John French Sloan Election night 1907 1907
Chris Martenson swears there were multiple shooters.
My jaw is on the floor
This PhD did a scientific analysis of all bullet audio signatures from the Trump assassination footage
CONCLUSION: Raw Audio evidence proves there were *at least* two shooters firing different weapons in two locations to kill Trumppic.twitter.com/SLTpCrjAd9
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) July 19, 2024
Dana White
https://twitter.com/i/status/1814125694818959805
Tucker
TUCKER: “He said only how amazed he was and how proud he was at the crowd which didn't run .. the first thing I thought was well of course they didn’t run. His courage gave them heart. A leader's courage gives courage to his people." pic.twitter.com/RjbDEJaAwX
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) July 19, 2024
Rogan
https://twitter.com/i/status/1814363534446268859
Dore
Jimmy Dore (@jimmy_dore) covered my initial thread that shows the odd 801% increase in trade volume of DJT the day before the attempted assassination. pic.twitter.com/6HZE28JLjw
— Champagne Joshi (@JoshWalkos) July 18, 2024
Ritter
“He seemed to embrace humility. I imagine being millimeters away from an assassin’s bullet has that kind of an effect on a person.”
• “We Rise Together, Or We Fall Apart” (Downey)
Trump took to the stage with a bandage covering the wound left by the would-be assassin’s bullet. He kicked off his mesmerizing speech by thanking the GOP for the nomination and promising to stand for all Americans, stating: “We rise together or we fall apart.” Trump’s speech was unlike any of his others. It lacked the bombast and sarcasm of earlier speeches, which I find entertaining. Instead, it focused on unity. Trump discussed the attempt on his life in Butler, Pa., on July 13, which Catherine wrote about here in more detail. “I’m not supposed to be here tonight. Not supposed to be here. Thank you, but I’m not, and I’ll tell you, I stand before you in this arena only by the grace of Almighty God watching.” He pensively described the attack that could have ended his life and altered American history forever. Trump stated, “I’m not supposed to be here tonight,” and the crowd responded with, “Yes, you are. Yes, you are!”
I can’t lie; I got a little weepy at that point. I can remain calm at funerals and Hallmark commercials, but for some reason patriotism makes me misty. Trump commended his Bulter audience for not stampeding out in panic and praised their bravery under fire. He paid homage to the patriotic firefighter Corey Comperatore, who was killed at the rally while shielding his family from the miscreant’s bullets, calling for a moment of silence for the slain husband and father of two daughters. In the case of Corey and the other two, by the way, they were very, very seriously injured, but now they’re doing very well. They’re going to be okay. They’re warriors. So now I ask that we observe a moment of silence in honor of our friend, Corey. Trump spent much of his time thanking his followers, the Secret Service, and his family, who have been dragged through a mud pile throughout Trump’s numerous Stalin-like trials. Trump promised to secure the borders and return patriotism to our schools after we “rescue the nation.”
Trump declared he would close the border and make America prosperous again. He took minor jabs at the Biden administration while only naming him once. If Democrats want to unify our country, they should drop these parties and witch hunts, which I have been going through for approximately eight years, and they should do that without delay and allow an election to proceed on this journey. He gave hope to a nation that just saw him take a bullet and then stand up and pump his fist while yelling, “FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT!” Trump gave what some would call a kinder, gentler speech while invigorating We the People to take our nation back on Election Day. He seemed to embrace humility. I imagine being millimeters away from an assassin’s bullet has that kind of an effect on a person.
Trump declared that illegal immigrants were stealing jobs from black and Hispanic communities. Someone yelled, “Blacks for Trump!” Trump responded with, “I like you too!” Trump briefly mentioned the 2020 election and stated it would not happen again, an obvious reference to what some believe was a rigged election. As Trump was winding down, he managed to score a few laughs, especially when joking about MS-13 and the chart that he “never really got to see,” referring to the moment the domestic terrorist tried to kill him as he looked at the now famous statistical chart displayed at the rally. He also killed with what is likely an ad-lib line about Hannibal Lecter. In his closing moments, Trump promised to “drill baby, drill, and close the border.”
“It is time to man up, stop blaming others, and figure out what we ourselves have done or not done that made this attack and the inciting rhetoric that led to it possible.”
• The Ballot or the Bullet (Kochin)
Saturday’s attempted assassination of President Trump killed one rallygoer, a father of two who died shielding his children from the assassin, and critically wounded two others. President Trump miraculously escaped with a slight wound in one ear, and in the photo of the century, he stood up from under the swarm of secret service agents, literally bloody but unbowed, raised his right hand in a fist, and mouthed, “Fight! Fight! Fight!” Some of Mr. Trump’s partisan critics attacked Mr. Trump’s “violent rhetoric.” Of course, none of them squawked when President Biden said on Monday before the attack that “we’re done talking about the debate, it’s time to put Trump in a bullseye.” We do not know, and may never know, whether the murderer perceived that he was simply following an order from his Commander in Chief. It is time to man up, stop blaming others, and figure out what we ourselves have done or not done that made this attack and the inciting rhetoric that led to it possible.
