Shots fired at Trump

[Ralin]

The family of the innocent bystander that God deflected the bullet to would be happy to hear that.

To be fair, they very likely would be honored

Funny how they never say it was Satan who saved Trump

Why is that funny?

[EnterpriseSovereign]

To be fair, they very likely would be honored

Funny how they never say it was Satan who saved Trump

Why is that funny?

Because it's actually a helluva lot more plausible than God doing it?

[Ralin]

Oh yeah, it's pretty funny that Trump supporters don't...acknowledge that Trump is bad?

[Lord Revan]

Oh yeah, it's pretty funny that Trump supporters don't...acknowledge that Trump is bad?

No one wants to be the villain in their own story, to admit Trump is bad or evil would mean they'd support a person who is bad or evil making them villains in their own story.

[Tribble]

Oh yeah, it's pretty funny that Trump supporters don't...acknowledge that Trump is bad?

No one wants to be the villain in their own story, to admit Trump is bad or evil would mean they'd support a person who is bad or evil making them villains in their own story.

Also, many of Trump’s supporters don’t think that what he’s saying, doing and threatening to do is bad. They think it’s good. They want him to say and do these things, that’s why he’s so popular with them.

[Ralin]

Oh yeah, it's pretty funny that Trump supporters don't...acknowledge that Trump is bad?

No one wants to be the villain in their own story, to admit Trump is bad or evil would mean they'd support a person who is bad or evil making them villains in their own story.

Also, many of Trump’s supporters don’t think that what he’s saying, doing and threatening to do is bad. They think it’s good. They want him to say and do these things, that’s why he’s so popular with them.

Yeah guys good points. Because that's definitely not what I was getting at!

[Khaat]

I'm not finding any stories placing where the shot civilians were in relation to the lectern.

Found this, though:

Two firefighters from nearby Steubenville, Ohio, who were at the rally told the AP that they helped people who appeared injured and heard bullets hitting broadcast speakers.

“The bullets rattled around the grandstand, one hit the speaker tower and then chaos broke. We hit the ground and then the police converged into the grandstands,” Chris Takach said.

“The first thing I heard is a couple of cracks,” Dave Sullivan said.

Sullivan said he saw one of the speakers get hit and bullets rattling and, “we hit the deck.”

from here
And matches up with reports I have read that the USSS 4-5 injuries were shrapnel, not bullets.

As we haven't seen medical reports confirming "bullet wound", I'm fine thinking Trump was hit by shrapnel off the speaker tower (or something else.)

[Khaat]

Ok, I spoke too soon: it's actually in the little pop-up video with the PBS story. Compratore was on the "near side" (toward the shooter) grandstands behind Trump, the others were on the away side/behind from the stage/lectern.

[bilateralrope]

FBI director questions whether Trump was hit by bullet or shrapnel in shooting

Ronny Jackson, former White House doctor who examined Trump after shooting, pushes back: ‘It was a bullet’

Anna Betts in New York
Thu 25 Jul 2024 19.49 BST

Christopher Wray, the FBI director, has raised questions about whether Donald Trump was actually shot by a bullet during the assassination attempt against the former president earlier this month or whether he was instead struck by shrapnel.

During a hearing on Wednesday in Washington, before the House judiciary committee, Wray told lawmakers that it was not clear what precisely caused the injury to Trump’s ear during the shooting at his campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, earlier this month.

The burst of gunfire from a shooter on a roof with a sightline to the stage and crowd killed one rally-goer and left others wounded.

“There’s some question about whether or not it’s a bullet or shrapnel that hit his ear,” Wray testified. “As I sit here right now, I don’t know whether that bullet, in addition to causing the grazing, could have also landed somewhere else.”

Shortly after the shooting, Trump said in a statement on Truth Social that he had been shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of his right ear.

“I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin,” the former president wrote. “Much bleeding took place, so I realized then what was happening.”

After the shooting, Trump released a memo about his recovery from Ronny Jackson, the former White House doctor and current Republican representative, but the former president has not allowed the medical professionals who treated him to talk publicly about his condition.

On Thursday, Jackson responded to Wray’s testimony in a post on X, calling Wray’s comments to lawmakers “absolutely irresponsible” and “politically motivated” against Trump.

“What little credibility he may have left is GONE after recklessly suggesting Trump might not have been hit from a bullet,” Jackson said.

