THE SHOW NOTES: Assassination Details, Documents Case Dismissed, & VP Announcement Soon
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🚨 BREAKING 1: Judge Cannon has dismissed the documents case against Donald Trump. - AP
🚨 BREAKING 2: Donald Trump tells Fox News he is making his VP announcement today.
MORNING JOE: MSNBC pulled Morning Joe off the air today over fear of someone making an inappropriate comment about Trump’s assassination attempt.
QUOTE FROM NBC: “The popularity of the Democratic Party declined, matching its all-time low in the three-decade history of the NBC News poll.” - NBC
MUST READ: Secret Service in Crisis: Inflexible Protocols, Security Lapses in Spotlight - RCP
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The Attempt
Donald Trump narrowly survived an assassination attempt on Saturday evening at 6:15 PM in Butler, Pennsylvania when a gunman with an AR-15 fired multiple rounds striking Trump in the ear before being neutralized by a Secret Service counter-sniper. Here’s the map of what happened:
Interview: Donald Trump said a chunk of his ear is missing in an exclusive interview with The New York Post where the former President appeared with a loose white bandage covering his right ear. “I’m not supposed to be here, I’m supposed to be dead.” Trump went on to praise the Secret Service for their quick response but added “I just wanted to keep speaking, but I just got shot.”
Shooter: The FBI has identified the shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks, a 20-year-old from a suburb of Pittsburgh who used a gun registered to his father. Crooks bought 50 rounds of ammunition on Saturday before scaling a building outside of the event perimeter that the Secret Service did not sweep. While Crooks is a registered Republican, his parents are Democrats and he gave $15 to a progressive group in 2021. The AP reports that Crooks has a small social media footprint and that investigators are still trying to access his cell phone.
The shooting: As questions continue to mount regarding the security failures by Secret Service and local law enforcement, NBC has confirmed the rooftop was a “well-known, high-priority vulnerability” that was identified the day before in a security walkthrough. NBC also learned that the Secret Service counter-sniper teams “did not need approval to shoot” and broke protocol which contradicts previous claims. Watch:
The Race
The failed assassination attempt has suddenly quelled calls for Biden to drop out of the race just hours after the President held meetings with congressional Democrats that were deemed a disaster by members in the meeting. Biden gave a formal address from the Oval Office last night calling for peace but repeatedly misspoke calling ballot boxes “battle boxes.”
Ouch: The most damning quote in response to the assassination attempt came from a congressional Democrat who said, "We've all (Democrats) resigned ourselves to a second Trump presidency."
The campaign: The Biden campaign is “pausing all outbound communications and working to pull down our television ads as quickly as possible” according to new reporting from The Wall Street Journal (free).
GOP Convention: As the RNC begins tonight in Milwaukee, The Trump campaign has completely rewritten the convention speech that he will give on Thursday night which will feature a call for national unity. Trump is expected to announce his VP pick later today.
The Reaction
The reaction from mainstream media outlets just moments after an assassination attempt on Donald Trump was quite disturbing.
This Guy’s Not Ok
View Discretion
Presented Without Comment
Trending news:
Secret Service questioned on security shortcomings at Trump rally - Axios
BlackRock yanks 2022 ad featuring Trump shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks - NY Post
The Paris Olympics is turning into a catastrophic financial flop - The Telegraph
Hacker says AT&T paid about US$400,000 to erase sensitive data - Bloomberg
The man killed in the assassination attempt on Trump died shielding his family - NPR
Almost 300,000 still without power one week after Hurricane Beryl ripped through Texas - NBC
Dem congressman says staff member no longer employed for ‘don’t miss next time’ post after Trump shooting - Fox News
Argentina fans cheer Copa America win, a break from country's economic crisis - NBC
At Copa América final, fans endure terror, trauma due to CONMEBOL's 'inhumane' neglect - Yahoo
Scientists have confirmed a cave on the moon that could be used to shelter future explorers - AP
Even for Las Vegas, it's too hot - NBC
Trump Media shares spike 30% after assassination attempt - CNN
A Shot Rings Out, and a Warning to America - WSJ (paywall)
Trump Shooting Is Secret Service’s Most Stunning Failure in Decades - WSJ (paywall)
Market snapshot:
"MSNBC pulled Morning Joe off the air today over fear of someone making an inappropriate comment about Trump’s assassination attempt."
If someone saying something inappropriate is a reason to pull a show off the air, then every show on MSNBC - along with The View - should be permanently canceled.
Erick,
I started listening to you in Atlanta about 2 years ago.
After a few months I became a subscriber.
Kelly and I attended the 2023 Gathering and it was a stunning event. We lucked out and got to sit in the front row. We got to hear from almost all Presidential candidates, heard their in-depth conversations, and shook their hands.
I bought your latest book and am taking my time to read it. I am not a particularly slow reader, but I will likely read it 3 times to fully grasp all your points. It is detailed, and very thought provoking.
We are going to the Gathering again this August and are blown away with your guest list “so far”.
So here is my tip for how you get a seat in the front row. Skip breakfast and show up about 20 minutes before the start. Folks have a natural aversion to sitting in the front row so that is where we will head.
Keep up the great work!
Cheers