My skepticism is fueled by the fact...

[Mr. Scorpio]

That with Trump, you can never take appearances for granted. He is entire political existence has been built upon distorted reality and perceived martyrdom.

I do expect him to do everything to monetize and politically exploit this incident.

From every perspective, none of this was good for anyone.

[Self Esteem]

1. Trump's brain is always coming from the perspective of showmanship.

I don't think it's all that surprising he'd take something like this and quickly manipulate it for his image. That's just how his brain works. He was shot at, realized he was fine, but bleeding, and used it as an opportunity to show a 'tough guy' persona. THAT was his first thought. Not the concerns for others.

[Self Esteem]

6. I don't think so.

[ZZenith]

8. Think as you will.

[Self Esteem]

9. I will.

Trump genuinely looked shaken at first.

[sop]

61. They literally had to drag him off the stage; he was too busy hamming it up, defiantly raising his fist in the air.

Trump's fevered brain immediately saw an opportunity to exploit the incident. That shot of his bloodied cheek, clenched fist in the air, surrounded protectively by his Secret Service detail, will be on all campaign posters and in every fundraising email.

[AZ8theist]

65. He was screaming "FIGHT" while they dragged him off....

....That's all you need to know about what 's to come.............

[Self Esteem]

67. I agree but the initial shots definitely spooked him.

[Nixie]

73. They had the image on sweatshirts within 24 hours. There's money to be grifted and suckers

to be exploited. Send money!

[EX500rider]

15. You think he had someone shoot at him from 600 feet away and nick his ear and miss his brain by a few inches?

And then the shooter has no escape plan and gets killed?
Seems unlikely to me, YMMV

[ZZenith]

16. Doubt Trump was hit with a bullet.

[StClone]

23. Hit by bone chip or bullet fragment after passing through the the MAGA guest?

That may be one result of today's tactical weaponry inflicted upon the populace.

[ZZenith]

26. Doubt that as well.

[Squaredeal]

28. Read that it was from shattered glass..,

…from his teleprompter.

[Lulu KC]

32. Ah! I saw that, too!

I posted it but took it down because I couldn't find the place where I'd read it. That would make sense.

[TommyT139]

48. Twitter image

Was it you who posted the Twitter post(s) of the person who heard it from Secret Service?

I screen capped it, but cannot for the life of me figure out how to post it here. The Twitter handle is [at]wingsandp

[TommyT139]

57. Found the source

Link to tweet

[Lulu KC]

68. Thank you!

Now I regret taking my post down, but at least know I didn't dream it.

[TommyT139]

69. Hive mind's got you covered :)

Now to figure out how to get ethical journalists to investigate this. It's bizarre that all of a sudden Trump is assumed to be telling the truth about...anything. Instead, it's the campaign version of stolen valor, and an affront to the people who actually were shot.

[StClone]

36. Useful information! The conspiracy false flag stuff is too Q.

[StClone]

37. CNN is reporting now it was a bullet or fragment of one hitting his ear top.

[TommyT139]

49. Grain of salt

It's Trump who is saying that.

[wnylib]

59. Have you watched the video?

NBC has a video that shows the whole thing, from first shots to removing Trump.

A person behind Trump was hit in the head and died instantly. NBC interviewed another attendee who was standing next to the guy that was shot. Other people were wounded.

It was a real shooting and to deny it sounds like the way that MAGAs talk.

Trump will no doubt capitalize on this, but it did happen.

[summer_in_TX]

64. An NYT photographer's pic captured a bullet whizzing past Trump's head.

https://www.marca.com/en/lifestyle/us-news/2024/07/14/66933772268e3e89198b45cb.html

[Beck23]

44. It was glass

Where did that come from, the teleprompter?

[Doodley]

45. But Trump boasts that he doesn't use a teleprompter!

[onenote]

60. No. He complains his teleprompters don't work.

https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-nevada-rally-heat-las-vegas-90b0c766b9bfc41b370953834b70f7c9

[SlimJimmy]

52. Without going into detail, I can assure you that the

SS Counter Sniper Team is highly trained and never miss. The shooter never had a chance.

[58Sunliner]

72. He had 3 chances. He missed.

[SlimJimmy]

74. He didn't fire three times.

He fired once and hit his target. But feel free to play word games.

[58Sunliner]

76. The videos I've listened to, have 3 shots followed by what sounds like, return fire.

CBS says he fired 6-8 rounds.

[SlimJimmy]

75. He didn't fire three times

He fired once and hit his target. But feel free to play word games.

