I took this the evening of the assassination attempt on Donald Trump at Five Spice, the best restaurant in Lake Oswego, Oregon where my partner and I went for dinner with friends. It is a liberal city, but the bartenders apparently like to watch Fox News. Last night the chyron on Fox News tells us how the story will be played on Trump friendly media: BLOODIED TRUMP STANDS TALL, PUMPS FIST.
Those old enough to remember when John F. Kennedy was shot occasionally when talking about the event ask each other to describe where they were when it happened. I was an undergraduate in the grill of the student union when someone came in and announced that Kennedy had been shot. Kennedy, like Trump, was beloved by half the country.
Had the bullet which whizzed by Trump's head, possibly one across his check and another clipping his ear been inches, or centimeters, to the right the results obviously could have been lethal.
Trump for his part walked the walk of the fearless warrior he believes he is and portrays himself as being to his fans. Within seconds of being shot he raised his fist and shouted "fight, fight, fight."
I begrudgingly give him credit for realizing within moments that he was living a made for TV historic moment and that what he did could assure he could now effortlessly coast into the White House. Immediately he realzed that the eyes of the nation were on him and instead of making sure that he wasn't exposing himself to more bullets - no doubt to the horror of the Secret Service - he stood tall and gave the world what was (no pun intended) the money shot.
I can see one of the photos of him doing this ending up on posters and t-shirts with the word "fight" under it.
I doubt that Trump ever believed in God and that surviving this will change that though as the brilliant self-promoter he is wrote the following on Truth Social this morning:
"Thank you to everyone for your thoughts and prayers yesterday, as it was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
"We will FEAR NOT, but instead remain resilient in our Faith and Defiant in the face of Wickedness. Our love goes out to the other victims and their families. We pray for the recovery of those who were wounded, and hold in our hearts the memory of the citizen who was so horribly killed.
"In this moment, it is more important than ever that we stand United, and show our True Character as Americans, remaining Strong and Determined, and not allowing Evil to Win. I truly love our Country, and love you all, and look forward to speaking to our Great Nation this week from Wisconsin."
Bad news for Democrats is that early reporting indicated that the shooter, while a registered, Republicanmade a $15 donation to Progressive Turnout Project, a Chicago-based political action committee that supports Democrat candidates for public office and claims to advocate for "key Democratic constituencies: young people, minorities and low-income people."
There are many photos of Trump from the shooting while show his to be more human:
I doubt any photos like these will be used by the Trump campaign. I expect they will use one like the three on the top of this page.
In the end, voters will settle down and return to their candidate of choice. The people who move towards Trump out of sympathy will probably move back.
But what happened in PA will definitely impact the final vote, guaranteeing that every Trump voter will actually vote. Biden, or any other candidate the Democrats put up, will not have the same participation certainty.
That participation gap is worth at least 1% and as much as 2%. And because it happened in Pennsylvania, the impact will be highest in Pennsylvania.
This doesn’t guarantee that Trump flips Pennsylvania. But the long and winding road for Joe Biden just became even longer and windier.
Just as what happened to George Floyd had a lasting impact on tens of millions of Americans, the shooting of Donald Trump will be significantly consequential in a way the shooter never intended.
What Luntz doesn't address is how much money this will probably bring in to his campaign.
Grifters are already using one of the images to make money. This one is for sale for $29.99.
Here's more:
Now it is almost too obvious for me to write what I think many Democrats are thinking. This is that we might as well just stop campaigning and let Trump declare himself the winner.
You can read this and previous blogs on two websites and on Substack. One may look better than the other because of how the platforms present the page.
Currently his tweets on what was then called Twitter have been replaced by what he wants to call "truths" (thankfully not in the dictionary like "tweet" is) on Truth Social. Therefore, if one was to write an updated book the title would have to be changed.
In 2019 The New York Times (subscription) published
This article was co-authored by Trump's on again off again pal Maggie Haberman and five other Times writers. It begins:
When Mr. Trump entered office, Twitter was a political tool that had helped get him elected and a digital howitzer that he relished firing. In the years since, he has fully integrated Twitter into the very fabric of his administration, reshaping the nature of the presidency and presidential power.
After Turkey invaded northern Syria this past month, he crafted his response not only in White House meetings but also in a series of contradictory tweets. This summer, he announced increased tariffs on $300 billion worth of Chinese goods, using a tweet to deepen tensions between the two countries. And in March, Mr. Trump cast aside more than 50 years of American policy, tweeting his recognition of Israel’s sovereignty in the Golan Heights. He openly delighted in the reaction he provoked.
“Boom. I press it,” Mr. Trump recalled months later at a White House conference attended by conservative social media personalities, “and, within two seconds, ‘We have breaking news.’”
Flash forward to when Trump lost the election. Trump's tweets, and then his truths, gave us a deeper insight into how his mind functioned. It hasn't been pretty.
He used these to send personal vicious messages to individuals but also to the country since he knew the more inflamatory ones would be shared in the media. This is from the Times article:
“Boom. I press it,” Mr. Trump recalled months later at a White House conference attended by conservative social media personalities, “and, within two seconds, ‘We have breaking news.’”
