Serious question, why are some thinking that this would help trump and hurt Democrats? It changes

[JohnSJ]

nothing. Trump is still a racist, sexist, bigot, who tried to overthrow the government.

Who in their right mind is going to say, oh trump got shot, therefore he has my vote.

[Scrivener7]

1. I prefer presidents who don't get shot.

[JohnSJ]

8. LOL

[uponit7771]

57. RIGHT !!!

[gopiscrap]

64. excellent

[Frasier Balzov]

2. Who has the spotlight now?

I thought the drama around the Biden replacement story was going to carry us through the GOP convention.

It's back onto Trump now.

[B.See]

17. Exactly. Good way to get people's minds off PROJECT 2025,

ISN'T it??

[uponit7771]

58. He doesn't have to, sems should call for common sense gun laws

[apcalc]

3. Exactly. Makes NO difference, nor should it.

[RockRaven]

4. If America's eligible voters were in their right mind, TCF never would have

sniffed a party nomination, never mind the WH. It may help TCF precisely because so many American voters have warped decision making processes.

[BootinUp]

5. First off, I do not. But we live in a complex propaganda infested world

It should not help Trump in the election.

I believe Trump will humiliate himself by saying stupid things.

Just my predictions.

[Raven123]

6. Seriously tragic prism through which to view violence

I cannot answer your question, just shake my head over such thoughts.unfortunately not surprising when you advocate a gun for every nut.

By”you” I mean TFG

[alarimer]

7. Either a knee-jerk sympathy vote or because it makes the cult dig in further.

But November is a long way off and a lot can happen before then.

I fully expect Trump to exploit this, especially if it turns out to be someone from our side (even if it isn't, they will say it is, so it doesn't really matter).

[NCDem47]

21. Shooter equals Anti-Trump equals Democrats "They're the violent ones (Democrats)" he'll conflate it all

He’ll lean into it. Élection to Trump will be martyrdom and rooting out other “sick” democrats in his supposed second term.

[Quixote1818]

9. Not to mention he mocked the hammer attack on Pelosi's husband. nt

[Lovie777]

10. It won't....................

but it shows that there need to be more gun control since some are stating mental illness.

It still focusses on guns tho, again.

[Self Esteem]

11. I don't think anyone knows how this will play out.

What we know is that Trump got his photo-op - fists in the air, bloodied.

They'll lean into him looking strong vs Biden, who has spent the last two weeks battling claims about his fitness.

But beyond that? Will it motivate MAGA more than they already are? I don't know. I see a lot of posts here from people who claim to live in MAGA Country and how little Trump flags they see - does that change now?

Will it create a level of sympathy from Republicans who maybe voted for him in 2016 but didn't in 2020 and now might in 2024?

Or will it be forgotten by September?

It's hard to say. But expect the GOP to really milk it next week in Milwaukee.

[misanthrope]

24. "Hard to say" is most accurate. However, if you know history

this incident, the way it worked out and the fist pumping photo op sounds like an incident torn from the fascists' playbook. If you wrote this as a script, it would be sent back for re-write because it meets stereotype.

That is what makes it surreal.

[Xavier Breath]

68. It did seem like something out of a movie.

Talking to my ex last night it reminded me of The Manchurian Candidate, and specifically - spoiler alert! - the scene where Angela Lansbury describes the aftermath of the planned assassination attempt. How her husband would lift the bloody body of the former party nominee before the crowd and make a rousing speech that would give him the nomination.

[misanthrope]

69. Bingo! That occurred to me as well.

I didn't post it because it seemed too ludicrous. Trump would never bring himself that close to harm.

[Ferrets are Cool]

12. My stupid ass SIL, that's who

[tavernier]

13. Biden is the one who campaigns against gun violence.

Trump is the one who wants us to be the Wild Wild West. Be careful what you wish for.

[jimfields33]

30. Who the shooter is will make a huge difference. And nobody knows (at least the public).

That definitely will be released in a day as they’re currently checking internet and the house, car, etc.

[Johonny]

14. Well. The GOP just had a unifying moment

In a week the Democrats created what might be an unrepairable rift in its party.

[Scrivener7]

26. They were never un-unified. This doesn't change that.

[Grown2Hate]

15. My wife had the best advice when I started

explaining why it might be bad for us.

"Put your head down and keep working, carry on. What else can you do?"

[Meadowoak]

16. I still say it was staged. SS was trying to shield him

And he made sure the camera could record him pumping his scrawny little fist and saying fight fight fight. If it was real, he wouldn't be playing to the camera. I know Secret service killed one, and injured another, but his secret service detail, are probably not the sharpest tools in the shed. Or they sacrificed a couple spectators to make it look good

[FrankBooth]

18. 2 people are dead

Did they sacrifice themselves?

