Trump Gets Shot Then Reelected

 

     In the middle of a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, Donald Trump got shot in the head with a small projectile. Specifically, he was hit in the ear. Since he left the rally stage under his own power (sort of), it was obviously a small projectile that hit him (Luckily, there was no chance of hitting a vital organ).

     The asshole (who's dead) who'd shot him, most likely with an air rifle, also very likely got that asshole reelected through a sympathy vote. If there's any one thing that will energize the MAGA base, it would be this. Look at how the crowd shouted, "USA, USA!" over and over again. This was a rallying call.

     Actually, it's a miracle this hadn't happened sooner, considering Trump's propensity for division and chaos and endless appetite for disaster.

     Seconds after getting hit, Trump went right down and it took a few seconds for the Secret Service to get on the stage. Then, ever the showman, when he got up, the first thing he did was to pump his fist, already playing the part of the martyr. He looked dazed, which is understandable, but also furious. And that's what gives me the chills.

     Because if this shooting puts Trump back in the White House, as I fear, you're going to see a tour of revenge and retribution that'll be off the charts, even more than Trump's been promising since last year. Think of the orgy of blood-letting that happened after the failed July 20, 1944 attempt on Hitler's life after the Wolf's Lair bombing.

     The lunatics who wrote Project 2025 are probably already retooling it so that Trump's Gestapo can start rounding up his enemies both real and perceived and using the Justice Department to that end. Look for Trump to be short-stroking this to Election Day and beyond, to the rest of his life, bitterly screaming about how the Deep State is out to get him and how this is Biden's and Obama's fault. And don't think for a minute it'll be lost on him that this half-assed assassination attempt occurred in the president's home state of Pennsylvania.

     MAGA world immediately began praising Trump for pumping his fist but let's review the tape again. This "gangster", this "boss", got his ear nicked by a small projectile, he went down like a sack of potatoes, then had to be helped off the stage by no less than four Secret Service agents, including a woman. It took him a few minutes to get to his limo, his bald spot shining in the sun, double-woven hair disheveled. He didn't look so much like a boss or a gangster. Teddy Roosevelt was shot in the chest in 1912 in, ironically, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

     Then, since he wasn't coughing up blood, he decided to give his full 50 page speech, on his feet before getting medical attention. And he ordered the police to not rough up his wouldbe assassin. That's a boss. Trump, after suffering a very minor injury to his ear that'll require a couple of stitches at most, for all his fist-pumping, looked like a feeble old man who couldn't even walk a few feet under his own power without being supported by four grown adults.

     But he'll be screaming about this on Truth Social practically 24/7 calling for the execution of  whoever put them up to it. And his threats could theoretically endanger the life of President Biden and anyone else in his administration. Look for MAGA World, Alex Jones in particular, to engage in the usual conspiracy theories trying to feverishly link the shooter to the Democratic Party.

     This shooting changes the entire complexion of this race and could have plausibly changed the outcome. There is absolutely no excuse for violence, even if the name of the target is Donald Trump. This isn't ancient Rome, when a well-timed assassination can bring about regime change. We're supposed to be better than this.

     Obviously, we're not. And I fear these were the opening salvos of the Civil War for which the right wing has been slavering for decades.