The hard truth is that it is our weakness, not our extremism or our own “violent rhetoric,” that invited this attack. The regime media from the top down, in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The New Republic, on television and on social media, have repeatedly called Mr. Trump a fascist, compared him to Hitler, and called for his elimination from the race by any means necessary. We know that nothing Mr. Trump did or said, and nothing we, his partisans, have done or said, can be called the true cause of this kind of talk. We know that because the same outlets said the same kinds of things about other Republican leaders, from Thomas Dewey to Mitt Romney. Democrats talk this way about Republicans because they are not afraid of the consequences of talking that way. The party that banned God from the schoolroom and forbade public worship has no fear of God, who sees and punishes the deceitful, and has no fear of us.
They believe, correctly, that they can, without fear of us, delegitimize elections by effectively licensing fraud and intimidation of voters, and that they can turn mobs on synagogue-goers and conservative speakers. Too many Democrats live their lives in media, public “service,” nonprofit or academic echo chambers in which everyone either amens such transgressions or is silenced by fear of violence or corporate HR. Ignore the hysterics about “violent rhetoric.” Politics is about violence, about the control and deployment of the force of the community for the ends of the community. Free and fair elections, free discussion, and even the right of the people to peaceably assemble come not from rhetorical or actual disarmament. These necessary features of free government come from a balance of terror that produces mutual fear and, thus, mutual respect.
Sadly, in western countries, including the United States, that balance of terror does not exist. MAGA may have guns, but our anti-populist, that is to say anti-democratic rivals, have the secret police, the intelligence services, and, when necessary, Antifa, the stormtroopers of the woke capital, ever ready at the nod of the authorities or the regime media to target peaceful opposition. We who fear God have to be better than them, but that also means we have to be at least as frightening as them. As Malcolm X said sixty years ago, it is always and everywhere “the ballot or bullet.” It is better to fight it out with violent rhetoric and ballots than with bullets, but that is only possible, Malcolm X explains, as long as every side fears what their rivals could do should they become enemies.
Yes, my friends, we have to fight. We have to fight for the right to speak and to be heard, for the right to rally for our candidates and our beliefs, and for the right to wear a red hat in every corner of this great land. The only way that we can maintain our right to fight this “campaign” without resorting to actual violence is to frighten our rivals into refraining from violence, even when they know that the media and “authorities” will take their side. In this struggle, there is no substitute for courage, but there is also no substitute for brains about when and how to show fight. Our situation is not yet desperate, and to make sure it never becomes so, we must manifest both menace and discipline.
Too many things went wrong.
• Secret Service Absent From Trump Rally – Whistleblowers To Senator (RT)
Most of the security personnel working at the Donald Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, during which the Republican presidential candidate was shot, weren’t even Secret Service, US Senator Josh Hawley has claimed, citing whistleblowers. Shots fired from the roof of a nearby factory nicked Trump’s ear, killed one audience member, and injured two more before the sniper was taken out by law enforcement. “Whistleblowers tell me that MOST of Trump’s security detail working the event last Saturday were not even Secret Service,” Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, said on Friday, accusing the Department of Homeland Security of assigning “unprepared and inexperienced personnel” to the campaign rally.
In a public letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Hawley said whistleblowers with “direct knowledge of the event” told him that the majority of the security detail “were not in fact USSS agents but instead drawn from the department’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).” According to the whistleblowers, the security did not use dogs to monitor the area, allowed people without proper badges to access the backstage, did not have people stationed around the perimeter or deployed around the podium, among other things. Hawley is a member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and notified Mayorkas that he will fully protect these whistleblowers, while continuing to investigate the “staggering security failures on July 13.” He demanded answers on the whistleblowers’ claims from Mayorkas within seven days.
The building from which Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire had been the base for local law enforcement helping with security. It remains a mystery how he managed to get onto the roof undetected by the authorities, and stay there despite civilians repeatedly warning the police and the Secret Service for almost 20 minutes before he fired. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has tried to explain the absence of Secret Service personnel on that particular roof by claiming it was too sloped and posed a safety risk. Unconvinced, the House Oversight Committee has issued a subpoena to compel her to testify before Congress under oath. Trump turned his head to the right at the very last moment, so the bullet intended for his head missed. After security swarmed the former president, he got up, raised a fist, and told his followers to “fight.” Republicans confirmed him as their presidential nominee at this week’s national convention in Milwaukee.
Don’t think he’ll spend another $420 million this election.