[Meadowoak]

22. Would you put it past Trump to have it done?

I sure wouldn't. He doesn't give 2 shits about any of those people. He needs a distraction from project 2025. Yes, he would do it in a heartbeat

[FrankBooth]

31. I guess the shooter wanted to sacrifice themselves for Trump too, since they are one of the dead

Tried to shoot Trump, but also willing to die to help Trump win the election. Makes perfect sense!

[Meadowoak]

38. Did they find a gun? How do you know the deceased was the shooter, if there ever was a shooter?

Trump would have a couple spectators sacrificed, for show, and not bat an eye.

[FrankBooth]

42. Ok

You're obviously deep in the mire. Enjoy.

[AZSkiffyGeek]

33. When was the last time someone faked an assassination attempt?

[Meadowoak]

41. When was the last time a president stole top secret documents?

Probably never, until now.

[AZSkiffyGeek]

43. So you don't know. Thanks!

Nice nonsequitur as well!

[Walleye]

23. I think local law-enforcement was involved

[Polybius]

61. ...

[Midnight Writer]

19. Every news story from here to Election Day will feature a picture of bloody Trump shaking his fist.

Framed beautifully in front of the American Flag.

Shooter just reaffirmed everything the Right has been saying about Trump Derangement Syndrome and violent, hate-fueled Democrats.

For people with a persecution complex, this is gold.

[Xavier Breath]

47. Exactly.

They couldn't have planned a better campaign ad.

[Wednesdays]

20. "Who in their right mind is going to say, oh trump got shot, therefore he has my vote."

No one who is left of center. But a lot of Repugs who were previously demoralized for various reasons could get fired up over it.

[Blue Full Moon]

25. Ronnie Reagan

Ronald Reagan and tfg buddy Bolsonaro examples.

[JohnSJ]

32. What? Reagan won because of the Iran Hostage crap, and the attempt on his life was after he was elected

[Blue Full Moon]

35. Also the shooting

Funny how all the democrats who had power all died in airplane crashes.

[JohnSJ]

40. Shooting had nothing to do with it. It was his Iran contra crap period

[Polybius]

62. I think the poster means 1984

His reelection.

[ForgedCrank]

27. As a general rule,

Americans despise this sort of evil bullshit and will recoil in their reaction to it. And like it or not, they will gravitate toward Trump because of this raw stupidity perpetrated by one f#$%$#% idiot.
They aren't going to see Trump as some sort of hero because he got shot, they are going to focus their ire on his opposition who have been calling him Hitler (and 1000 other things) for more than a few years now. Unfortunately, that is some people on our side of this struggle. They have brushed off all warnings about the rhetoric, and now we will all pay for it.
Make no mistake, this is bad for us politically. There will now be a flood of media discussions and headlines focused on the words and behaviors of some extremists on the left. Accusations of incitement will be the topic of the day for quite some time because of this.
In other words, this is really really bad for everyone. We can't make Trump tone it down, but we really need to check ourselves at this point.

[JohnSJ]

36. I disagree, and if the shooter is some random loon, it will mean nothing

[ForgedCrank]

51. Well, then

I suppose we can watch people continue to run around waving their arms in the air and proclaiming Trump is a Hitler dictator, this is the end of our Democracy, and there will never be an election again if he wins. There are plenty more out there who are incapable of rational thought who will believe that foolish hyperbole. God help us if another one pulls a stunt like this.
I'm not even saying that IS what happened here, but what I am saying is that is what this will be framed as, it's always the same. We should have been focusing on Democratic policy this entire time, now we are going to pay dearly for this mess. And if you look around, not even 2 hours after, the media attacks have already started, and they are exactly what I just predicted. I saw one headline claiming Biden made a speech telling people that "Trump needs to be in the bullseye". It doesn't have to be true. It never does.
Whoever did this will most likely have their history scrubbed from the internet, and the conspiracy crap will start soon simnply because all the social media accounts were hidden. It's the same shit, every time. All we have to do is ask Bernie Sanders what happens when some nutjob supporter pulls a stunt like this. Nobody ever listens, and nobody ever learns.

[markodochartaigh]

28. One third of the electorate were going to vote for

Trump anyway. They are already maximally motivated. This changes virtually none of their votes. One third of the electorate was going to vote against Trump, or any Republican, this changes virtually none of their votes. But "in the middle" third who do not vote, or were going to vote for Bob there are some who might be animated by sympathy for a candidate who was shot. These might be likely non-voters who really pay no attention to what is going on, or likely Republicans who liked Bob better than Trump. Either way the one actual fact that these people will likely remember is that "they" tried to kill Trump. Who "they" are will depend upon how the Republicans spin the story and which version of the story sticks with each individual voter.

I don't see any way that this doesn't help Trump. The Reichstag fire it ain't, but we have bargain basement authoritarians. I think that the only thing that could have helped the Republicans more would be if the assassination had worked and Haley was in place to be elected to carry Project 2025 forward.

