Politics
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September 17, 2024
The gunman never saw Trump, never fired a shot, and Trump ignored Secret Service warnings about security at his golf course. Yet he continues to denounce Democrats and raise money.
Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office deputies close roads near the Trump International Golf Club following the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump on September 16, 2024 in West Palm Beach, Florida.
(Joe Raedl/Getty Images)
Donald Trump, the alleged dictator, is surprisingly good at playing the victim. After a man opened fire on Sunday in the woods outside Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, in what has been widely called a “second assassination attempt,” he blamed the violence on “highly inflammatory rhetoric” from Democrats. He noted that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have called Trump a “threat to democracy.”
“These are people who want to destroy our country,” Trump countered. “They’re called the enemy from within. They’re the real threat.”
Who is using “inflammatory language”?
His running mate and subordinate Senator J.D. Vance echoed similar sentiments: “No one has tried to kill Kamala Harris in recent months, but two have tried to kill Donald Trump. This is powerful evidence that the left needs to hold its tongue.”
Vance also echoed Twitter disruptor Elon Musk, Said at the scene of hell“And no one is even trying to assassinate Biden/Kamala.” (He later deleted the post, saying critics had misunderstood his attempt at humor.)
meanwhile, The Washington Post Reported After the 2016 election, Trump was briefed by the Secret Service about the vulnerability of playing golf at his courses, due to their “closeness to public roads.” The Secret Service even brought along photos to convince the notoriously careless president that his courses were difficult to secure. But it didn’t work, and Trump continued to play at his courses. (His West Palm Beach course is one of the most vulnerable, sitting on a busy thoroughfare near the local airport.)
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Trump also Protecting himself becomes more difficult Last Sunday, Trump took security by surprise, going on a golf outing. “The president wasn’t actually scheduled to be there,” Secret Service Acting Director Ronald Rouse told reporters Monday. “It wasn’t on his official schedule.” He also said that the shooter, serial gun offender Ryan Wesley Rouse, never aimed at Trump and did not fire any shots.
In contrast, Obama, an avid golfer, has mostly spent his vacations playing golf at the course at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, or at military bases in Hawaii, where, not surprisingly, security is tighter and there are stricter testing procedures.
Those who played golf at Trump International post They were amazed at how little screening they underwent and how close they were to the former president. “One person who played last year said they weren’t asked any questions and their bags were not checked. After completing their round, he said he walked into the clubhouse and sat at a corner table near where Trump later came to dine.”
I am not blaming Trump for Routh’s alleged intent to shoot Trump. I am simply pointing out that Trump is making it harder for the Secret Service and other law enforcement agencies to protect Trump, at taxpayer expense. So far, Routh has been charged with gun crimes, not attempted murder or assassination. But Republicans are not just making a fuss about the second assassination attempt, they are blaming Democrats.
Even mainstream media sometimes resorts to false equivalence when it comes to “both sides” rhetoric, but as David Frum succinctly tweeted on Tuesday:
The disturbing statements made by Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance are not true.
The disturbing things being said about Trump and Vance are true.
(Read the full story here.
Infuriatingly, Trump and Vance continue to spread the lie that Haitian immigrants are killing and eating cats and dogs in Springfield, Ohio. Republican Governor Mike DeWine told reporters that there have been at least 33 bomb threats about the incident. The city was forced to cancel its annual school festival. State police have patrolled 17 local schools, and many have been evacuated. Governor DeWine has called his Republican colleagues’ claims “bullshit” and pleaded with them to stop lying. They won’t.
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One final irony: The U.S. Attorney cooperating with the investigation into the threats against Trump Markenzie Lapointeis an immigrant from Haiti.
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