The Conversation -- September 15, 2024
⭐ CNN Liveblog: "Donald Trump is 'safe following gunshots in his vicinity' Sunday, his campaign said in a statement. The former president was playing at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, when shots were fired. Officials believe an armed individual intended to target Trump, according to sources briefed on the matter. A person has been detained in connection to the incident, according to a law enforcement source. The Secret Service said it is working with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office to investigate a protective incident involving Trump. The Secret Service said the incident occurred shortly before 2 p.m.... Secret Service fired at the suspect, according to multiple sources. A long gun has been recovered, according to [a] source.... President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are both 'relieved to know' that Donald Trump is safe and have been briefed on the security incident involving the former president while he was golfing earlier Sunday, according to the White House....
"A suspect who authorities believe is connected to Sunday's incident at Trump International Golf Course has been taken into custody, according to a Facebook post from the Martin County Sheriff's Office in Florida.... Martin County is north of Palm Beach County, where Sunday's incident at Trump International took place....
"... Donald Trump said in a fundraising email that he is 'safe and well' following the security incident at his golf course in South Florida earlier Sunday." [MB: Yes, of course a fundraising email.]
[MB: According to John Miller, speaking on CNN, the Secret Service spotted the suspect in the woods as they were clearing the way for Trump to play through on the course. Agents confronted the suspect who had a rifle, and the agents shot at the suspect. The suspect did not open fire, but he fled the area.]
"... Donald Trump was moving between holes five and six at his South Florida golf course when the security incident happened Sunday, a source briefed on the matter told CNN. The suspect, who the Secret Service engaged with, was a number of holes ahead of the former president.... The Secret Service fired at the suspect as a protective measure....
“The FBI said Sunday it is responding to West Palm Beach, Florida, and 'is investigating what appears to be an attempted assassination' of ... Donald Trump.... West Palm Beach Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said that a Secret Service agent was able to spot the rifle barrel sticking out the fence and 'engaged' with the suspect....
"A witness saw the suspect later detained in the security incident ... run from the bushes and took a picture of his vehicle that led to the suspect's apprehension, according to the Palm Beech County sheriff.... 'We are able to catch a witness that came to us and said, "Hey, I saw the guy running out of the bushes, he jumped into a black Nissan and I took a picture of the vehicle and the tag," which was great,' [Ric] Bradshaw said. Authorities were able to get a hit on the vehicle and alerted the Martin County Sheriff's Office, which detained the suspect. The witness was able to then identify the man....
"Law enforcement officials found a weapon and other items left behind by the suspect where he was positioned in the bushes near the Trump International Golf Club in South Florida on Sunday. 'In the bushes, where this guy was, is an AK-47 style rifle with a scope; two backpacks, which were hung on the fence and had ceramic tile in them; and a GoPro.... So, those are being processed right now,' Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said.... The suspect has not made any statements regarding his involvement in the alleged assassination attempt, said Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw. Authorities have not named the suspect.
"Golf courses, and in particular Donald Trump's own properties, have long been a source of concern among Secret Service officials tasked with securing the grounds while the commander n chief plays, according to people familiar with the matter." [MB: If you recall, President Obama often played on the course at Andrews AFB because the AFB provided a relatively easier site for the Secret Service to protect him.]
~~~ NBC News live updates: "The person in custody who was shot at by the Secret Service while in possession of a semi-automatic rifle is Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, three senior law enforcement officials briefed on the matter said." ~~~
~~~ The New York Times story is here.
MEANWHILE, in other news re: violence connected to a weird presidential candidate ~~~
~~~ Simon Levien of the New York Times: "At his first major campaign event for ... Donald J. Trump, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., told a crowd on Saturday night that he was being investigated for his handling of a whale carcass decades ago. Mr. Kennedy ... said at the event in Glendale, Ariz., that he had received a letter from a national fisheries institute 'saying they were investigating me for collecting a whale specimen 20 years ago.' He suggested that the inquiry was politically motivated, and said that he believed he was protected by the statute of limitations."