• Trump Was ‘Badass’ – Zuckerberg (RT)
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has described Donald Trump’s defiant reaction to last Saturday’s assassination attempt as “badass.” While the tech billionaire stopped short of endorsing the Republican frontrunner for the presidency, he noted that many Americans have found Trump’s response inspiring. The former president narrowly escaped death at a campaign rally near Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday, when 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire on him with an AR-15-style rifle from a nearby rooftop. A bullet grazed Trump’s right ear before Secret Service agents killed his would-be assassin. The incident left one rally attendee dead and two others injured. Trump was rushed from the scene by his security detail, but was seen raising his fist and chanting “fight, fight” to the crowd as he was taken off the stage.
“Seeing Donald Trump get up after getting shot in the face and pump his fist in the air with the American flag is one of the most badass things I’ve ever seen in my life,” Zuckerberg said at Meta Platforms Inc. headquarters in Menlo Park, California on Thursday. “On some level as an American, it’s like hard to not get kind of emotional about that spirit and that fight, and I think that that’s why a lot of people like the guy,” the entrepreneur added. Zuckerberg insisted, however, that he was not planning to be involved in the upcoming US presidential election in any way. There will be less political content on Facebook going forward, he added, citing users’ wishes. “I think you’re going to see our services play less of a role in this election than they have in the past,” the Meta CEO concluded. Trump has repeatedly lashed out at Zuckerberg after Meta suspended his Facebook and Instagram accounts for two years in the wake of the January 6, 2021, Capitol riots.
Back in March, the Republican firebrand described Facebook as the “enemy of the people.” Another tech billionaire, SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, wrote on X (formerly Twitter) following the assassination attempt last weekend that he “fully endorse[s] President Trump and hope[s] for his rapid recovery.” While Musk has repeatedly criticized President Joe Biden’s administration since 2022, his relations with Trump have grown increasingly close of late, several media outlets have claimed in recent weeks. On Monday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Musk plans to donate around $45 million a month to a new super political action committee backing Trump. However, the tech tycoon dismissed the report as fake news.
NEW – Zuckerberg: "Trump get up after getting shot in the face and pump his fist in the air with the American flag is one of the most badass things I've ever seen in my life."pic.twitter.com/XBKel7jscu
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) July 19, 2024
So we can all see how upopular she is?!
• Biden Orders Poll On Harris’ Popularity (RT)
US President Joe Biden has commissioned a survey to get a clearer picture of Vice President Kamala Harris’ popularity, ABC News has reported, citing an anonymous senior administration official. The source reportedly told the outlet that despite putting on a brave face publicly, the 81-year-old Democrat has recently become more receptive to calls urging him to exit the presidential race ahead of the November 5 election. Questions as to whether Biden is fit for a second term have been overshadowing his campaign since he bungled a performance at last month’s CNN-hosted debate against Republican frontrunner Donald Trump. During the event, the incumbent repeatedly lost his train of thought, mixed up words and numbers, and struggled to finish his sentences. On Friday, ABC News quoted an unnamed White House staffer as saying that the “president is wiped and exhausted.”
They added that his recent COVID-19 diagnosis “gives him a chance to bring people together, have conversations and think while he recovers in Delaware.” Biden canceled a campaign event in Las Vegas on Wednesday and self-isolated, after he tested positive for the virus. Meanwhile, a poll conducted by the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research between July 11 and July 15 among 1,253 adults indicated that about 6 in 10 Democrats believe Harris would make a good president. However, among the general US population, only 3 in 10 respondents view the current vice president as a good replacement for Biden, the survey suggested. Harris has publicly pledged loyalty to Biden, emerging as one of his staunchest defenders in recent weeks.
According to the same AP-NORC survey, at least 7 out of 10 respondents believe the incumbent should bow out of the race. Among Democrats, the figure is only slightly lower at 65%, the poll showed. In the wake of last month’s disastrous debate, a number of high-ranking Democratic Party members and campaign donors have called on Biden not to seek a second term in office. Yet the veteran politician has been adamant in public that he is not dropping out, and is the best Democratic candidate to beat the GOP frontrunner. However, on Thursday, Axios quoted unnamed friends and associates as suggesting that the president may end his campaign as soon as this weekend.
“The betting site also put Trump’s chances of winning the November election at 66%. Vice President Kamala Harris [..] was at only 18%..”
• Americans Betting Against Biden (RT)
The odds of Joe Biden dropping out of the US presidential race reached as high as 84% on Friday, according to the predictive betting site Polymarket. The 81-year-old incumbent president has been quarantined at his Delaware home since Wednesday, after testing positive for Covid-19. Calls for him to make way for another Democrat have grown louder since last Saturday’s attempted assassination of his Republican rival Donald Trump. “His soul-searching is actually happening, I know that for a fact,” Reuters reported on Friday, citing a source within the Biden campaign. “He’s thinking about this very seriously.” Polymarket had Biden’s odds of dropping out at 19% ahead of the June 27 debate. They have since spiked to 84%, but leveled out at around 70% as of Friday afternoon.