“It was a bullet,” he added. “I’ve seen the wound!”

Wray also testified to lawmakers on Wednesday that the shooter who had attempted to assassinate Trump, and was then shot dead himself by government snipers, had searched online for information about the 1963 assassination of former president John F Kennedy.

First of all, a reminder about what Ronny Jackson did when he was when working in the White House: Ex-White House doctor known as the ‘candyman’ dispensed pills without prescriptions.

Maybe we are just stuck with Trump's habit of never releasing his medial reports. Maybe he knows he's lying about it being a bullet. This question isn't going to go away.

Even when the question of if he was hit by a bullet or shrapnel doesn't really matter. Trump seems to be doing his best to make it matter.

[Ralin]

While Trump is a public figure I don't think we're particularly entitled to know his medical information on this one. And it doesn't really matter whether it was a bullet or shrapnel.

[Eternal_Freedom]

While Trump is a public figure I don't think we're particularly entitled to know his medical information on this one. And it doesn't really matter whether it was a bullet or shrapnel.

We might not be, but would not the FBI have a right to this information as part of the investigation?

[bilateralrope]

While Trump is a public figure I don't think we're particularly entitled to know his medical information on this one. And it doesn't really matter whether it was a bullet or shrapnel.

Right now, it doesn't matter. But the more Trump's team insists it was a bullet any time someone says something else, while also refusing to release the medical reports, the more Trump's team is making it matter.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

Man charged after apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump at Florida golf course

A man has been charged in connection with an apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump as he played golf on Sunday.

Appearing in federal court on Monday, 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh was charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.

During the eight-minute appearance, Routh spoke to give basic details about his life, saying he earned $3,000 (£2,270) a month but had no savings.

He also said he had no assets except for two trucks he owned in Hawaii and he had a 25-year-old son he occasionally supported.

A general view of Ryan Wesley Routh being arrested by US authorities.
The gunman has been identified as Ryan Wesley Routh.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) confirmed it was investigating "what appears to be an attempted assassination" of the former president while he was playing a round of golf at the Trump International Golf Club, in West Palm Beach, on Sunday.

The former president said he was "safe and well" after the shooting.

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The gunman, who was about 500 yards away from Trump, was hiding in shrubbery and had two backpacks hanging on a fence as well as a GoPro camera.

He was spotted by Secret Service agents who then opened fire on him.

The suspect then dropped his weapon and fled the scene in an SUV. Police said a suspect was later stopped about 45 miles north of the golf course.

An AK-style firearm was recovered at the scene and no injuries were reported.

In an email to supporters, Trump said: "There were gunshots in my vicinity, but before rumors start spiraling out of control, I wanted you to hear this first: I AM SAFE AND WELL!"

A close up view of two pictures showing evidence seized by US authorities after an apparent assassination attempt on the life of former US president Donald Trump at his West Palm Beach golf club.

He added: "Nothing will slow me down. I will NEVER SURRENDER!"

It comes just nine weeks after the Republican presidential nominee survived a previous attempt on his life.

Following the incident, President Joe Biden said "Thank God the president is okay,” and suggested the Secret Service needs "more help".

"The one thing I want to make clear is Service needs more help, and I think the Congress should respond to their needs if they in fact need more Service people,” Biden said at the White House on Monday.

"So that’s what we’re going to be talking about."

Biden added that the Secret Service "needs some more personnel".

The enforcement agency faced criticism after Trump was shot in the ear in an attempted assassination during a Pennsylvania rally in July.

Other world leaders, including UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, condemned the apparent attempt on Trump's life.

Starmer said he was "very worried by the news", adding that "violence has no part to play at all in any political process".

The golf course was partially shut down for Trump as he played, and agents were several holes ahead of him when they noticed the person with the firearm, officials said.

Trump had returned to Florida this weekend following a Friday night rally in Las Vegas and a Utah fundraiser.

Trump often spends his Sunday mornings playing golf, before having lunch at the Trump International Golf Club - one of three he owns in Florida.

Trump has increased security since the assassination attempt on his life in July, and at outdoor rallies, he now speaks from behind an enclosure of bulletproof glass.

[Solauren]

You know, at this point, I'm waiting for time travellers to start showing up to try to take him out.

[Zaune]

Or take out the people trying to take him out, because would you rather have a GOP candidate who's every bit as thoroughly vile but not so blatantly unfit to hold office that even Dick Cheney is endorsing Harris?

