'Fight! Fight! Fight!'

Trump Survives Assassination Attempt, Leaves Stage Defiantly

Quick thoughts on this terrible day.

I saw it happen live. I stayed up late to watch the rally, because I thought Trump might announce his vice president choice. I heard the pops, I saw Trump grab his ear then fall to the ground. Seconds ago, he rose, pumped his fist, and shouted, “Fight! Fight! Fight!”

You will have seen this by now, I suppose. We will always remember this.

Click here to look at the clip:

Now that we know Trump is well — the campaign has said so (“He is fine”) — I can say without fear of contradiction that this evil person who took those shots has just elected Donald Trump. A man who was bloodied by an assassin’s bullet, but rose defiantly, versus an elderly dodderer? C’mon man. There is nothing any Democrat can do to overcome the emotional power of that photo above.

A friend who is vacationing in California with his family was at Mann’s Chinese Theater when the news broke. He texted this from the site. Forgive the f-bomb, but he had just heard that someone tried to assassinate Trump:

Indeed. It feels that our country has suddenly been thrust into an extremely difficult time. Don’t you? I’m makes me angrier than it does sad. My f-bomb friend speaks for me. I have no regard for anyone who cheers for an attempted assassination (I would say the same if someone took a shot at Biden). I’m ready to take the fight to these hateful people. We keep hearing how the Right is the danger to democracy. Well, I’m old enough to remember, in 2017, when a leftist did a mass shooting against Republican Congressmen, and severely injured Steve Scalise. And now this, after all this talk about Trump being an “existential threat” to democracy — somebody takes shots at Trump, and nearly blew his head off.

I’m watching ABC’s live coverage online. Their reporter on the scene just interviewed an elderly woman who was at the rally. She said to the reporter:

“I worry about my grandchildren. What kind of life are they going to have if people can’t say what they think? … How can I say it? You have to have God in your heart to have freedom.”

Where does it stop? Can it be stopped? Are the dogs loose now?

Trump standing up, blood running down his face, defiantly urging his followers to “fight” — that is the most astonishing thing any of us have ever seen in American politics. The power of that clip, and the image above — I lack the words to describe it now. It is surreal. You are going to see everybody on the Right hardening like a fist right now.

As I write, the DA in Butler County, where the rally was, says the shooter is dead, and so is one bystander. My God. Words fail.

What’s next, readers? Let’s talk about it. Please, WATCH YOUR TONE! Many of us are going to be emotional, but let’s be careful and civil with each other. I will delete anything that crosses the line.