The betting site also put Trump’s chances of winning the November election at 66%. Vice President Kamala Harris, the most likely Democrat to replace Biden at the top of the ticket, was at only 18%. Democrats have pushed back the virtual vote to anoint Biden as the nominee, originally planned to take place before the convention. A long train of lawmakers, donors and party power-brokers have been pressuring Biden to suspend his re-election bid in recent weeks. Former President Barack Obama, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have all reportedly urged Biden to let someone else face Trump in November – while serving out the remainder of his presidential term. “It feels like it’s a matter of… when, not if,” one campaign aide told Reuters. “Yes, it’s over. Just a matter of time,” said another. According to NBC, however, Biden has felt “personally hurt” and “betrayed” by the Democrats’ apparent lack of faith in his abilities.
“Can we all just remember for a minute that these same people who are trying to push Joe Biden out are the same people who literally gave us all Donald Trump? In 2015, Obama, Pelosi, [and] Schumer pushed Biden aside in favor of Hillary [Clinton]; they were wrong then, and they are wrong now,” the outlet reported citing an anonymous source. Hillary Clinton was given a 90% chance to win in 2016 but lost to Trump. Biden’s campaign chair, Jen O’Malley Dillon, acknowledged that the president has “seen some slippage in support” since the debate, but insisted that it was just a “small movement” in the polls, and that a “significant national organization” would endorse him next week. “Joe Biden has said he is running for president of the United States. Our campaign is moving forward,” deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks insisted.
“Democrats have a deep and talented bench of younger leaders, led by Vice President Kamala Harris..”
• “Absolutely” In The Race: Biden Campaign Calls Malarkey On MSM Reports (ZH)
On Thursday evening, the New York Times reported that ‘people close to Biden’ say the president has “begun to accept the idea that he may not be able to win in November and may have to drop out of the race. The Biden campaign swiftly answered – insisting that wasn’t true, while longtime Biden ally Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) – whose daughter Biden sniffed – said that the president is still seeking ‘input’ from colleagues on what to do. On Friday, Biden campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon insisted on MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe’ that the president is staying in the campaign against all odds. “He’s our nominee and he’s going to be our president for a second term,” she said, acknowledging that “this has been such a hard week,” but that Biden will be “back on the trail next week” after allegedly contracting COVID. “This is an organization built for the Biden-Harris ticket,” she continued.
Meanwhile, more prominent Democrats issued statements on Friday calling for Biden to drop out. Reps. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Marc Veasey (D-Texas), Jesús “Chuy” García (D-Ill.) and Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) issued a joint statement Friday morning, writing that while they have “great admiration” for Biden, the public worries over his age and fitness for office are threatening his chances of winning the election, zeroing in on his disastrous debate performance last month. -The Hill. “Mr. President, with great admiration for you personally, sincere respect for your decades of public service and patriotic leadership, and deep appreciation for everything we have accomplished together during your presidency, it is now time for you to pass the torch to a new generation of Democratic leaders,” the four wrote in a letter.
“At this point, however, we must face the reality that widespread public concerns about your age and fitness are jeopardizing what should be a winning campaign.” “These perceptions may not be fair, but they have hardened in the aftermath of last month’s debate and are now unlikely to change,” the lawmakers continued, writing that “We believe the most responsible and patriotic thing you can do in this moment is to step aside as our nominee while continuing to lead our party from the White House.” Veasey marks the first member of the Congressional Black Caucus to call on Biden to step aside, while the other three, Huffman, Garcia and Pocan, are members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
The four see Vice President Kamala Harris as leading the pack of the “deep and talented branch” Biden could pass the torch to. “Democrats have a deep and talented bench of younger leaders, led by Vice President Kamala Harris, who you have lifted up, empowered, and prepared for this moment,” they wrote. “Passing the torch would fundamentally change the trajectory of the campaign.” Also meanwhile, a Democratic Party committee will meet on Friday to discuss a virtual voting process to nominate Biden as the party’s candidate. The vote would take place ahead of the DNC’s in-person convention, which begins Aug. 19 in Chicago. It’s unclear how the nominating process would continue if Biden were to leave the race.
“In 2015, Obama, [Nancy] Pelosi, [Chuck] Schumer pushed Biden aside in favor of Hillary [Clinton]; they were wrong then, and they are wrong now..”
• Biden Feels ‘Betrayed’ By Democrats – NBC (RT)
US President Joe Biden feels “personally hurt” and “betrayed” by an apparent lack of faith in him by many Democrats following his disastrous debate with Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, NBC reported on Friday, citing sources. According to numerous reports, Biden’s on-stage performance – described as “fumbling” and “incoherent” – as well as several follow-up gaffes, have left many Democratic leaders and donors scrambling to find a replacement for the 81-year-old candidate. While some Democratic heavyweights – including former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton – have publicly reiterated their support for Biden, they have done little to consolidate the party behind him, NBC reported.
