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An Outsider’s Guide to American Politics In 2024
Just when you think it can’t get any weirder
When I heard the news that someone attempted to assassinate Donald Trump, I had a lot of questions. Who was the person that did the shooting? What were his reasons for shooting at Trump? How badly was Trump injured?
There were also three things I knew would happen for sure following the attempted assassination. I knew that within 24 hours, there would be merchandise for sale about the assassination, and a quick scroll down my Facebook feed confirmed it. There are hats and shirts with predictable sayings on them. Some say “You can’t kill freedom,” while others say “Fight, fight, fight,” mimicking what Donald Trump allegedly said after coming the closest to combat since his bone spur diagnosis.
I also knew that somehow the Republicans would find a way to blame Joe Biden for it. I had to think about this one for a while because the logic wasn’t obvious. The shooter, after all, was a 20-year-old white male registered Republican. I will admit my surprise at hearing that.
Still, the Republicans never fail to disappoint when they need to find a way to blame Democrats. They laid the blame on Joe Biden for his “inflammatory rhetoric.” Apparently, in their world, simply repeating what Trump himself has said is now “inflammatory.”
The third thing I knew would happen is that the news would now focus on the assassination attempt and stop the rapid buildup of pressure for Biden to step down. In the days since the shooting, there have been almost no articles at all about Biden stepping down. A week ago it was the daily headline in one form or another.
Trump’s would-be assassin, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was wearing a shirt with “Demolition Ranch” on it at the time of the shooting. Demolition Ranch is a YouTube site for gun enthusiasts and boasts over 11 million viewers. Matt Carriker, the founder of the site, said he was “shocked and confused” when he saw Crooks wearing a shirt from his website.
Really? I’m reminded of that scene from the movie “Casablanca” when Captain Renault tells Rick (Humphrey Bogart) “I’m shocked, SHOCKED to find that gambling is going on in here” with a straight face and then accepts the gambling winnings…
