Companion Thread to Shots Fired at White House Correspondents' Dinner

Heck, a populist Democratic President might just take a page from Trump’s playbook and pardon the guy as soon as he takes office.

Back in the day, a sentence of life without parole was rare. Now it is much more common that, in the U.S., life means life.

Some stats are in here:

Because that wasn’t a presidential assassination attempt. It was a former-presidential assassination attempt, or a presidential-candidate assasination attempt, but he wasn’t President at the time.

Of course. Thanks.

Actor Ben Stiller tweeted the words “Got it done” on Twitter in response to his Knicks tying their NBA Playoffs series 2-2.

Unfortunately, the tweet came 20 minutes after the incident at the WHCD, and MAGA went nuts thinking he was admitting his involvement.

Morons. It doesn’t even make sense (no surprise) since nothing “got done” at the WHCD, except for stopping the guy.

I’m not surprised by anything these morons distort for recreational outrage. Poor Ben Stiller.

Now the Trumps are calling for Jimmy Kimmel to be fired for a joke he made 3 days prior to the WHCD where he said Melania looks like an expectant widow. They are trying to spin that comment as a call to violence. Idiots.

SNL often makes jokes about her expectant widowhood (as do lots of comedians). And I remember when trump himself made a stupid crack about a widow being happier now that her husband was gone.

Another example of faux outrage just looking for a target. A bit like Jimmy Kimmel making a joke about Trump’s age and health by referring to Melania as an expectant widow, three days before the dinner.

And to be fair, it’s also pretty stupid to make a big deal out of Karolyin’ Leavitt and her “shots fired” comment.

In both examples it’s nonsensical.

William of Ockham wept.

What’s next, kicking him off an airplane because he said “bomb”?

Here we go:
https://people.com/donald-trump-reportedly-made-marriage-joke-about-widow-from-assassination-attempt-8724325

Donald Trump made a marriage joke about the widow of the man who died during his July attempted assassination in Pennsylvania, he revealed during a private fundraiser with donors in August.

Recalling a meeting with Corey Comperatore’s widow, Trump told donors at the Aug. 10 dinner that he told her she would “get millions of dollars” in the wake of the July 13 shooting, according to a 12-minute audio recording of the event obtained by The Guardian.

"But the woman, the wife, this beautiful woman, I handed her the check – we handed her the check – and she said, ‘This is so nice, and I appreciate it, but I’d much rather have my husband.’ Now, I know some of the women in this room wouldn’t say the same,” Trump, 78, joked, per the outlet.

The audience then reportedly erupted with laughter as Trump said, “I know at least four couples. There are four couples, [Texas. Gov. Greg Abbott], that I know and you’re not one of them. At least four couples here would have been thrilled, actually.”

Note that NONE of that outrage showed up when Kimmel made the joke, or for three days after. If what he said was so vicious and violence-provoking, you’d think that at least a few right-wing figures would have noted it…

I don’t see how that kind of thing can’t be ruled out----the Trump Regime people know how well their guy’s ratings fare when he’s perceived as the Noble Courageous Victim of Insane Lefty Demons.

Prior to January 20, 2025, the FBI no doubt had tabs on hundreds (at least) of well-armed hotheads, nation-wide. Even after the Regime’s notorious firings-of-the-competent, those records likely remain accessible to the Trump-worshipping successors to the competent people who left.

Those records are gold for anyone wanting some ‘action’ to grab the public’s attention. There are plenty of people who don’t need to be manipulated into creating headlines; all they need is for the path to be smoothed for them, just a little here and a little there.

And quite coincidental that Republicans jumped en masse to the “Must have ballroom now!”

I’m not a conspiracy dude, but I’ve also never believed Trump.

It now appears that the FBI cannot say for certain where the round that struck a federal security agent’s ballistic vest came from. Originally it was reported to have been a round from Allen (the captured attempted assassin – alleged) but now they aren’t sure, it might have been from another agent. This is being reported by MS NOW, and possibly other sources.

It puzzled me why the charges filed did not include shooting (or shooting at) a federal officer, or however such a charge would be worded. I guess this uncertainty explains the lack of a charge. They should know if Allen’s handgun had been discharged; if it hadn’t, what else is there but friendly fire?

Without that charge, the prosecution is going to have to prove that the President was a likely target, in order to get a meaningfully long sentence; otherwise all they have is a couple of firearm violations. If they want to use Allen’s manifesto as evidence, it doesn’t mention the President or any other individual, it only mentions pedophiles and rapists (I hope I understand that correctly). That seems to put the prosecution and the President in a bit of a cleft stick.

In the lead up to CNN’s coverage of the dinner on Saturday, CNN noted that the dinner was sold out and no seats were available. That’s in a ballroom with capacity of about 2,600 people. The proposed White House ballroom would have capacity of no more than a thousand people. So even if it existed today and it was the venue for this event, it would have meant a serious cut in attendance. And given that this is a big fundraising event, much less scholarship money would be available.

I raised this question yesterday.

It mentioned Patel, of all people.

I hope the part about “rapists and pedophiles” gets brought up a lot. Just like Nora O. said to donnie, “you think they’re talking about you?” I mean, I don’t believe his name was actually mentioned, so how can it be said he was coming to assassinate the president, since per his (donnie’s) own words “I’m not a rapist or a pedophile”?

Josh Marshall, gifted:

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/trumps-motte-and-bailey-presidency/sharetoken/e8570bf4-a5b5-4c91-95b7-37324d88bdd1

despite the chorus of claims, this was not in any sense a security failure. It was a success. A man rushed a security perimeter inside the Washington Hilton — far from the actual festivities and protectees — and he was stopped. Initial reports suggested the gunman was stopped just before or even while entering the ballroom. Neither is true. He was on a different floor. The point of Secret Service security is not to prevent every violent incident but any that endanger the President or other protectees.

Agreed. The Secret Service did it’s job on this one, whatever attendees of the event might say (looking at you Daily Beast). If they are uncomfortable with their personal security during the event, they should take it up with Hilton management or better yet reconsider their career choices.

As for the glittering ballroom advocated by US conservatives:

These are, of course, all ex-post-facto rationales to justify Trump’s new toy. But it’s edifying to consider the new rationale at face value. Because disingenuousness aside, it’s part of a clear trend: the slow building of a sort of motte-and-bailey presidency, the at-first crude fortifications evolving into castles which the invading Normans used to overawe and pacify the conquered English. At least six top Trump administration officials now do or did live on military bases purportedly for their security… Noem…Hegseth, Rubio… Bondi… Stephen Miller… These grandees aren’t on military bases to protect them from violence. They’re there to protect themselves from annoyance, from the raucousness of civilian, democratic life, which can definitely be annoying…

Trump doesn’t want to be President: that job involves building working coalitions. He wants to just issue edicts: he wants to be king. And the same can be said for his conservative supporters. They don’t like civic democracy: they prefer pageantry and other trappings of monarchy in all but name.