Reports indicate the shooter was a 20-year-old white man named Thomas Matthew Crooks, who was reportedly also registered as a Republican. His motives for this crime remain unclear.
I have long detested Donald Trump including for everything he has put the world through due to his deep personality flaws and noxious political ideology. He has promoted a culture of political violence and vicious disrespect of anyone who dares to oppose him or his MAGA movement. He has empowered violent, intolerant people the world over, inspiring our current era of polarization and hateful misinformation.
Trump's irresponsibility reached its horrifying height on January 6,
2021 when Trump's supporters, incited by Trump's lies about the 2020
election, violently attacked the U.S. Capitol, on the hunt to murder
Mike Pence, Nancy Pelosi and anyone else who wouldn't help Trump steal
the 2020 election from American voters.
Republicans and former Trump supporters who turned on him in recent years, warning Americans about how he must never again get close to the White House, have been living in fear, forced to hire their own security to protect themselves from Trump's violent mob.
When Nancy Pelosi's husband was viciously attacked in 2022 by a home intruder with a hammer, Trump made jokes about it and even a year later took the opportunity to call her a "Wicked Witch". Trump's creepy son made light of the attack with a post on social media.
Despite this heartless, immature behaviour from Trump and his offspring, Pelosi showed herself to be the better person yesterday when she condemned the violence Trump and his rally supporters faced:
For Trump and his supporters to now criticize any political speech as inappropriate in light of their years of misbehaviour, inflammatory and violent rhetoric, and vicious disrespect is beyond the pale.
I do sympathize with any victims of violence and trauma. I wouldn't wish violence on anyone, including Donald Trump and his supporters, despite their viciousness all these years.
I am sophisticated enough to understand that the reasons people support political candidates can be nuanced and complicated. Regardless of their reasons for being at the rally yesterday, no one deserved to suffer what happened yesterday.
My heart goes out to the family of the unlucky man who reportedly jumped to protect his family when shots were fired and died because of it. My heart goes out to the badly injured as well.
Will this near-death experience cause a change in Trump? I would hope so. But I won't be holding my breath. He has never shown anything except complete narcissism and total selfishness.
Sadly, I suspect that Trump will try to use this incident to stir up and inflame the American political discourse even worse than he already has, all to his own personal benefit, as he has always done.
I hope not. The next few weeks will be scary to behold.