Breaking News: Former president Trump shot

[AgnosticBoy]

CNN and Fox News are reporting that former President Trump has been shot in the right ear during a campaign rally. The bullet grazed his ear but struck another person in the head and that person is dead. Dangerous times and I gotta say I'm not surprised given the political atmosphere. It's unacceptable either way.

One rally attendee is dead and two are critically injured after a shooting at former President Donald Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday night, according to Anthony Guglielmi, chief of communications for the US Secret Service.

The shooter is also deceased, Guglielmi said in a statement.

Earlier, the agency said the shooter had fired multiple shots from an “elevated position” outside the rally before Secret Service personnel “neutralized” the shooter.

Source: CNN

Here's a statement from Trump from his social media platform, Truth Social:

I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear. I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin. Much bleeding took place, so I realized then what was happening. GOD BLESS AMERICA!

Start watching at 40 second mark...

This video shows just the moments before and after the shooting...

FOr Discussion:
1. Your reactions please..
2. How does this change the presidential election, if at all?

 

[Multicolored Lemur]

Somehow the fact that former President Trump was grazed makes it feel more serious. And I know that’s not really logical, because a shooting is plenty serious enough.

Look, I want to beat him in the election fair and square. I don’t want some nutjob to cheat by trying to commit murder.

 

[AgnosticBoy]

Your reactions please..

I've been watching and reading reactions online. Personally, I think Trump is just incredibly lucky. Some said that around the time of the shot, he turned his head to point at something, and that could've made the difference of dodging a fatal shot. Some say that he gets a lot of prayers his way despite not being a Christian example in the least.

Before I draw any conclusions, I'd like to know the political affiliations of the suspect, his motive, etc. I do suspect that this may be politically motivated in that Trump has a lot of people that hate him. I also think with the division we have in politics, that that can push some over the edge.

2. How does this change the presidential election, if at all?

I'm of the opinion that this assassination attempt will actually help Trump's campaign. The chances of Trump going to jail based off of his convictions has probably gotten even more slim since he has an assassination attempt to add on to his list of reasons for why people are after him.

Look, I want to beat him in the election fair and square. I don’t want some nutjob to cheat by trying to commit murder.

Agreed. There can be nutjobs on both sides and the last thing I want is for there to be some retaliation of where this becomes the norm. There's actually a suspect's name floating around on the internet and pictures of police standing over the suspect but I'll wait for official confirmation before posting it here.

 

[AgnosticBoy]

Interesting pictures and graphics from Fox News:

 

[Multicolored Lemur]

There's actually a suspect's name floating around on the internet and pictures of police standing over the suspect but I'll wait for official confirmation before posting it here.

I’d ask you to consider not printing the person’s name at all.

One reason a person does something like this is trying to get a type of reflected glory. So, don’t give it to them.

There is, of course, a journalistic reason for going ahead and printing the person’s name. I’m just putting this post forward for your consideration.

 

[Multicolored Lemur]

Let us keep the bystander who was shot and killed in our thoughts. And especially that person’s family.

 

[AgnosticBoy]

There is, of course, a journalistic reason for going ahead and printing the person’s name. I’m just putting this post forward for your consideration.

I can agree to that. As a middle ground, I'll post a source that goes into some information about the suspect for those who want to read further: Read here - CNN.

One thing to point out is that people want to know if this was a security failure. My view for now is yes but it's not simply because the shooter seemingly had an unobstructed line of sight to shoot at a former president/nominee. But an even bigger problem is that the authorities, leaders, and even many regular citizens are not stepping up enough to deal with polarization in the country.

I view polarization (or perhaps even partisanship) as an even bigger threat since a nation divided against itself can not stand. The most obvious reason for that is not just disagreements but what the disagreements can lead to and breed, which is hate, weaponizing the legal system (and from both sides btw), and now we see it can also lead to using firearm weapons to go after someone you don't like in politics. I remember reading reports that Russia is trying to divide the United States further by using misinformation on social media platforms.

Most insightfully, independents identify domestic political polarization as a top threat, second only to the pandemic. Democrats place national divisions at No. 7, and Republicans omit it from their top seven.

I have long viewed domestic division as our greatest national security vulnerability. Political polarization is a “force multiplier” that worsens other threats and cripples our ability to combat them. Stoked by leaders who profit from divisive politics, our polarization prevents us from effectively confronting vital challenges, from the pandemic and its economic consequences to climate change; from the rise of white supremacist groups, which account for the bulk of domestic terrorism, to reforming our immigration system.

Our own fissures also create easy openings for Russia to inflame Americans’ fears of one another and to erode our faith in democracy by using social media to spread disinformation and sow distrust. Further, Russian electoral interference flourishes when the American president and members of his party invite foreign assistance for their political advantage, while thwarting intelligence community efforts to illuminate and deter external involvement.

Source: New York Times

This is precisely my biggest reason for being an agnostic and political independent.

 

[AgnosticBoy]

I'm of the opinion that this assassination attempt will actually help Trump's campaign. The chances of Trump going to jail based off of his convictions has probably gotten even more slim since he has an assassination attempt to add on to his list of reasons for why people are after him.

Watching some of the Sunday news shows, I noticed the political blame game is being played. Some say that Biden was to blame for the assassination attempt on Trump. I suppose that's referring to Biden's rhetoric. In other cases, some Democrats (mainly voters and one campaign staffer) suggested that the shooting was staged.

Based on the evidence so far, I'm reminded that we shouldn't draw these conclusions until all of the evidence is in about the shooter's politics and motives. There is evidence that the shooter was a registered Republican. There's also evidence that he made a donation to a Democrat organization. It's possible that politics played little to no role as the shooter could've been the typical antisocial type which is typical of a lot of young mass shooters.

 

[Multicolored Lemur]

New York Times —
“Political polarization is a “force multiplier” that worsens other threats and cripples our ability to combat them. Stoked by leaders who profit from divisive politics, our polarization prevents us from effectively confronting vital challenges, from the pandemic and its economic consequences to climate change; from the rise of white supremacist groups, which account for the bulk of domestic terrorism, to reforming our immigration system.“

————————

As an analogy, I remember leafing through a book on the science of Star Trek. There was a chapter on the holodeck and there was the intriguing sentence — “Sex would drive the holodeck.”

Not if our experience with social media has anything to do with it!

I mean, the coin of the realm seems to be not sex, but outrage. Especially if it’s a blatant example of “in your face” cheating which is aided and abetted by someone else, especially if that someone else is a “liberal elite.”

Okay, first off, as social monkeys, cheating does get under our skin. Look at how we get upset at how other people drive. And how you really need to be medium aggressive in a predictable way, or else you’ll get run over on the road. But don’t be too aggressive or you’ll be the problem.

And then, both parties have their elitist wings. For example, there are “Wall Street” conservatives and there are “Main Street” conservatives. And Bernie Sanders has tried to get co-sponsors from among this second type.

These are difficult issues.

I guess we all like to think, we’re the reasonable person. It’s the other people who are causing the problems.