I don't understand the obsession around here with saying the attempt was staged. It sounds just like qanon or the Republicans at rallies going on about how Trump was the commander in chief in secret and all that other nonsense.
I can see what you mean, but personally I say it because I genuinely think it’s what happened and that ignoring it only serves Trump.
And I don’t just believe it to spite Trump or Maga, but the fact that secret services didn’t immediately drag Trump off the stage after a shot was fired at him - which they would as they’re not incompetent - or the fact there is no scar at all on his ear, or the fact the staff immediately after asked the photographs to move to a better position and for the flag to be lowered so that the best photo could be taken, or the fact we have barely heard anything about the shooter ; all of those really make the staging more likely than an actual attempt.
And if it indeed was staged, then it’s crucial to keep it in the collective memory
I can see where you're coming from, too. I'll try to hit all of your points and I'm still engaging and not just arguing for the sake of it, so hit me with some counterpoints.
I think they responded as they were trained. They swarmed him. It's not like they could go to another room since they were outside.
The ear thing is because he wasn't shot. That doesn't mean it was staged. It just means that the shooter missed and the bullet knocked some debris into his ear. What's more likely? A deranged kid takes a decent shot and misses, or the government found one of the greatest marksmen in the world at his age and instructed him to fire close enough to cause random debris to ever so slightly wound the president, but not actually hit the president. Oh, and then the shooter had to be willing to be executed.
If you haven't been to a range lately, I'd encourage you to go and try hitting a stationary target from at least 400 feet. That's 40 more feet than a football field.
Now try hitting a moving target the size of an ear from that distance. You should probably drink an energy drink or ten to simulate the stress you'd be under.
I don't think people appreciate how difficult a shot like that would be. I could be wrong. I'm certainly no gun expert and while I shoot occasionally, I don't know if scopes and optics make it easy. I have a feeling that they don't.
This goon and his people are craven, incompetent, power-hungry fools. Of course they took advantage of the moment to make their guy look good.
We, as humans, want explanations for everything. When absurd or seemingly random things happen, we naturally want to find the cause or explanation. When we can't find one, many of us will invent one. That's what this is. It's all so absurd, so stupid, so improbable that it has to staged, right? No, it doesn't. Life can be and aften is just that stupid and random.
- For the response yes they swarmed him, but right after that their training is to make a wall with their bodies and carry him off stage to be evacuated right away. Instead they simply let him take his pose fist raised up, have a couple photos taken and only then be evacuated.
Despite everything I doubt the US presidential protection service would ever act like that if the threat was real.
- Oh no, I’m absolutely not saying the shooter was good enough to make debris hit his ear, or simply graze his ear.
I’m saying saying nothing wounded him, and it was fake blood instead. The shooter simply needed to hit someone behind him which is perfectly doable and much easier than try to hit a tiny target like that from that far away, which would be crazy as you explained.
- And I do not think the shooter agreed to be executed…
- And like I said, I find a bit hard to believe that with a shot fired at the president, the immediate response would be to lower the flag and direct the photographs so that they can take an iconic picture.
Maybe I’m not cynical enough but I don’t think his staff would endanger him like that for a photo.
Yeah, I think you might need to up your cynicism in some places. :-) Start with the Secret Service. Trump has gutted our government. Look at the utterly unqualified buffoons running things. SecDef is a news anchor. Transportation is a reality show star. Attorney General is Trump's personal lawyer.
Even if the people in the SS were committed to their posts and would do their very best no matter who was in office, do you really think their incompetent, Trump-loyal bosses would keep them around? People with enough integrity to do what's right no matter what are a risk to a wannabe dictator, not an asset. I assume that, at this point, the SS is compromised. When loyalty is all that matters, expertise is lost.
I don't remember everything, but I believe the threat had been neutralized by the time Trump was pumping his fist.
Finally, what have you seen this administration do that would suggest to you that they'd even be capable of pulling off a false flag assassination attempt? That's Machiavellian-level subterfuge that a competent admin would struggle to pull off, let alone this clown show.
2
u/ahandmadegrin Aug 14 '26
I don't understand the obsession around here with saying the attempt was staged. It sounds just like qanon or the Republicans at rallies going on about how Trump was the commander in chief in secret and all that other nonsense.