[JohnSJ]

37. I don't see it helping or hurting. Changes nothing on the issues.

[markodochartaigh]

46. I think that if we were a country where even 51%

of the electorate voted on the issues in an educated and well-reasoned way we would not be in the predicament that we are in, so close to losing any real pretense of democracy.

[radius777]

67. The moderates (ie, suburban swing voters) don't like chaos,

and this incident could serve to remind them of the type of violent circus-like atmosphere that swirls around Trump/MAGA, in a time that Trump was attempting to seem more like a 'normal' candidate. We'll have to see polling, but I don't think it will help him at all with those voters, who tend to decide elections.

[getagrip_already]

29. Votes have been locked in for a long time......

This isn't going to change anyone's mind. His base is still going to vote for him.

Joe's supporters are still going to vote for Joe.

This is not going to grow trumps base, it's not going to bring back the disaffected gop, or the pissed off Haley voters. It's not going to give the angry independents any reason to believe democracy is safe, or womans rights are safe, or any of the 2025 project goals don't exist.

All it provides is imagery. And that isn't enough.

[claudette]

34. Exactly!

As if any Biden voters (or even undecided independents) would "suddenly" vote for Dumpy just because he got shot. He's STILL a convicted felon and a lying nasty piece of lowlife.

[kansasobama]

39. If Trump grows from this

If Trump becomes a changed man, he will win in a landslide. Will he? He cannot talk about revenge and retribution. He needs to not support J6 or apologize. Suddenly be anti-gun. I doubt it. If he comes out, with revenge against Left, it will not be good.

[tinrobot]

44. If he changes, then he loses his base.

And everyone outside his base won't trust that he actually changed.

[subterranean]

45. Change and grow are two things Trump does not do.

He will not change, and I predict he will soon throw away any sympathy he may gain from this.

[kansasobama]

49. I agree

Already Don Jr is saying country needs a fighter like him. No, country does not need guns like this.

[Crunchy Frog]

70. Just like he was a changed man after Covid.

[planj07]

48. I don't think it changes much in terms of the election

I doubt people are going to vote for Trump because he finally pissed off someone bad enough to shoot at him. Most people who aren’t MAGA realize Trump is not an innocent person. It’s not like the pope got shot.

The real consequence is an escalation of political violence and the left will be scape goated and attacked violently by these people.

[fescuerescue]

50. Nobody is changing their minds. But the vote turnout is still being decided

The election will be decided by how strong the candidates turnout is.

In theory. This could motivate certain voters to show up.

[tazkcmo]

52. Some of the people around me right now.

Rural Misory, a birthday party for a a friend's daughter. "This only makes Trump a stronger candidate.". Jeez, I need a shower to get the stupid off me.

[democratsruletheday]

55. the 'show me' state is circling the drain with Ohio

in terms of going down the Maga(t) path...used to be a sane state and purple. No more.

[kansasobama]

71. We in KS were never purple

We are red but a few counties near Kansas City area on Kansas side have moderated us a tad bit. We still cannot overcome the rural insanity.

[jmbar2]

53. Christian nationalist "prophets" have been proclaiming that this would happen

...and that God would protect him. They've been prophesizing a bunch of shit - all over the place, so some of the prophecies are bound to stick.

Link to tweet

This will reinforce a bunch of talebangelicals that he is God's chosen.

The dead bystander, not so much so...

[mcar]

54. And it's Trump's cultists who want no

restrictions on guns.

[PittBlue]

56. A friend of mine texted me from a restaurant and said when the news came on about the shooting

not one person was fazed by it. This will not change anyone’s vote. He is still the same hideous bastard.

[Liberal In Texas]

59. He's going to trade on the being a martyr story. A living martyr for sure.

No matter who they find was the shooter, he's going to blame us.

I've always wondered when there was going to be an incident like this at one of these open-air rallies.

We're going to be seeing the waving bloody fist video over and over and over.

[SamuelTheThird]

60. If Biden's team had guts

They'd post the video of Trump mocking the hammer attack on Pelosi, with his crowd laughing. Post all his violent threats. Post what he said about agreeing Mike Pence should be hanged on Jan 6.

Normal politics is not going to work here, folks.

[Dan]

63. Actually if you think about it...

Ever since Trump put himself on the national stage - he has promoted violence. So, why are we surprised? Trump just wanted bad things to happen to everyone else - well, shit happens.

I personally do not give a flying damn what happens to Trump.

[ejbr]

65. Because voters are stupid

Up until yesterday nearly half of us are willing to vote for an insurrectionist, rapist who stole our top secret documents and attracts nazis and supremacists. Policies take second seat to theatrics.

[Blue Full Moon]

66. Just seen on local tv news FB

They had about JD Vance blaming Biden. Never seen this before from this very red area almost all the posts were against him. That trump has been the instigator.

[kansasobama]

72. You in Ohio?

Ohio?

[Blue Full Moon]

74. Yes

[Aristus]

73. When even crazy, right-wing gunfuck incels don't like Trump...

it doesn't say much for his chances.