[Ralin]

Or take out the people trying to take him out, because would you rather have a GOP candidate who's every bit as thoroughly vile but not so blatantly unfit to hold office that even Dick Cheney is endorsing Harris?

Vance hasn't exactly impressed me as being less obviously unfit than Trump, and neither have any of the aspiring Trump-wannabes.

I remind you that wanting Trump as the candidate instead of someone more competent with a chance of winning is part of how we all ended up in this situation in the first place.

[Zaune]

You're not wrong, but he's still a lot more use to certain powerful interests as a martyr than a figurehead.

[bilateralrope]

Ex-agent explains why protecting Trump is such a challenge

1 day ago

Kayla Epstein
BBC News

A second apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump has spotlighted several issues facing the agency tasked with protecting one of the world's most high-profile men.
Trump's public profile has posed a unique security and funding challenge for the Secret Service, a former agent told BBC News.
“It’s dialled up,” said Paul Eckloff, a Secret Service agent of 20 years who protected Trump during his presidency.
“The amount of time he spends outside, the exuberance of his fan base, the number and size of rallies, and the lack of military support, does make it more difficult.”
The Secret Service, which protects presidents and other top US officials, was central to both incidents that threatened Trump's life.
The agency has recently raised concerns about the resources needed to fund the former president's protection detail.
Earlier this week, a Secret Service agent spotted a gunman hiding in the bushes near the former president's West Palm Beach, Florida, golf course.
The agent fired on the suspect, who sped away in a car before being arrested a short time later.
This follows a July assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where another gunman opened fire and struck Trump's ear. The episode brought intense scrutiny to the Secret Service.
The agency's leadership has been hauled before Congress since then, its director resigned after intense pressure, and lawmakers have since set up a task force to examine this summer’s threats to the Republican candidate’s life.
The most recent incident, meanwhile, has led to calls for new funding for the Secret Service to ensure it can adequately protect presidential candidates in a political climate that many fear could lead to more violence.
As details of the apparent assassination attempt emerged, President Joe Biden told reporters on Monday that the Secret Service "needs more help" and Congress should respond.
The agency has scaled up its efforts since July, but the calendar could prove a challenge for expediting new funding for the agency.
There are fewer than 50 days until the 5 November election, and a politically split Capitol Hill is unable to agree on the next budget, which means the US could face a government shutdown on 1 October.
More money for the Secret Service could be a hard sell given those political realities.
House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, the Republican leader at the centre of the congressional budget fight, dismissed the need for the Secret Service to receive budget help.
"I don't think it's a funding issue," he said on Fox News. "President Trump needs the most coverage of anyone. He's the most attacked; he's the most threatened."
But Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe wrote in a letter to Congress last week that "increased mission requirements of the Secret Service necessitate additional resources".
The Secret Service has long worried about protecting Trump at his golf courses, the Washington Post reported, and had even tried to warn the former president about the opportunities it could provide to a would-be assailant.
In 2022, then-US Secret Service Director James Murray warned US lawmakers that the agency was scrambling to keep up with the pace and scale of Trump’s rallies.
He noted that the loss of the military support that a sitting president receives had put a greater strain on the agents assigned to protecting Trump after he left the White House.
The Secret Service had protected presidents at rallies before. But with Trump, “the nature is different, and we're seeing sometimes two, three, four, of these rallies every month”, Mr Murray told the House Appropriations Committee at the time.
Trump's pastime of golf adds a different challenge.
"The hobby of golf is particularly problematic: You're outside, an outdoor venue, for hours at a time,” said Mr Eckloff.
Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said on Monday that if Trump had been a sitting president, "we would have had this entire golf course surrounded".
Other presidents, including Barack Obama, also had a penchant for playing golf while in office. But the former president frequently played on a military base, where security was easier to manage, according to Mr Eckloff, the former Secret Service agent.
This week, lawmakers called for presidential candidates from both parties to receive the same level of protection as a sitting US president.
The acting head of the US Secret Service said this week that Trump’s security was now at its “highest level”.
Trump’s existing protection is as “near as possible to presidential-level security that can be done”, said Mr Eckloff.
But, he acknowledged, “that’s not to say you couldn’t do more".

Sounds like Trump's behaviour makes him more difficult to protect.

While Mike Johnson wants to boost his protection without increasing Secret Service funding. Which means reducing security for everyone else they protect.