(Screenshot of footage of President Trump, First Lady Melania Trump & WHCA President Weijia Jiang before being evacuated by the Secret Service)
As I am sure you are aware by now, last night a gunman fired shots outside the ballroom of the Washington Hilton Hotel as the White House Correspondents Dinner was getting underway. One Secret Service agent was wounded but is expected to survive his injuries. A suspect, identified as Cole Allen is in custody.
Under the circumstances, it is more than reasonable to conclude that Allen intended to assassinate President Trump and members of his Cabinet.
I do not believe it is reasonable to conclude that this was staged or planned. They aren't that clever.
Of course, Trump has already used the incident to justify the construction of the White House Ballroom in what was the East Wing as well as to demand that Democrats in Congress fund the Department of Homeland Security.
Both talking points are nonsense. First, the White House Correspondents Association is independent of the White House. Such a dinner should not be held at the White House. To do so would compromise the independence of the press. Second, a fully funded DHS would not have prevented last night's incident.
At this point, we do not know if the suspect had a history of mental illness. But we do know that he obtained numerous weapons. Mentally ill or not, people who are determined to take the life of the President of the United States are unlikely to be deterred by an act of Congress.
I am sure that Trump and his allies will eventually seize upon Allen and his $25 donation to Kamala Harris and his attendance at a No Kings rally to paint all those who oppose him as set on violence. After all, CNN's Dana Bash is doing it for him as evidenced by her interview of Maryland Democratic Congressman Jamie Raskin this morning claiming his party's uses of "heated rhetoric" against Trump.
Of course, Bash's question is predicated on the assumption that Trump is a beacon of rationality. Has she forgotten that Trump proclaimed he was glad that Robert Mueller had died? Less than 48 hours ago, Trump platformed claims that former President Obama and Hillary Clinton had committed treason. Does Bash not consider this heated rhetoric?
The truth of the matter is that millions of Americans oppose President Trump, his policies and his behavior and do so peaceably.
A trial will sort out Cole Allen's responsibility for his actions last night. His actions do not speak for the vast majority of Americans who exercise their First Amendment rights to disagree with our government up to and including the President of the United States.
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