Sources claimed to the outlet that Biden “feels angry” at efforts to force him out of the White House race, with one person suggesting Democratic leaders were essentially helping Trump, who recently survived an assassination attempt, to secure victory. “Can we all just remember for a minute that these same people who are trying to push Joe Biden out are the same people who literally gave us all Donald Trump? In 2015, Obama, [Nancy] Pelosi, [Chuck] Schumer pushed Biden aside in favor of Hillary [Clinton]; they were wrong then, and they are wrong now,” an NBC source said, referring to Clinton’s loss against Trump in 2016.
The outlet added that as uncertainty grows within the Democratic leadership, some party members now believe it is not a matter of ‘if’ but rather ‘when’ Biden will drop out. One Democratic strategist said he simply “want[ed] a decision” on the matter. “The sooner we get this behind us, the sooner we can get back to the campaigning and focus on winning,” the strategist noted, claiming that Democrats have “better candidates” and “the fundraising momentum.” Axios reported on Wednesday that several top Democrats have told Biden that he stands no chance against Trump, with rumors abound that he might withdraw this weekend. While the president and his campaign have publicly said he has no plans to drop out, the Democratic Party has delayed the official nominating process until August.
“.. the Biden campaign now expects to raise only 25% of the big donor money it had originally projected to raise in July..”
• Biden Appears to Accept He Won’t Win in November, May Drop Out of Race (Sp.)
Incumbent US President Joe Biden appears to have begun to accept the idea that he may have to drop out of the Presidential race because it will be too difficult for him to catch former President Donald Trump, The New York Times has reported, citing several people close to the president. The report cited one of the people close to Biden as saying on Thursday that the US president had not yet made up his mind to drip out of the presidential race. However, the newspaper cited another source as saying that the “reality is setting in” and that it would not be a surprise if Biden made an announcement soon endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris as his replacement. At the same time, the newspaper cited White House officials as saying that Biden was not moving toward dropping out of the race.
They reportedly dismissed media reports, calling them “a coordinated campaign of leaks” by Democratic leaders to escalate the pressure on Biden. NBC News reported on Thursday, citing sources, that Biden’s political world is collapsing as his allies have either publicly or privately called on him to step aside, and major donations have fallen off a cliff. “We’re close to the end,” the broadcaster quoted a person close to Biden as saying. The person reportedly added that Biden is nearing a point of no return. The report cited a person with knowledge of the projections as saying that the Biden campaign now expects to raise only 25% of the big donor money it had originally projected to raise in July. The broadcaster reported last week that the Biden campaign was secretly polling Harris’ viability against Trump amid calls for the US president to withdraw from the race.
The Washington Post reported on Thursday, citing three Democratic officials, that Former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told some House Democrats that she believes that Biden can soon be persuaded to drop out of the race amid serious doubts he can win the election. The media also reported that Pelosi’s aides declined to address her talks with her colleagues, dismissing the media “feeding frenzy” about her discussions with Biden. Numerous Democrats have called on Biden to end his campaign and step aside for an alternative nominee following a dismal debate performance against Trump last month. The Biden campaign has said that they are not planning for a scenario in which Biden is not the Democratic presidential candidate.
“..how can “JB” bow out of the election on account of mental infirmity but still remain president? Even if they call it something else, make some other excuse, the whole world knows now that the president is gone in the head..”
• Slowly, Then All at Once (Kunstler)
There was a lot of talk about divine intervention at the Republican Convention this week. The country has witnessed a rush of seemingly providential events since the fateful night of June 27th when, to universal horror, “Joe Biden” was unmasked as The Phantom of the White House. The attempt on Donald Trump’s life Saturday, with its intimations of blob involvement, was only the latest of countless trips, hoaxes, capers, and ops that smacked of demonic inspiration laid on the public, so you can’t blame them for feeling that “God is among us now.” A huge piece of this dynamic has been the Right’s amazing impotence in the eight-year-long march of insults to the republic — especially the failure to find relief for any of that in the courts of law, until last month when the SCOTUS finally kneecapped Democratic Party lawfare operations. A paramount example of that impotence was being unable to find one jurisdiction willing to adjudicate election fraud in 2020 on the merit of the arguments.
But there was much more, starting with collective helplessness in the drawn-out RussiaGate psychodrama, even when all the players and their many nefarious acts were exposed by the alt news media, and extending to the mendacious roguery of the two-year Mueller (Weissmann) Commission, followed by fifty-one former intel higher-ups labeling Hunter Biden’s laptop “Russian disinformation, followed by Rep. Adam Schiff’s Ukraine “whistleblower” prank featuring CIA/NSC/DOD/DOJ moles Eric Ciaramella, Colonel Vindman and IC Inspector General Michael Atkinson, and then the FBI-instigated J-6 riot with the ensuing faked-up House J-6 committee . . . plus you can throw in the stupid Ukraine war, the drag queens in the kindergartens, the bumbling Durham investigation, ten million unvetted illegal migrants flowing into the country and this year’s four show-trials put on to finally break Mr. Trump.