[Iwasthere]

53. Didn't you notice him staring straight into a camera, pumping his fist mouthing " fight, fight, fight!"

[EX500rider]

55. Yes, he's a showman huckster, I would expect him to take advantage of it

[JustAnotherGen]

2. I've missed you

Since I gave up Twitter. Thank you for weighing in.

[RandomNumbers]

3. It was especially bad for the family of the person killed.

(not meaning the shooter)

Also someone was seriously injured.

This is all very, very bad.

One could hope that some good might come, like some minds changing about gun control. Not holding my breath on that one.

[a kennedy]

4. We should feel bad for the shooters family as well......

DAMN GUNS.

[JoseBalow]

20. Is there a GoFundMe yet?

[JustAnotherGen]

7. They won't change

The people flipping off the camera? They won't change.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

50. At least T***p will contribute to the GoFundMe for the funeral of his supporter.

[CrispyQ]

51. Has Trump made a statement yet, about any of the other victims? - nt

[CoopersDad]

10. Help me out-- were there injuries to any attendees?

If as many shots as were heard were aimed at him, somebody behind him would likely have been hit.

Thanks in advance for any additional info.

[Self Esteem]

11. Yes. One is dead and another in critical condition.

[emulatorloo]

12. One attendee killed, another in serious condition

Link to tweet

Butler county district attorney Richard Goldinger tells me Trump was grazed by gunfire but is safe. An audience member was killed and the shooter is dead. Another person is in serious condition, the prosecutor said.

Tweeter is WAPO

[bluestarone]

13. Just for the record, everyone here should know that attempting anything like this helps TFG.

He WILL lie, cheat, and take full advantage of this type of an event. He will be on MSM everyday until after the Nov. election. THIS will be huge for him and his cultists. We will have to work a million times harder, while being VERY CAREFUL ourselves.Please watch what you do shopping and be ready for anything. THEY ARE CRAZY.

[Codifer]

14. Why do I keep thinking;

Reichstag Fire?

[SomedayKindaLove]

33. The Trump bloody fist pump photo

Seems almost unbelievable as it is just so happens to be framed by an upside down American flag.

[calimary]

71. Seems to me it can't be helped - at least in these times.

How could ANY OF US help thinking that?

I'm already wondering how much of a sympathetic character this will turn trump into?

[DAngelo136]

17. I Don't Believe He's That Clever

Let's all take it on face value. Some knucklehead decided to take matters in his own hands and do something extremely stupid.
If he isn't dead already, he'll have the library, not the book thrown at him and rightfully so.

Of course, Trump will wave the bloody shirt and this will excite the base. But the fact remains that all he has is his base.
Nothing has changed; he still wants to be a dictator, he still is a liar, a convicted felon and an adjudicated rapist. And Project 2025 is still his. While I wouldn't cry tears over his demise, I would want it to come while he is broke, bankrupted and incarcerated.

So, let's keep our heads while others around us are losing theirs. Keep our eyes on the prize and keep hammering away at him despite the pity party he's going to attempt to throw and the blame he's going to try to put on Joe and the Democrats.

[dflprincess]

30. He's not, but some of the people around him are devious enough to come up with this

Not to mention the dictators he likes to pal around with.

My friend commented the whole thing makes her think of the movie "The Shooter", only the patsy didn't get away today.

[yorkster]

43. I thought of The Dead Zone - Greg Stillson

Don't get me wrong. This is terrible news.
But watching the replay for the first time was surreal. It all seemed like a Stephen King scenario.

[BonnieJW]

40. Oh yes, the bloody shirt

He'll cut into pieces an sell them, like the suit.

[Nululu]

18. Two injured one dead shooter dead

CNN reports shots outside venue from height. Shooter possibly killed by counter-snipers.

[Hieronymus Phact]

19. One of the many reasons i don't think this was staged:

This wipes away the self immolation of the Democrats from the news. That's the last thing they wanted. trump was doing good laying low as Democrats did his work for him. Now Biden's age is last weeks news, the conversation is on gun violence or political extremism or whatever. That doesn't help them.

[dflprincess]

31. It also wipes away what discussion there was of Project 2025 & that was ramping up. nt

[allegorical oracle]

34. Heard on news (NBC) that Dems have pulled all commercials. :(

[Hieronymus Phact]

47. That's true

But the new Story of the Cycle is not good ground for them either. and can be tied to their own violent rhetoric including that project 2025 video where that guy's threatening "the left" with violence.

[Frank D. Lincoln]

56. True, but it'll come back with a vengeance...

...after a respectful pause, of course.