Whether or not the leaders of our allies or our enemies (some of whom may very well have secret channels to communicate with him) are following what Trump says at his rallies, it's reasonable to assume that they are people with subscriptions to Truth Social. A message to us is also a message to them.
I don't know if Trump cares that leaders and residents in other countries would be reading these too and would be wondering what would happen if this unhinged revenge fueled lunatic became president again. Perhaps, given that he's a malignant narcissist, he wants them to be terrified of him. He wants to be feared. It makes him feel powerful. This is the nature of the beast.
Our allies may see Trump as a clown, but they also see him as a dangerous clown:
Obviously Trump thinks that video clips of his swinging a golf club are impressive or he wouldn't post them (someone shares the Truth Social posts on X):
Between what comes through Trump's brain and out of his mouth and what pops into his mind and onto Truth Social via his stubby fingers leaders of the world's democracies are no doubt dreading the possiblity he'll become president again.
From the rally speech:
Today he’s (Biden) with the people from NATO and these people show up. I know very well every one of them. They’re very smart. They’re at the top of their game, and then they’re saying, “What the hell is with this guy? We know we can’t figure out –”
You know I saved NADDO [sic] because when I went down — hey, Barack Hussein Obama, has anyone ever heard of him?
He would go, he would go and, you know, go to wherever the holding had a meeting and he’d make a nice speech and Bush would go and make a nice speech and he would leave, in all fairness. Bush, Bush!
But he makes a nice speech and they’re all going to make speeches, and then they wouldn’t even stay there a day.
I went and didn’t make a nice speech. I said, what the hell are you doing? Nobody’s paying, nobody was paying.
And I didn’t want to be obnoxious because I felt it was the first time I’d ever done this. And what? I didn’t even know what the hell NATO was too much before, but it didn’t take me long to figure it out. Like about two minutes.
And the first thing I figured out was they weren’t paying. We were paying. We were paying almost fully for, you know, and and I said, that’s unfair, but I didn’t want to make a big mess.
And I was president in — for about 15 minutes. And I didn’t want you to know go after NATO as my first —
But, but six months later, I went back to the second meeting and I said, you know what? You’re not paying your bills. You got to pay your bills. So somebody stood up from from one of the countries, 28 countries, and only seven were paying what they should be paying. 28 countries, think of that. And these countries now we added a couple but 28 countries. And they said, sir, could I ask you? I said, “you have to pay your bills.”
They said, “Sir, may I ask you a question. If we don’t pay your bills, will you protect us from Russia?”
I said, “You mean you’re delinquent?”
They said, “Yes, we’re delinquent. Let’s say we’re delinquent, will you protect us?”
I said, “No, I will not protect you from Russia.”
The money came in by the billions!
You can read this and previous blogs on two websites and on Substack. One may look better than the other because of how the platforms present the page.
President Biden and and former president Trump agreed to hold two campaign debates — the first on June 27 hosted by CNN and the second on Sept. 10 hosted by ABC. I don't think there is a graceful way he can back out of them.
This will be a major test of the state of both candidate's cognitive condition. Trump has called Biden senile and he presents himself as not just smart, but genius …. and a very stable genius at that!". (Reference).
When Trump brags abiout his stable genius and attacks Biden as senile this is a case of the Trump pot calling the Biden stainless steel kettle black.
The term "sundowning" refers to a state of confusion that occurs in the late afternoon and lasts into the night. Sundowning can cause various behaviors, such as confusion, anxiety, aggression or ignoring directions. Sundowning also can lead to pacing or wandering.
Sundowning isn't a disease. It's a group of symptoms that occurs at a specific time of the day. These symptoms may affect people with Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia. The exact cause of sundowning is not known.
A sundown is often beautiful like the one I shared in this blog that even had locals talking about as partiucarly striking when we spent a weekend on the Pacific coast at Cannon Beach.
If, as many have speculated Donald Trump (see Google search here), is suffering from early dementia no amount of rehearsal will stop him from exhibiting signs of this during a prime time debate. If he doesn't have dementia all he will have to do to hold his own against Biden, who does not show indications of dementia, is to moderate his malignant narcissism and impulsiveness.
He will have to clearly state his position on issues like abortion, IVF, and government provided health care so as not to alienate the majority of voters who favor these.
Likewise, he will have to state his position on aid to Ukraine and our membership in NATO.
Hopefully the moderators will ask him whether he still believes the election was stolen and the the people who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6th are patriots.
If the moderators want "to go there" they could ask him if he denies, as he has claimed, ever having had a sexual relationship with Stormy Daniels or even knowing her.
If they are doing their due diligence the moderators will look over Project 25 and ask him which of the plans laid out by this group he will implement. In particular he should be asked about this:
Project 2025 focuses on packing the next GOP administration with extreme loyalists to former President Donald Trump.
The plan aims to reinstate Schedule F, a Trump-era executive order that makes federal employees fireable at-will, stripping tens of thousands of employees of civil service protections. Both Trump and others in the conservative movement have said they will clear out the federal government if he is reelected. The project has even set up online trainingsand loyalty tests to narrow down potential hires to those who will commit to follow Trump without question. As Project 2025 senior adviser John McEntee has said, “The number one thing you're looking for is people that are aligned with the agenda.”