For many in this land, it has been like the classic nightmare of being paralyzed in the presence of evil. So, it’s no wonder that the Republicans came into their convention with a tremendous tailwind of relief when events suddenly broke their way in June. Now, everyone knows that the current president is a vindictive invalid who will be tossed overboard by his own terrified party in a matter of hours now. And the entire scaffold of lies supporting “Joe Biden” and his party is wobbling badly, too. You could see it in the deranged terror of Rachel Maddow’s increasingly contorted face last night as she rehearsed all the hoaxes she has helped to perpetrate, along with her mentally-ill posse of Jenn Psaki, Joy Reid, Nicole Wallace, and the strangely mute white male Ari Melber. It seemed that any minute Rachel’s head would spin and start spewing pea soup at the camera. When will an exorcist finally pay a visit to MSNBC? As the sun sets on “Joe Biden’s” career, what’s left of his campaign runs an ad in which he promises “to finish the job.”
Sounds kind of sinister now, doesn’t it, like something a crime boss might tell his caporegimes? And for sure the country is suffering from this three-year-plus reign-of-terror against common sense and common decency. The wreckage is everywhere, all over this land. “Defending our Democracy,” my ass. The party big dawgs have paid their terminal visit to the old grifter bringing the sad news that it’s over. Of course, this excites several new headaches for them. Foremost: how can “JB” bow out of the election on account of mental infirmity but still remain president? Even if they call it something else, make some other excuse, the whole world knows now that the president is gone in the head. There are six months remaining to the end of his term and a lot of urgent issues requiring a president’s attention. You can be sure that pressure will rise to shove him out of office altogether. And it may come before the Democratic Convention in late August — if we want to be taken seriously by the rest of the world.
“..A real leader emerges organically when he or she inspires confidence among the people and places the national interest above all else..”
• Even A Dead Man Could Become US President – Tucker Carlson (RT)
The US political system could be manipulated to such an extent that even a dead person could become president, journalist Tucker Carlson joked at the Republican National Convention on Thursday. The former Fox News host was touting former President Donald Trump, who is now the Republican Party’s official nominee for the November election, as having the necessary character to unify the American people. Surviving an attempt on his life earlier this month has turned Trump into a true national leader, Carlson believes. “Just because you call yourself the president doesn’t mean that much inherently,” the journalist said. “I can call my dog the CEO of Hewlett Packard – it doesn’t mean she is.”
“You could take, I don’t know, a mannequin or a dead person and make him president,” Carlson added. “[That is] theoretically possible. With enough cheating that could happen.” A real leader emerges organically when he or she inspires confidence among the people and places the national interest above all else, Carlson insisted. Critics have accused Trump of being irredeemably selfish and a threat to the US, but his reaction to his brush with death is evidence to the contrary, the journalist claimed. Trump has alleged that President Joe Biden “stole” the 2020 election, depriving the Republican of a second term.
The Trump campaign has failed to prove those claims in court, although Carlson apparently alluded to that idea as well as the perception that Biden is physically and mentally incapable of holding office for four more years. Biden endured a disastrous presidential television debate against Trump last month, often losing his train of thought and speaking incoherently. He is under intense pressure from within the Democratic Party to end his reelection bid and allow another candidate to be nominated next month. According to reports, Biden could announce he is dropping out as soon as this weekend. Biden has maintained in public that he intends to run and that only “God almighty” or a newly found medical condition could force him out of the race.
“In that moment, Donald Trump, months before the presidential election, became the leader of this nation.” Serving the country and all of its citizens and not other interests is a mandatory requirement for true leadership..”
• Putting Ukraine First ‘A Middle Finger In The Face’ Of Americans – Carlson (RT)
The political elites in Washington, DC are making a point to not pursue policies that the American public wants, journalist and conservative political commenter Tucker Carlson has said. The former Fox News host blasted the lack of responsiveness of the American political system to the will of the people at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Thursday. He praised former President Donald Trump, the party’s nominee, for being the opposite of standard politicians. In the US capital, lawmakers can be seen “stepping over the prostrate bodies of their fellow citizens ODing on drugs to go cast votes to send money to some foreign country,” Carlson said. Prioritizing Ukraine’s needs, for example, over those of Americans is “too much actually. It’s too insulting. It’s a middle finger in the face of every American. It’s a very clear statement, which is unmistakable.”
Carlson is a long-time critic of the Ukraine policy conducted by the administration of President Joe Biden. He has rejected claims that bolstering the country against Russia is in the interests of the American people. He also criticized the narrative that sending money to Kiev defends democracy, citing the country’s slide towards authoritarianism under Vladimir Zelensky. Critics have accused Carlson of being “pro-Russian” and secretly working for Moscow. Earlier this year, he traveled to Russia to interview President Vladimir Putin, which his detractors described as spreading “Russian propaganda.” Carlson said he had sought to have a long-form sit-down interview with the Russian leader for years. He also claimed that the US government targeted him with illegal surveillance in an attempt to derail his efforts when he was working for Fox News.