Something that occurs to me is that the apparent assassination attempt on Trump might make him even more dangerous if he does regain power. One of Trump's most defining characteristics is vindictiveness. This incident might fuel his rage against everyone on the political left.

I want to learn what motivated the shooter. What set him off.

[paleotn]

58. 2025 ain't going anywhere.

[Beck23]

46. Yes

Writing about Biden's age at this point would be a dead give away that many of the reporters are actually AI bots that haven't yet had the shooting programmed.

[Brodog]

21. so trump was shot

I have several things that need to be answered,
I want the medical report revealed and not by ronnie johnson.
Between three to seven shots were reported fired, was anyone else shot. Hard to believe no one else was shot in such an enclosed are with that many shots fired.
Find the bullets that were supposedly fire. No problem for CSI in such a small area.
I just don't trust or believe trump. When I see the above information then a decision will be made.

[allegorical oracle]

35. Minute ago NBC said one attendee was killed, two others seriously injured. nt

[wnylib]

63. A man standing behind Trump was shot in the head

and died instantly. He was in the direct line between the shooter and Trump according to a witness who was next to the guy who died. NBC interviewed the witness. If not for the guy who was killed, that bullet would have been a direct hit to Trump's head.

People in crowds move around. Quite possibly the guy who died had just shifted his position when the shooter fired. Also, Trump had turned his head to the right. If not, he might have been hit in the back of the head instead of the ear.

The witness who was interviewed said that he is a doctor and offered to help with the wounded people, but there was a doctor on hand for the rally, so the witness helped carry away the dead body. Said the dead man's family was there and hysterical, in shock. A woman nearby was hit in the hand and arm.

[CaptainTruth]

22. His entire political existence? His entire life existence.

[StClone]

41. Covid White House stunt!? Dangerous misguided narcissism and grandiose self importance

[Hekate]

24. Good to see you, Mr. Scorpio

[Warpy]

25. He won't speak out about too many guns in the hands of loonies

because the GOP loves their guns and loonies are his people.

[moondust]

27. The King of Revenge exploit it?

Beware of retribution.

[luvtheGWN]

29. Very little blood supply in ear cartilage,

And certainly not nearly as much as it appeared to be on trump’s ear, according to video shown on cnn.
Hmmmm……

[StClone]

38. Blood was minimal and seemed to pool in his ear then exit in a little streak and dripple.

...vote Trump vote more madness.

[dawn5651]

39. all i am going to say if this had been a bullet it would have entered his cranium. there is a report that the

teleprompter was hit and it was a piece of glass that hit the ear.

[littlemissmartypants]

42. Exactly. I'll wait for the official law enforcement assessment. Not that anyone cares about what I think.

Also, I read a comment by someone who was there saying that he was hit by shards of glass from one of the teleprompters. Plus, one spectator is deceased and two were injured with no medical disposition mentioned.

There were multiple shots from the S.S. and it was one of the members from the uniformed support troops that traveled with the entourage who "neutralized" the shooter.

That's all I'm aware of, time marches on.

Thanks for the thread, Mr. Scorpio.

[MrWowWow]

54. Will trump try to sell pieces of his suit after this?

or even try to sell cast reproductions of his "shot" ear?

[misanthrope]

70. Not the actual suit, no. What they could do instead

is go get a truckload of dirt-cheap, second-hand suits and cut them all into fragments to then all be sold to his cult members who are gullible enough to believe they own a piece of history.

[raising2moredems]

62. Staged event

We'll likely never know the details - 3D gun or not. Unexpected shard hitting the TFOT which scared the living shit out of him. Secret Service agents who didn't a) cover him or b) drag his sorry corpulent body away so fast he had no time for his photo ops.

[RANDYWILDMAN]

66. The Problem is NO EMPATHY

Trump does not have any and his supporters have very little makes, it very hard to give them the benefit of this doubt in this situation.

What is this "Fight" garbage, we need an accounting from SS people about that and his photo op, why is he having a photo op w/flag during his take down time. also he was EXPOSED multiple times during this scene and we have press just running around shooting photo's. Tons of people including his deluded fans didn't act at ALL like this was an emergency and that is a HUGE PROBLEM !!!

*** I watched the interview of the man who alerted police to the shooter on the roof and he was blown off by them or not taken seriously and this was several minutes before the shooting started ?????

My sympathy goes out to the family of the rally person killed.

****Trump has been inciting violence at his rallies for years, you got to wonder when KARMA would come for him...

Lastly we only have one president, it is Joe Biden, Dipshit is the Former President needs to always be referred to as such at all times by all media (fox included ) so as not to confuse the public...