1,840 words

I was with a friend and his wife Saturday evening when we learned of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump in Pennsylvania. My friend’s mother — a spry, gun-toting, red-pilled granny whose favorite politician is Marjorie Taylor Greene — texted with the news. We immediately went online to see what was happening.

Much confusion at first. Couldn’t tell where Trump had been shot, or if he’d been shot. We thought at first he’d taken a bullet to the shoulder. Then the pictures began emerging of the bloody ear.

My reaction was surprisingly emotional.

Back in 2016 I was an enthusiastic Trump supporter, and I published a number of pieces on this website advocating for Trump (see, for example, “Take the Trumpwear Challenge” and “What Would Trump Do? The Donald as Role Model). When, seemingly against all odds, he defeated Hillary, I was jubilant (see “That Disorientation You Are Feeling is Called ‘Winning’”).

I was less than enthusiastic about Trump’s performance as President, however, as was the case with almost everyone on the dissident Right. I began to publish more critical pieces (e.g, “Does Bolton Speak the Truth About Trump?”). Still, I remained aware that if there was any chance at all to fight back against the Establishment at the ballot box, Trump was the only game in town. In posts I’d just as soon forget (I wince when I think about them) I confidently predicted Trump’s reelection in 2020 (see “What Will Liberals Do When Trump is Re-Elected?” — ouch! — and “In 2020, Will It Be ’68 or ’72?” — oh, the pain! The pain!).

I wasn’t too keen, at first, on Trump running again this year. I had been favoring someone such as Ron DeSantis. And Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s intelligence and integrity (and his quite reasonable positions on things such as immigration) almost seduced me — until he started issuing pronouncements on “systemic racism.” Reluctantly, I threw my support behind Trump once more when it became a near certainty that he would be the Republican nominee.

I am not an accelerationist — for one thing, I’ve got too much retirement money invested in the stock market — and I do think that elections matter. Maybe we can’t reform the system. Perhaps only a revolution can bring about real change. But then again, there is the slightest possibility that reform — real change — can happen from within.

Thus, I was once more forced to face the simple fact that if such reform is indeed possible, Trump is still the only game in town. The only genuinely anti-Establishment candidate with a solid chance of winning (unlike RFK, God bless him). But this time I resolved to lower my expectations. I started beginning a lot of sentences with “I have no illusions about Trump’s character, but . . .”

Then yesterday happened. After that bullet grazed Trump’s ear and he went down, the Secret Service pulled him back up again and surrounded him — and in that moment, Trump’s blood-streaked face registered, for perhaps the first time anyone has ever seen, pain and confusion. He seemed, momentarily, old and vulnerable. Then it just hit me: that feeling that I am about to get choked up, that I might start blubbering. I didn’t, but it was a close call. Then came that feeling of indignation: How dare they do this. How dare they . . .

It was a moment of self-awareness for me. In spite of all the ups and downs, all the blunders and bluster, all the stupid tweets, all the lost opportunities of that first term, all the inarticulate blather, and, especially, all the “Me! Me! Me!” — it’s clear to me now that I care deeply about this man. I’m not ashamed to say it.

But that moment where Trump seemed wounded and vulnerable was swiftly succeeded by a moment of supreme triumph, when he raised his fist in the air repeatedly and yelled “Fight! Fight! Fight!” I was inspired and exhilarated — and closer to blubbering than ever, though I bit my lip.

My friend turned to me and said, “That’s it. This is going to push him over the top. He’s going to win the election.” I enthusiastically agreed. “He’s a gangster,” my friend said, repeatedly. I suppose this means we will soon hear even more encouraging news about the black vote.

Can you imagine any other politician reacting with such triumph and defiance moments after almost getting his head blown off? If it had happened to Joe Biden, he would most definitely have pooped his pants. No ambiguity this time.

Quite against my better judgment, I feel my old enthusiasm for Trump returning. And, with it, hope. I know I should fight these feelings, but I probably won’t. Time to dust off my old MAGA hat . . .

For all Trump’s faults, and they are many, he is an absolutely remarkable man. For nine years, ever since he descended that escalator, the powers-that-be have thrown everything at him hoping something would stick. He has been called a Russian spy, a white supremacist, and not just any old Nazi but literally Hitler. He has been plotted against, sued, and most recently prosecuted in cases so obviously politically motivated a child could perceive it. Trump now faces jail time (stay tuned; I predict he will get none).

