DemDaily: 48 Hours
July 16, 2024
In an extraordinary 48-hour news cycle in an already historic era of explosive media, former President Donald Trump on Monday announced his Vice Presidential running mate, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance and was formally nominated on day one of the Republican National Convention -- just two days after surviving an assassination attempt.
On Saturday, just after 6:00pm at a rally In Butler, Pennsylvania, Trump barely escaped death -- nicked in the ear by a shooter's bullet as he spoke on stage. One spectator died on the scene and two others were badly injured. The killer, a 20-year-old man and registered Republican who shot from the roof of a nearby building, was killed by the Secret Service within minutes.
As if scripted for a major movie scene, Trump, after being hit, stood up as his Secret Service detail scrambled to wisk him off the stage, defiantly raising his fists and mouthing "fight, fight, fight."
His follow-up Monday, on the first day of the Republican National Convention, was no less dramatic. Trump, with a bandaged right ear, entered Milwaukee's Fiserv Forum to thunderous applause as singer Lee Greenwood performed “God Bless the USA” to an exuberant crowd,
In his first appearance since the shooting, a seemingly emotional Trump did not speak other than to thank the adoring audience before sitting next to Vance, who was announced as Trump's VP pick on social media earlier in the day.
Trump, who will not address the crowd until Thursday, has left it to his colleagues to lift up the "miracle" of his spared life, which he has credited to “God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening.”
“On Saturday, the devil came to Pennsylvania holding a rifle,” said Senator Tim Scott (R-SC), speaking to the convention on Monday, “But the American lion got back up on his feet and he roared!”
The assassination attempt shocked the country, intensifying political divisions for some, while others paused to condemn the violence. President Biden called Trump personally after the shooting and gave an Oval Office address on Sunday where he called on Americans to “lower the temperature in our politics.” Out of respect, the Biden-Harris campaign also suspended the airing of all ads, events, attacks, and "proactive campaign communication across all platforms and in all circumstances until we know more."
The shooting also temporarily supplanted the fervor around Biden's candidacy and efforts to urge him to step aside and pass the torch to Vice President Kamala Harris, 22 years his junior. Concerns over Biden's age erupted following what he acknowledged to be a disastrous performance in the June 27 debate against Trump.
In a taped interview with NBC Lester Holt last night, an assertive Biden, who has repeatedly reaffirmed he is running, pushed back on the anchor's questions about doubt surrounding his candidacy and whether the rhetoric coming out of his own campaign may inflame "unbalanced" people like the Pennsylvania shooter.
A visibly irritated Biden called Holt out for not focusing on Trump's lengthy litany of lies and threats, including inciting the insurrection at the Capitol.
Of the attempted assassination on Trump's life, executed just 24 hours before the interview took place, Holt asked Biden: "Mr. President, you’ve been in politics a very long time, so let — let’s speak frankly. We’re all adults here. Has this shooting changed the trajectory of this race?
"I don't know," said Biden, "and you don't know either."
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Sources: Washington Examiner, NBC, The Guardian, WSJ