Luke Garrett of NPR: "Sen. JD Vance stood by his false claim that Haitian migrants were eating pets in Springfield, Ohio -- an unsupported story that ... Donald Trump has also echoed on the debate stage and on social media. During a Sunday interview on CNN, the Ohio senator and Republican vice presidential nominee said his evidence for this claim was 'the first-hand accounts of my constituents.' He then went on to defend the dissemination of this false story. 'The American media totally ignored this stuff until Donald Trump and I started talking about cat memes,' Sen. Vance said. 'If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that's what I'm going to do.'" ~~~
~~~ Summer Concepcion of NBC News: "Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine [R] on Sunday decried ... Donald Trump's baseless claims that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio were eating dogs and other pets as 'garbage,' but stopped short of directly condemning the former president and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, for spreading the false claims. 'There's a lot of garbage on the internet. You know, this is a piece of garbage that was simply not true. There's no evidence of this at all,' DeWine said during an interview on ABC's 'This Week.'..."
⭐ Jodi Kantor & Adam Liptak of the New York Times have written a stunning indictment of Chief Justice John Roberts, exposing him as the manipulative architect of the immunity case (and two related cases), which gave Donald Trump most of what he wanted (and we still don't know how much, since the opinion, crafted by Roberts, is quite vague); i.e., let the treacherous bastid off the hook for past and future crimes committed in office. Thanks to RAS for the link. MB: I remember back when Elena Kagan joined the Court, I held out the hope that she was clever enough to "turn" Roberts on important decisions. Well, the joke's on me. To those of us who began suggesting this was the Thomas Court, Roberts has given a big middle finger. He has taken back the Court as his own, if only by emerging as a bigger dickhead than he previously appeared to be.
Marie: Ever since President Biden pretended to appoint a commission that pretended to explore reformations of the court system, I have thought he should just appoint a new Chief Justice. The Constitution is silent on how the Chief Justice is appointed, so I think the President, with consent of the Senate, can appoint her. There's nothing in the Constitution that says or implies the old Chief has to retire or die. IMO, the President can replace the current Chief and demote him (or her!) to Associate Justice. If Vice President Harris wins the presidency, and the Senate retains its Democratic majority, she should appoint a new Chief. If she wins and Republicans regain a Senate majority, Biden should appoint a new Chief after the election but before the new year when the new Senate is seated.
Paul Campos in LG&$: A "good in-depth piece of reporting from the NYT about how John Roberts 'steered' the SCOTUS to one of the very worst opinions in the often sordid history of that institution.... The bottom line appears to be that Roberts somehow managed to convince himself that intervening in the case had nothing to do with Donald Trump per se, but was all about crafting some Principles of Constitutional Integritude, that Would Stand the Test of Time in their Principled Balls and Strikes Principledness.... It's hard to overstate what a fundamentally empty piece of nonsense Roberts's opinion is. It's about 2000 pages long..., but can be reduced to the following proposition: It would be good if Donald Trump isn't tried for his attempted autogolpe before the November election, so we will invent out of almost literally nothing a rule of Constitutional Law immunizing ex-presidents named Donald Trump from criminal prosecution from pretty much anything ex-presidents (named Donald Trump) did while in office.... Per the Times's reporting, Roberts has somehow managed to convince himself that he's doing the exact opposite of what he's actually doing, which -- breaking news -- illustrates that the human capacity for rationalization is essentially infinite."
Steve M. explains why so many non-MAGA voters will choose Trump: "Trump supporters who aren't superfans already seem to recognize that he's an obnoxious, angry blowhard. They've priced that in to their decision this year. Their view is that if he's elected president, he'll say a lot of awful things, and he'll post terrible things on social media, but he'll also make inflation go away magically. So it doesn't matter to them that he looked like an idiot on Tuesday night. They already thought he was an idiot -- but they think he's an idiot who can make prices lower using that business magic they saw him display on The Apprentice.... The gettable voters [Harris] needs are willing to vote for a guy who says immigrants eat pets if they think he can lower the price of eggs." ~~~
~~~ Marie: I think Steve has it just right. These voters are stupid, but they're not stupid AND delusional. A lot of them probably agree with some of Trump's awful statements; they're probably afraid of Haitians; they probably think Mexicans are taking "white jobs"; they just won't say so with such crude force. But mostly, they are of the opinion that Trump's "business experience" means he understands macroeconomics. He does not. And Harris has not yet effectively explained that. She hints at it; she seems to know it; but she has to hammer it down in ways that are easy to understand. I don't think she's good at macroeconomics, either. She needs to get better. And fast. Some of it is way over my head. But the basics are kinda easy to understand. And they make sense, even in a way that people who think Trump is a business genius can understand.
