It was an assassination attempt on former President & 2024 Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday that produced this photo:
A bloodied Donald Trump raises his fist in the air mere seconds following the attempt on his life from shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks. From 7/13/24.
To be clear: you don't just see the attempted assassinations of former Presidents every day. With that being said, what took place in Butler a week ago signified yet another moment of chaos in a country that hasn't seemed to steer clear of them since Trump's first presidential campaign in 2016.
Trump has made the aforementioned -- chaos -- his brand, it seems. What you typically would have deemed normal or regular in the world of politics before his time in the Oval Office, he has regularly placed himself on the opposite end of that spectrum. He's a habitual line-stepper, if you will. He's crossed some serious lines in the last 8 years, including being found guilty of 34 felony counts in New York Supreme Court weeks ago, as a Manhattan jury found that Trump did in fact order his former lawyer Michael Cohen to pay off adult film star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 Election.
Those are the facts. What also looks to be a fact at this juncture is that the momentum for the 2024 presidency is currently clearly on Trump's side. Whether you find him abhorrent or not, that can't be denied. Being shot at & clipped in the ear has apparently done the unthinkable:
It's made Trump a sympathetic figure.
Trump's central base of voters & supporters have pledged unwavering allegiance to him, regardless of any circumstance. It's cult-like in nature. Don't think I'm justified in saying that? I present to you the images of hundreds of Trump supporters wearing gauze bandages on their ears at the Republican National Convention in solidarity with their wounded hero.
idolatry: (n) extreme admiration, love, or reverence for something or someone.
Feverish support of Trump hasn't just been limited to voters and fans, either. On Day 1 of the RNC this week, Trump appointed junior Ohio state senator J.D. Vance as his running mate. Vance, who "buddied-buddied" up with Trump for much of the convention and in the time leading up to the event, actually made major waves years ago in an anti-Trump stance; calling Trump "America's Hitler."
That's the state of American politics at large these days, though. Very few politicians or commentators stand on what they've said or done before -- you're freely allowed to flip-flop in whichever direction, based on whatever agenda you woke up deciding to push on any given day, for any given purpose.
Aside from celebrity figures Amber Rose and Hulk Hogan (???) speaking at the RNC in support of Trump, those are the key points that I had to touch on from the GOP's side of things this week. Oh, and Trump actually blew a kiss to Hulk Hogan, which has to be my choice for the most adorable moment of the convention.
On the Democratic side of it all, current president Joe Biden's viability to continue his reelection bid has repeatedly been called into question. He's still struggling to complete sentences in ways that make sense, he's misnomered high-level political operative after high-level political operative, and he just continues to look... for lack of a better phrase, old. To make matters worse, Biden tested positive for COVID this week amidst a significant rise of cases throughout the country of late.
Joe Biden in 2024. From newsweek.com.
And that's not to say that Trump has proven to be the shining example of mental aptitude, either. It's just that in comparison to this current version of Biden, Trump might as well be Machiavelli in his prime.
Over the past few days, there has seemed to be a Democratic media push to usher Biden out of the '24 candidacy. Reports such as the one below have started to appear in droves, and that's no coincidence in my view:
With each passing day, due to a number of circumstances, including some of the ones outlined in this piece already: it's becoming increasingly unlikely that Biden will be able to defeat Trump in early November. As that becomes more crystalized in the coming weeks, Biden & the Dems will have to take hard looks at themselves in the mirror and make some uncomfortable decisions. If the goal is truly retaining the Executive branch and defeating Trump in this year's election, Biden may have to be supplanted for a worthier, more desirable candidate for that to happen.
We'll see what happens, but for now? Myself, alongside Justin Greenberg, Kory David, & Erik Williams, discussed the consistent chaos that was delivered at America's doorstep throughout the past week. Topics include the Butler, PA assassination attempt, Joe Biden's health, who could possibly supplant Biden within the Democratic party, and the FIRST 'Slurper Of The Week' award was handed out to a certain state senator.
Listen below & enjoy.
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