In his RNC speech, Carlson suggested that Trump has been transformed after surviving an assassination attempt days ago, saying: “In that moment, Donald Trump, months before the presidential election, became the leader of this nation.” Serving the country and all of its citizens and not other interests is a mandatory requirement for true leadership, he argued.
He’s nervous.
• Trump Holds ‘Very Good’ Phone Call With Zelensky (RT)
Former US President and Republican candidate in the upcoming elections, Donald Trump, has reiterated his pledge to stop the conflict between Moscow and Kiev following his conversation with Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky on Friday. Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social that he “had a very good phone call” with Zelensky, during which the Ukrainian politician congratulated him on a “very successful” Republican National Convention and “condemned the heinous assassination attempt.” Trump went on to say that he appreciates Zelensky “for reaching out because I, as your next President of the United States, will bring peace to the world and end the war that has cost so many lives and devastated countless innocent families.” Both sides will be able to come together and negotiate a deal that ends the violence and paves a path forward to prosperity.”
Zelensky, in turn, claimed that he “agreed with President Trump to discuss at a personal meeting what steps can make peace fair and truly lasting.” “I noted the vital bipartisan and bicameral American support for protecting our nation’s freedom and independence. Ukraine will always be grateful to the United States for its help in strengthening our ability to resist Russian terror,” he wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday night.Trump said nothing about allegedly agreeing to a meeting with Zelensky, and neither he nor Kiev released any further details of the conversation. Back in 2019, Trump was impeached over his phone call with Zelensky, in which Democrats claimed he tried to get dirt on his rival Joe Biden in exchange for military aid.
Speaking to British state broadcaster BBC during a trip to the UK this week, Zelensky reiterated that his government seeks total victory in the conflict with Russia. “We have to finish with him,” he said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. If Trump is re-elected US president in November, Zelensky expects him to lean on Kiev to end the conflict “in 24 hours” as he has promised on the campaign trail. Zelensky described a worst-case scenario in which US sanctions are lifted from Russia under Trump and Putin celebrates victory: “We will never go on this, never. And there is no guy in the world who can push us to do it,” he insisted.
Zelensky’s own five-year presidential term, which he won in a landslide in 2019, expired in late May. He has refused to hold a new election, citing martial law in the country, and reiterated to the British state broadcaster his intention to retain power at least until the hostilities end. Moscow has argued that, under the Ukrainian constitution, the parliament remains legitimate, and presidential authority should have passed to its speaker when Zelensky’s term ended. Putin has also stated that he would order a ceasefire and start negotiations with Ukraine as soon as it pledges not to seek membership in NATO and withdraws its troops from all Russian territories, including the republics of Donetsk and Lugansk, and the regions of Kherson and Zaporozhye
“..the EU‘s chief diplomat, Josep Borrell, is now eyeing a formal foreign affairs summit at the exact same time as Orban’s own summit..”
• Sorry, We Want War: Why EU Elites Will Ignore Hungary’s Orban (Marsden)
Hungary, represented by its Prime Minister Viktor Orban, took over the rotating six-month presidency of the Council of the European Union in July 1, and promptly decided to do something unconventional: actual work. So out came the knives. Back in 2022, the most memorable thing that France’s Emmanuel Macron did while in the role was make a logo for his EU presidency that incorporated his own initials. The benefit to the French and European people was fantastic – as in, it exists in fantasy. For his EU presidency meeting in France, Macron stood alongside unelected European Commission bureaucracy president “Queen” Ursula von der Leyen, as they championed issues like climate change, digital transition, and the EU military industrial complex (er, the “EU Defence Union”). They were only too happy to serve up typical globalist fare for their fellow elites to gobble down. But these same folks are now gagging on Orban’s chosen agenda: peace.
Orban announced that Hungary’s EU presidency meeting would take place at the end of August in Budapest, addressing thorny global conflicts that present a challenge to the EU. Bloc elites object because peace is supposed to come from taking short showers and sweltering without air conditioning to stick it to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Until now, the establishment figured that it could control Orban, if not through threats of withholding EU funds, then through outright manipulation. Like when, according to Politico, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz managed to get him to dip out of a vote last December on starting EU accession talks for Ukraine by convincing the Hungarian leader that it would result in a win-win. So, while Orban was in the hallway, the other EU leaders rammed through the vote, avoiding his veto, and subsequently celebrating their own manipulated unanimity.