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Presidential Race
Self-Described "Extraordinary Genius" Is Rage-Posting. Caleb Howe of Mediaite: "Donald Trump rage posted about the ABC News presidential debate for the fourth day running on Saturday.... A post went viral on X/Twitter this week, with the help of Elon Musk, that claimed a 'whistleblower' will be exposing ABC News as having collaborated with the campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris ahead of the September 10th debate.... [According to the post, ABC News gave Kamala Harris sample questions that were essentially the same as those asked on-air. Trump] said in [an] angry post that 'ABC FAKE NEWS has been completely discredited, and is now under investigation. Did they give Comrade Kamala the questions? It was 3 on 1, but they were mentally challenged people, against one person of extraordinary genius. It wasn't even close, as is now reflected in the polls. I WON THE DEBATE!' [he wrote]." ~~~
~~~ Marie: To understand how stupid Trump & Elon & the original conspiracy theorist are, you need to look at the questions the moderators asked Harris. Things like, "Are Americans better off today than they were four years ago?" and "Why did the Biden administration keep some of the Trump tariffs in place?" and "Will you respond to what President* Trump said?" You have to be quite stupid yourself to think that Harris and her debate prep team are so stupid that they couldn't anticipate -- without any insider help -- that questions like these would be asked. Had Harris correctly answered questions on subjects that only a NASA astrobiologist or Dr. Fauci could be expected to have mastered, then yes, that would have seemed fishy.
Stephen Starr of the Guardian: "In addition to Tuesday's debate, Trump held a news conference Friday in which he rambled without evidence about how Haitians had descended on Springfield 'and destroyed the place'.... Haitians and immigrants from Central American countries have been in high demand at Springfield's Dole Fresh Vegetables -- where they've been hired to clean and package produce -- and at automotive machining plants whose owners were desperate for workers due to a labor shortage in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.... But the glut of new arrivals has also stretched hospitals and schools in the area, angering many locals who resented their presence.... Soon, rightwing extremists seized on Springfield's unrest. Armed neo-Nazi members of Blood Tribe -- a hardcore white supremacist group, according to the Anti-Defamation League -- flew flags bearing swastikas and marched through a prominent downtown street while a jazz and blues festival was taking place nearby in August." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Brandy Zadrozny of NBC News: "The day after the presidential debate at which ... Donald Trump spread a false story about Haitian immigrants eating pets in Springfield, Ohio, Christopher Pohlhaus, leader of the national neo-Nazi group Blood Tribe, took to his Telegram channel to take credit. Pohlhaus, a Marine-turned-tattoo artist known as 'Hammer' to his hundreds of followers, wrote Blood Tribe had 'pushed Springfield into the public consciousness.' Members of his hate group agreed. 'The president is talking about it now,' a member wrote on Gab, a Twitter-like service popular with extremists. 'This is what real power looks like.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Irie Sentner of Politico points out that "... Donald Trump used increasingly harsh rhetoric Friday in describing Haitian migrants in Ohio, saying they're 'destroying their way of life' and threatened mass deportations." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ All in the Family. Simon Levien of the New York Times: "Donald Trump Jr. suggested on Thursday that Haitian immigrants were less intelligent than people from other countries, and claimed that there was demographic evidence to back this up. He provided none. 'You look at Haiti, you look at the demographic makeup, you look at the average I.Q. -- if you import the third world into your country, you're going to become the third world,' Mr. Trump said in an interview with Charlie Kirk on Real America's Voice, a conservative broadcasting network. 'That's just basic. It's not racist. It's just fact.'" MB: Remember, between Dumb & Dumber, Junior is not the dumber one.
Marcy Wheeler: "At about the same time that several of Donald Trump's most loyal supporters were warning that Laura Loomer's access to the former President threatens his presidential bid, Tim Walz was in Grand Rapids mocking how easy it is to manipulate Donald Trump. 'Kamala Harris was able to, in a matter of a few seconds, use this guy's inflated ego and narcissism to bait him into melting down on a national stage in front of 60 million. You don't think Vladimir Putin could do that? You don't think Xi Jinping could do that?'... The problem isn't Laura Loomer. She&'s little different than all the other extremists who remain in Trump's good graces by performing near-perfect sycophancy. The problem is precisely what Tim Walz warned: Trump's narcissism and his ego make him weak, vulnerable to any person willing to use flattery to win their objectives." (Also linked yesterday.)
