Trump Almost Killed; Let's Take a Deep Breath and Draw the Right Historical Comparisons
Republicans already blame Biden for the attempt - 'this wasn't an isolated incident.'
I chose this image, this moment in the history of the rise of Nazi Germany, to most accurately describe the moment before us on this Sunday, Bastille Day, 2024. All of the sick ones with the faux drama of a triumphant but bloodied Trump raising his fist to the gathered fascists yesterday as he was being hauled from the stage only lead us astray. This moment needs to be analyzed with the precision of a diamond cutter.
First, let’s look at the history of this moment. On November 9, 1923, as Hitler’s Beer Hall Putsch was failing in slow motion in Munich, he and his supporters were scampering around the city, kicking up fights with the local police. It all came to a head at the famous Feldherrnhalle on Munich’s Odeonplatz. The police met the revolutionaries en masse and eventually opened fire, killing 34. As many eyewitnesses would confirm, including Hitler, one policeman in the crowd raised his weapon, aimed it at Hitler, and, with a clear shot, discharged the rifle. Max Erwin Schreubner-Richter, marching arm-in-arm with Hitler, saw what was happening and threw himself onto Hitler. The bullet killed the man, and Hitler was saved despite dislocating his shoulder.
After Adolf Hitler would make a lot out of this moment. “Provenance had saved me to fight to make Germany great again. We will succeed,” he would write from prison afterward. A decade later, when Germany had been broken, and the reins of power were securely in the Austrian dictator’s hands, Hitler would return to the Feldherrnhalle and make speeches to commemorate the great moment in Nazi history. When the first blood was shed and when “God had saved him.”
Leave it to modern-day fascists to reach into the bag of evil and tragedy. Republicans all across the country were tripping over themselves not just to make this moment a Hitler-esque one from 1923 but also to offer up what will become the rallying cry for MAGidiots everywhere from now until election day.
“God protected President Trump,” wrote Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), a vice-presidential contender, in a posting with the picture. Another possible running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), also shared the photo.
As information about the violence was just beginning to emerge — with authorities saying little about the details of the incident — some Republicans suggested rhetoric from Democrats was to blame. Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) went further: “Joe Biden sent the orders,” he wrote on X (Trump Rally Shooting).
Republicans, including Trump, are trying to make this a Theodore Roosevelt moment from 1912. On October 14th of that year, Roosevelt was at a campaign stop in Milwaukee (odd coincidence, no?) when a delusional man fired from five away hitting Roosevelt in the chest. Roosevelt dropped but then recovered and continued to speak until help arrived — Roosevelt’s reaction to the attempt on his life. Roosevelt famously declared:
“I’m fit as a bull moose,” Roosevelt told reporters following the effort to kill him (On This Day in History).
Trump has already brought this moment upon his Truth Social, and his aides are shouting about how Trump is a “bull moose.” A strong man who even God wants to save America.
Theodore Roosevelt was an American hero and one of the finest examples of an American citizen ever. A strong man who bravely led his “Rough Riders” in battle, Roosevelt was a loving father of six and a conservationist thanks to whom national parks came into existence. A New Yorker, Roosevelt never would have even extended his hand in Donald Trump’s direction to greet him and would probably have slapped the anti-American fascist.
Nonetheless, Republicans will now use that moment to demonstrate how great and inevitable a Trump presidency is because their supporters know absolutely nothing about American history. Teddy Roosevelt would never have dared look at his daughter Alice and suggest, “if she weren’t my daughter, I would be hitting on her.”
I have no sympathy for Trump. Regrettably, some of his supporters had to die, but this is usually what eventually happens to people when they get too close to Trump — they get burned.
History is screaming to us. Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! The Biden team has stopped running ads against Trump — what?! Pounce. Don’t slip back into our civilized, overly-polite Democratic way and watch as they put Biden himself on that roof and Hannity “proves” that the shooter was Biden’s bastard son. This is what they are going to do and Dems are going to be nicely, sweetly even, talking about how this is not nice in a democracy and this was a bad thing and “poor Trump.”
F*** Trump!
As Republicans raised alarms about the vitriol of some opposition to Trump, Hildebrand said her organization received a phone call after the shooting from a woman who said, “He gets what he deserves (Trump Rally Shooting).”
One rally attendee whose 7-year-old was upfront and complained to journalists that her child is now traumatized by what he saw. You should be ashamed as a parent for bringing your kid in the first to see a rapist, convicted felon whose sole goal is to end our democracy — that should be the trauma!
If yesterday told us one thing: Joe Biden has to end his campaign and hand it over to a younger generation. If he was losing before this stupid attempt at ending Trump’s life, he will be crushed in a landslide after it. We need new energy to demonstrate that we are the party for American democracy.