If Trump has dementia and it is worse because of sundowning he will have trouble spouting memorized responses which address the quesiotns asked and the attacks likely to come from President Biden. If he has dementia he will probably veer from topic to topic and say things unrelated to the questions posed by the moderators.
I want more evidence before I say that I am as certain than other mental health and dementia experts are that he has this devastating disease which isirreversible and always gets worse. The symptoms in the end stage are devastating to the patient and family. For two forms of dementia the life span is 6-8 years form onset (reference).
(From Wikipedia) All three dark triad traits are conceptually distinct although empirical evidence shows them to be overlapping. They are associated with a callous–manipulative interpersonal style.
As dementia worsens some people undergo no particular personality changes from their pre-illness self. Others who were mild mannered can become aggressive and others who were aggressive can become mild mannered. If Trump has dementia the only change I see from his prevous personality is that he has gotten more aggressive. If he has dementia and is sundowning during the debates he will present himself as someone who undecided voters hopefully will watch and decide that this is not the kind of person they want to be president.
While many of his cult members like how he behaves hopefully there are many voters who are on the fence who want their president to be "presidential", that is, having a bearing or demeanor befitting a president which is dignified and confident without being arrogant.
Trump against a background of Starry Night by van Gogh which I used in part because of the sigificance that he painted it from his room where he spent one year in the mental hospital in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. It was actually painted just before dawn. There are no reports that van Gogh had dementia. There has been speculation that he had temporal lobe epilepsy and many other disorders.
You can read this and previous blogs on two websites. One may look better than the other because of how the platforms present the page.
By chance an ad for a new Amazon Prime show, The Burial, was placed in the story here:
The premise of the movie, based on a true story (from Wikipedia) is:
In 1995, Willie E. Gary, an unconventional personal injury lawyer with an impressive track record, helps financially troubled funeral home owner Jeremiah Joseph O'Keefe sue a large funeral home company, the Loewen Group, over a contractual dispute. Gary ultimately won a $500 million jury verdict and the Loewen Group filed for bankruptcy.
I like that the lawyer, Willie E. Gray, is played by Jamie Foxx because Trump has been having, to put it mildly, a lot of trouble with attorneys who happen to be Black.
Of course the placement of this ad is accidental (or is it?) but I like that it is just above the line about Jimmy Kimmel calling Trump a fragile little snowflake who can't handle a little humor.
A couple of the best lines:“You’d think the guy who fathered Eric and Don Jr. would know how to handle jokes” and “maybe this is why Donald and Melania sleep in separate bedrooms. She was laughing too hard at my monologue at night.” Another: "he's so fat they renamed the plane Air Force Wonder Bread." Not funny, Kimmel plays about a dozen clips of Trump defending free speech.
We know that Trump is not only interested in watching people fawn over him on television but also in watching what his critics have to say about him. He's commented about what Joe and Mika say on "Morning Joe" and that he is especially sensitive to being made fun of by comedians.
There is ample material for mocking the megalomanical malignant narcissist but late night comic writers still have to be espcially orginal and sharp because they are all competing with each other to see if they get what must be a covetted attack from Trump in a social media post which will then be reposted in the media. Trump may not realize, or care, that when he attacks a late night comic he gives them free publicity.
For somebody who fancies and fantacisizes himself as a tough guy he seems oblivious to the fact that a real tough guy, that is someone (male, female, or other) who is secure in their identity, wouldn't be bothered by these jokes and if they are really comfortable with themselves they would be able to laugh at the better jokes.
Wiki defines snowflake as a derogatory slang term for a person, implying that they have an inflated sense of uniqueness, an unwarranted sense of entitlement, or are overly emotional, easily offended, and unable to deal with opposing opinions.
So, Mr. Trump, who's the real snowflake?
Since a real snowflake, a dry one at least, is fluffy and if caught in your hand will quickly melt, Jimmy Kimmel's calling Trump a fragile little snowflake is on point although I might have called him a large fluffy snowflake who melts into an insignificant puddle in the palm of the hand when he's made fun of.
Addendum:
No offense meant to real snowflakes which are a marvel of nature and truly beautiful.
A snowflake is a single ice crystal that has achieved a sufficient size, and may have amalgamated with others, which falls through the Earth's atmosphere as snow. Each flake nucleates around a tiny particle in supersaturated air masses by attracting supercooled cloud water droplets, which freeze and accrete in crystal form. Complex shapes emerge as the flake moves through differing temperature and humidity zones in the atmosphere, such that individual snowflakes differ in detail from one another, but may be categorized in eight broad classifications and at least 80 individual variants. The main constituent shapes for ice crystals, from which combinations may occur, are needle, column, plate, and rime. Snow appears white in color despite being made of clear ice. This is due to diffuse reflection of the whole spectrum of light by the small crystal facets of the snowflakes.Wikipedia
Recent:
Trump has hissy fit over late night comics mock him: "He's a fragile little snowflake"
Hal Brown
Published
• Oct 7
Hal Brown blogJimmy KimmelLate night comicsTrumpsnowflakesnowflake slang