But when Orban took over this new EU role, he really dipped out this time, promptly chewing through the leash that the European establishment may have figured they had on him, and proceeded to use it to slingshot himself around the world on a “peace tour” to gather information from all sides of various East-West global conflicts. He started in Ukraine with a visit to Vladimir Zelensky. Totally cool, totally normal, totally in line with EU establishment groupthink. Also, totally useless in terms of trying to actually resolve the conflict involving Russia and Ukraine’s NATO backers that’s devastating European taxpayers and industry. Even Zelensky has recently conceded that any real peace talks need to involve Russia. Orban’s shuttle diplomacy in the EU’s name is the closest thing there is right now to that. So then why did all hell break loose in Brussels when Orban, in his new temporary EU leadership role, decided to also go to Moscow to get the lowdown on Russia’s position?
Orban also hit up China, Azerbaijan, the NATO summit in the US, and former (and potential future) US President Donald Trump. He seems to be the only one taking stock of both sides of various global conflicts. The German press got hold of the letter that Orban sent to Charles Michel – the president of the European Council, to whom Orban is apparently sending notes from his trips. Orban has warned of an intensification of conflict in Ukraine, the need for diplomacy with both Russia and China, and a new approach to the Global South, whose faith the EU has lost amid the fallout from the Ukraine conflict. He took a bulldozer to their collective safe space, apparently. Because the EU‘s chief diplomat, Josep Borrell, is now eyeing a formal foreign affairs summit at the exact same time as Orban’s own summit, according to Politico.
That way, they can completely sidestep the risk of being presented with some actual diplomatic heavy lifting and retreat instead to Borrell’s “trigger-free” EU garden where they can kick back and chill without the risk of being mugged by contradictory views. One EU diplomat told Politico that they want to “send a clear signal that Hungary does not speak for the EU.” What even is the EU anymore if not unelected bureaucrats who routinely purport to speak for it and direct its policy? At least Orban is offering a new twist: elected democratic accountability.
“The constitutional flaw at the center of the Special Counsel’s appointment is that Congress has not established the office of a Special Counsel.”
• Hunter Biden Challenges the Constitutionality of the Special Counsel (Turley)
Hunter Biden has gone full Trump. Now, Hunter has adopted the Trump argument that special counsels are unconstitutional in seeking to toss out all of the charges by Special Counsel David Weiss, it is the very argument that Democrats and liberal law professors have denounced as meritless and menacing. Having recently embraced the conservative justices in challenging gun laws, Hunter is now channeling Justice Clarence Thomas on the unconstitutionality of special counsel appointments — an argument that his father denounced as wrong and “specious. I recently discussed the decision of Judge Aileen Cannon to strike down the Florida case against former President Donald Trump. Law professors ridiculed the concurrence of Justice Thomas in arguing that special counsels lack a constitutional foundation.
Biden is now asking the federal courts to adopt the Thomas position. On Thursday, courts in California and Delaware were asked to dismiss the criminal tax and gun cases against Biden. The motions track the analysis of Judge Cannon and argue that “the Attorney General relied upon the exact same authority to appoint the Special Counsel in both the Trump and Biden matters, and both appointments are invalid for the same reason.” I wrote in my column that the challenges seem to draw courts into the Wonderland of Special Counsels. In “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” the Mad Hatter asks Alice, “Why is a raven like a writing desk?” It turned out that the Mad Hatter had no better idea than Alice. In her 93-page order, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon seemed to face the same dilemma when she asked Special Counsel Jack Smith why a private citizen is like a confirmed U.S. Attorney.
However, a key difference between Smith and Weiss is that it could lead these courts to asking “why is a Weiss like a Smith?” The extent that he is not could prove a critical distinction. Weiss is a Senate confirmed U.S. Attorney where Smith was a private citizen plucked by Merrick Garland from the general population for the position. Biden is seeking to brush over that Mad Hatter anomaly: “The constitutional flaw at the center of the Special Counsel’s appointment is that Congress has not established the office of a Special Counsel. Given that Congress requires a U.S. Attorney to be nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate, it makes no sense to assume that Congress would allow the Attorney General to unilaterally appoint someone as Special Counsel with equal or greater power than a U.S. Attorney. That is what has been attempted here.” Clarence Thomas is beaming.
?
Have a nice weekend, amigos. pic.twitter.com/myhEVrfRKy
— Rudy Havenstein, Senior Markets Commentator. (@RudyHavenstein) July 19, 2024
Trap
Simple trap for birds 🐦 and chickens 🐓 pic.twitter.com/sFvPFh5wFr
— Dr MuVenda (@Ndi_Muvenda_) July 18, 2024
Mystery
One of the greatest mysteries of the universe. 🦋 🐛 pic.twitter.com/9cSFauez4F
— Science (@ScienceGuys_) July 18, 2024
Portulaca
Portulaca flowers opening in water
📹 jardins.floridos
pic.twitter.com/HSBgjc3yv4— Science girl (@gunsnrosesgirl3) July 19, 2024
Support the Automatic Earth in wartime with Paypal, Bitcoin and Patreon.
