The Attempted Assassination of Donald Trump and the Culpability of the Media
On a sunny July 13th in rural Pennsylvania, former President Donald Trump was shot in the ear by a lone shooter, narrowly dodging an assassination. The shots led to a reaction from the crowd that was stunned, apathetic, and strangely stoic. The delayed reaction from the U.S. Secret Service raised alarm bells and set off conspiracy theories. News reports on the Left spent hours reporting on “The Incident” without acknowledging the potential danger that Trump was in. A spectator at the rally, Corey Comperatore was killed, and another two people wounded and in critical condition (Lavietes, 2024). Clearly an assassination attempt is cause for concern, however there was something eerily amiss about the whole tragedy, and from all angles the Secret Service acted with gross incompetence and a systemic level of failure.
Reports about the shooter (killed by authorities) have confirmed that sometime prior to the shooting he staged a ladder on a neighboring building, some 450 feet away from where Trump spoke. During Trump’s speech (caught on video) were dozens of spectators that witnessed the shooter, with the sound revealing screams and pleas for law enforcement to do something. Benjamin Maser and Greg Smith spoke to reporters about seeing the shooter crawl up a tree with a rifle, then traversing across neighboring buildings for “three or four minutes” prior to any shots being fired (Behanna, 2024). As reports of a suspicious man spread, NBC New York reported that: “Local police officers began pursuing Crooks [shooter] on foot, the officials said. During the pursuit, the U.S. official said, local police told the Secret Service they were looking for a suspicious person near the event” (Ainsley et al., 2024). Amid this turmoil, it remains unclear why the Secret Service failed to remove Trump from the stage and take him to a secure area.
Rennie Rodriguez – retired Secret Service agent – commented on the location of the shooter, noting: “That particular location should have been locked down” (Matthews, 2024). After the shooting, the Secret Service rushed to Trump’s side, but upon lifting him up, they left his head exposed for several seconds, leaving Trump vulnerable to another shooting. Trustworthy source, Alex Jones commented on the assassination attempt on the Tim Dillon Show: “The Secret Service was told by the Advanced Team, not to be on the roofs of four buildings 450 feet away.” He continued: “The deep state set this up, brought in the shooter, protected him, put him up there, it's all 100% fact, don’t be naive.” Later on, Jones said: “The Democratic Party is now owned by BlackRock.” Coincidentally, the shooter previously appeared in a commercial ad for BlackRock.
Immediately following the attempted assassination of Trump, President Biden spoke to the American people, he stated: “There is no place in America for this type of violence…We cannot allow this violence to be normalized,” and a few minutes later added, “The political rhetoric in this country has gotten very heated. It’s time to cool it down.” The following day, Biden was interviewed by Lester Holt on NBC. Holt asked about a recent conversation where Biden was quoted saying: “It’s time to put Trump in the bullseye.” Biden responded: “I didn’t say cross hairs, I was talking about focus on. Look, the truth of the matter was, what I guess I was talking about, at the time was, there was very little focus on Trump’s agenda.” Holt responded: “Your term was bullseye.” Biden added: “It was a mistake to use, I didn’t say cross hairs, I said bullseye, I meant focus on him, focus on what he’s doing, focus on his policies, focus on the number of lies he told in the debate.” Similar to previous interviews, Biden’s waning mental capacity was on full display as he fumbled through responses. This is not about Biden’s age; it is about the reality of a President in the throes of cognitive decline, a simultaneous pursuit for re-election, and a blatant refusal to step aside. Biden added: “How do you talk about the threat to democracy, which is real, when the president [Trump] says things like he says…“I am not engaged in that rhetoric.” I suppose rhetoric about rhetoric is the essence of American politics. Biden spent the majority of the 20-minute interview blaming the political Right for inciting political divisions, made almost no attempt to build unity, and used the attempted assassination to leverage a political opportunity.
Biden’s inability to sow harmony and social order will further damage his reputation and his chances at re-election, while at the same time, the assassination attempt may have fueled Trump's edge in the race. Biden’s comments assured us that the persistent and ongoing nature of sensationalized and contentious news discourse will continue. With this in mind, we must examine the politically contentious climate that is amplified by the media as directly related to the attack on Trump’s life. Consider the rise of fascist labels and the authoritarian concerns of Trump overthrowing the government are part and parcel of the contentious political landscape we live in.
The reality in America is one of corporate control, where Biden and Trump are used as puppets to divide Americans, with the mainstream media playing a crucial role in perpetuating social conflict, reifying political divisions, and portraying a sea of fear and hostility. Fear is useful to divide Americans. As we are politically and socially divided, our desires for an equitable landscape and opportunities for economic prosperity are captive to the American dream that has been co-opted by corporations. The attempted assassination is another opportunity to do just that – divide Americans, solidify fear, and profit from it.
References
Ainsley, J., Dienst, J., Winter, T., Arkin, D., Fitzpatrick, S. (2024). Police warned Secret Service of a suspicious person at Trump rally before gunman opened fire, source says. NBC New York. https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/national-international/police-warned-secret-service-suspicious-person-trump-rally-before-shooting/5599734/
Behanna, G. (2024). Trump rally attendee says he saw alleged shooter "move from roof to roof.” CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/trump-rally-attendee-says-he-saw-alleged-shooter-on-rooftop-near-rally-site/
Biden, J. (2024). President Biden addresses the nation after Trump assassination attempt. YouTube.
CNN. (2024). Video appears to show suspected Trump shooter on a roof. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/13/politics/video/roof-trump-rally-shooter-digvid
Dillon, T. (2024). Trump Assassination Attempt Emergency Podcast, special guest Alex Jones. Tim Dillon Show. YouTube.
Grynbaum, M., Farrell, M. (2024). BlackRock Removes Ad From 2022 That Included Images of Trump Gunman. New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/14/us/politics/blackrock-ad-trump-shooting-suspect.html
Lavietes, M. (2024). What we know about the Trump assassination attempt and the suspect. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trump-injury-shooting-incident-pennsylvania-rally-what-we-know-rcna161745
Matthews, D. (2024). Former Secret Service agent explains assassination attempt and breach in security. WFTV. https://www.wftv.com/news/local/former-secret-service-agent-explains-assassination-attempt-breach-security/TGU4VCZO5VD6BOYMEWLOR2MDPI/
NBC News. (2024). Full Interview: President Joe Biden interviewed by Lester Holt | NBC News. Youtube.