Through it all, for nine years, Trump has never even lost his cool. It’s impossible — for me at least — not to admire this man, and wish that I could be a bit more like him. Unfortunately, I’m the kind of guy who loses his cool over replacing an AirTag battery. But I’m trying to be better.

Plus: Nothing they throw at Trump does any damage. In fact, it all just makes him stronger. It just increases his strength and his support. Now they are throwing bullets at him. Say goodbye to Teflon Don and say hello to Kevlar Don. And, yes, quite honestly it does all seem providential — especially that near miss on Saturday. Had Trump cocked his head differently, or had the trajectory of that bullet been one inch to the right . . .

I predict that this assassination attempt is going to result in a huge boost in the polls for Trump — polls that already show him handily defeating the senescent Biden (who must be pleased that, for the next few days at least, his political future will no longer be the top story).

The only historical parallel I can think of here is the 1912 assassination attempt against Teddy Roosevelt. Just before he was about to deliver a speech, some nutjob shot Roosevelt in the chest. Teddy was aware that it was not a life-threatening wound (the bullet lodged in muscle tissue) and insisted on delivering his speech, as blood trickled down his chest. He spoke for 90 minutes before allowing his aides to transport him to a hospital. “Friends,” he began, “I shall ask you to be as quiet as possible. I don’t know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot — but it takes more than that to kill a Bull Moose!” It would have been great if Trump had just continued speaking, but the Secret Service were not going to allow that.

As I was looking at coverage of the attempted assassination, I had a very keen sense that I was watching history unfolding before my eyes. As I studied those terrific images of Trump with fist raised, next to that Secret Service agent in the really cool sunglasses, I thought, “I’m seeing these images for the first time. I’ll see them again and again throughout the years and for the rest of my life.” (By the way, if anybody knows what brand of sunglasses those are, please tell me in the comments section, because I want to buy a pair.)

Saturday’s events are going to be endlessly analyzed and they will have uncountable implications for both the near and distant future. Again, I think that Trump’s bravery and defiance are going to impress a hell of a lot of people, including undecided voters (if there are any at this point). That blood on his face, and those brief moments where he registered pain and confusion, the moments that moved me so much, will also serve to humanize Trump in the eyes of many. His numbers are going to go up. Way up. And, yes, blacks are going to love this.

It’s also clear even to people of average intelligence that the seeds of this event were planted by the Left — by its insane, non-stop, Trump-is-Hitler rhetoric. The only thing surprising about Trump being fired upon is that it hasn’t happened before. This could well put pressure on the Dems to dial down their rhetoric a bit — which would be highly problematic for them. Since Biden has no accomplishments to tout, their entire campaign strategy was built on vilifying Trump.

The assassination attempt will also make it highly unlikely that Trump will get jail time in that hush money case in New York. It was never very likely anyway, but now it seems impossible. As I write this, we still know little about the shooter and his motives — but the conspiracy theories are already flying fast and furious. A substantial number of voters are going to believe — regardless of whatever facts are unveiled — that the Left conspired to kill Trump. The situation in the country is now more volatile than ever; the hatred of one half of the country for the other, now more intense than ever. If the Left followed this up by sentencing Trump to prison, there would be blood in the streets. I don’t think Judge Merchan wants that on his hands.

Everyone seems united in condemning the Secret Service’s performance. I don’t feel qualified to make a judgment about that and would like to hear some expert opinion. Still, it is odd that the shooter was able to crawl all the way up onto that building with a rifle in his hands and without the Secret Service apparently noticing. And, yes, those dikey Secret Service broads did seem a bit befuddled and inept. Already, conservative pundits are playing clips of Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle talking about her mission to increase “diversity” in the agency, including the number of women. Expect the national debate on “diversity, equity, and inclusion” to intensify greatly.

The friend with whom I saw these events unfold on Saturday says he thinks that this is the most exciting presidential campaign in United States history. Just take a second or two to sum it up: the Trump prosecutions, the recent debate which seems to have spectacularly destroyed both Biden’s presidency and candidacy, and now an assassination attempt. What’s next? Will Biden and Trump actually play golf? My friend also thinks that it’s the most entertaining show on TV. And he’s right. How could anyone find politics boring?

This assassination attempt has now eclipsed Biden’s catastrophic debate performance as the greatest gift to Trump’s campaign. I predict that it will be the gift that keeps on giving, in many ways, some of them quite unpredictable.