolded, I of course felt compelled to devote this edition of the newsletter to the shooting Saturday during the opening minutes of Trump’s speech in Butler, Pennsylvania, that left him lightly injured, one of his supporters dead, and two other audience members critically injured.
Instead of delving deeply into the politics surrounding the shooting or what it might mean for the presidential campaign (hint: nobody really knows), I think it’s worth taking a step back and unspooling some big picture thoughts before I give you a chance to weigh in too.
First, some quick personal backstory. As longtime readers are aware, I’ve watched just about every Trump rally over the past eight years, so of course I cleared my Saturday afternoon to watch some of his speech in Pennsylvania before heading to an Earth, Wind & Fire and Chicago concert with my mom. But Trump ended up running more than an hour late, so I ultimately made the call to skip the rally and go get dinner ahead of the show.
We were about 10 minutes down the road when my phone started buzzing nonstop with the stunning news that shots had been fired at the rally. I caught a few minutes of the audio of CNN’s coverage before we arrived at the restaurant. It became clear pretty quickly that Trump wasn’t seriously injured, and I spent the rest of the night doing my best to enjoy the concert. My only contribution to the online discourse was to advise people to wait for facts before leaping to wild conclusions.
As I write this Sunday evening, there’s still a lot we don’t know, including the shooter’s motive. We will also need to have serious discussions about the AR-style rifle he used and how he obtained it (reportedly from his dad), security failures, and the completely irresponsible, incendiary rhetoric Republicans like Rep. Mike Collins spewed in the immediate aftermath of the violence.
But there are a few things we already know to be true. So here goes.
There’s no excusing or justifying political violence
First and foremost, it’s worth emphasizing that political violence of the sort that happened Saturday in Pennsylvania is beyond the pale in democratic societies like ours. It is never excusable or justifiable as a means to an end.
The very reason we fight against authoritarianism is so that our disagreements can continue to be resolved at the ballot box, not with guns and bombs. I’ve made no bones about the fact that I view Trump as an existential threat to democracy, and you can argue that after January 6, our courts and institutions should’ve acted more vigorously to hold him accountable and prevent him from being in a position to return to power. But the bottom line is that it’s now up to voters to reject his bleak vision for the country with votes, not violence.
Thankfully, Trump’s coup attempt following his loss in the 2020 election failed. This is still a country where, by and large, we’re able to elect our representatives and the rule of law applies. In that context political violence is wrong. Full stop.
Nobody has done more to stoke political violence than Trump
But you can condemn Trump’s shooting while also acknowledging the ugly fact that nobody has done more to worsen the climate of political violence in this country than him.
From encouraging his supporters to beat up protesters at his rallies, to invoking the possibility of “Second Amendment people” attacking Hillary Clinton, to glorifying police brutality, to inciting an insurrection, to suggesting military leaders he doesn’t like should be executed, to mocking Paul Pelosi after he was assaulted by one of his supporters — glorifying violence and threatening his enemies with it has been a weapon Trump has wielded over and over again throughout his political career.
This is the reason the calls by Trump supporters to turn down the rhetorical temperature in the wake of Saturday’s shooting ring so hollow. It’s as absurd as asking a Republican to run on a platform of increasing taxes on the rich. Spewing invective on his enemies until they fear for their safety is part of Trump’s brand and always will be.
Speaking the truth about Trump is not incitement
Before we knew much of anything about Trump’s shooting — such as the fact the shooter reportedly was a registered Republican — Republicans wasted no time trying to blame Democrats for it.
Perhaps the most egregious example of this came courtesy of US senator and vice presidential hopeful JD Vance, who posted a tweet suggesting Biden’s critiques of Trump are to blame.
Here’s the thing though: Trump is an authoritarian who wants to destroy democracy. This isn’t a smear, it’s a fact. January 6 was the culmination of a scheme to steal power Trump set in motion nearly a year prior, and to this day he talks about the MAGA rioters who stormed the Capitol and beat police officers as “hostages” rather than criminals. The fact Trump got shot doesn’t change any of that, nor does it absolve him of his past misdeeds.
It’s quite clear that Republicans are hoping to exploit Trump’s shooting as a way to chill legitimate criticism of their leader. Another much-discussed example of this came courtesy of CNN commentator Scott Jennings.
But every single sentence of Biden’s tweet is correct. Trump is a threat to the nation, our freedom, and democracy. Again, none of that justifies violence — it underscores the importance of beating him at the ballot box this November so he doesn’t have the opportunity to wield it against his enemies from the comfort of the White House.
Let’s talk about it
I’m eager to hear from you, dear readers, on what you’re thinking and feeling two days out from the first attempted shooting of a president of former president during my lifetime. Did I leave any important takeaways out? Please share in the comments and we’ll chat through it.
As a both sides media personality, Scott should now go through all of DJT's social media feeds and express outrage and disgust at each and every call to violence. That should occupy him until the election in November and give us some respite from the stupidity.
I would very much like to not have a month of history happen every weekend any more, this is exhausting.
When someone I know opined that the shooter MUST have political motives, I did tell them not necessarily. I'm old and remember when Reagan was shot by a guy trying to impress an actress, so people do all kinds of weird and deranged and violent things to get attention and become internet-famous.
I agree that the pearl-clutching from the R side is rich, considering they've made excuses and jokes about political violence for years. They have no standing to criticize anyone and I wish they'd all just shut up.