Dan Balz of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump has long inhabited a bizarre world of his own creation. He rewrites history -- or makes it up entirely -- to aggrandize himself, denigrate others and spread the basest of lies. It keeps getting worse. Since Tuesday's debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, he's spiraled ever deeper into conspiracy theories, falsehoods and grievances. He insists he is not a loser. He never lost the 2020 election, he says falsely, and he certainly didn't lose that debate in Philadelphia. He claims victory in an event in which he spent 90 minutes chasing Harris's barbs down every possible rabbit hole. He rarely managed to get off the defensive long enough to make a case against her -- and when he did, he was barely coherent."
JayDee's "Blood-and-Soil Nationalism." Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times: "In his speech accepting the Republican nomination for vice president, [JD] Vance ... said, '[America] is not just an idea. It is a group of people with a shared history and a common future. It is, in short, a nation.' He went on to add that America is a 'homeland' and that 'people will not fight for abstractions, but they will fight for their home.'... In waging rhetorical war on the Haitian immigrants of Springfield, Ohio, Vance has clarified the meaning of his convention speech.... [The Haitian immigrants] don't belong to this soil, he might say, and therefore they don't belong. Right now, the most Vance can do to wage this war is use his words. I shudder to think what might be possible if he had the authority of the state to wield as well." ~~~
~~~ Kipp Jones of Mediaite: "The New York Times updated a headline in a Saturday opinion piece that sparked controversy after it appeared to link Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) to Nazism and White Supremacy. A story published Saturday morning by Jamelle Bouie was headlined 'JD Vance's Blood-and-Soil Nationalism Finds Its Target.'... Bouie's headline sparked outrage among conservatives who took to social media to attack the newspaper for, as they argued, connecting the Ohio Republican to White supremacy." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Yeah, I went out of my way not to change the title, without apologies. When you accuse a group of innocent people of a different race of killing and eating white folks' pets, when you accuse the people of spreading HIV & other diseases, when you know these people are being subjected to bomb threats & other harassment, and when you keep escalating your false accusations after they've been debunked, when you say these people don't share "our" experience and don't belong in our "homeland," well, yeah, I do suspect you're practicing your Sieg Heil salute in the bathroom mirror.
Annals of "Journalism," Ctd., New York Times Bonus Edition. Jamison Foser: Here's how the Times opinion page weighed in on the Harris-Trump debate, and after each night of the Democratic and Republican National Conventions: they printed short takes by their staff opinion writers and by outside writers whom the Times chose as contributors: "All together these nine opinion roundups feature 36 appearances by outside contributors with readily-apparent ideological backgrounds or affiliations -- and all 36 are conservatives. (To be clear, there are fewer than 36 people involved; the Times turned to most of the right-wing writers multiple times.)" Emphasis added. Thanks to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday.)
I Will Say Anything, Do Anything to Sell My Overpriced "Memoir." Philip Nieto of Mediaite: "Former first lady Melania Trump bashed the FBI for the 2022 raid of Mar-a-Lago over Donald Trump's storage of classified documents in a new video. The video was a promotion for her new upcoming memoir with the title 'Melania.' She opens her remarks with the words of the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution present on the screen followed by music and images of Trump's estate as she slams the FBI's decision to raid her home.... 'I never imagined my privacy would be invaded by the government here in America,' Melania said in the video posted to X on Sunday. 'The FBI raided my home in Florida and searched through my personal belongings.'" MB: You know, Melanie, you should have "imagined" that if you married a crook, the law might one day come along & search through your undies drawers.
Tara Suter of the Hill: "A Democratic strategist who helped organize a 'White Dudes for Harris' call said he is fighting back against a subpoena from Republican House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) on Friday.... The House Judiciary Committee previously subpoenaed Authentic Campaigns, a company the daughter of [Juan Merchan,] the New York judge overseeing former President Trump's hush money trial, has worked for. In a letter late last month, Jordan requested that [Authentic Campaigns CEO Mike] Nellis sit for a deposition alongside the company, as well as sign a sworn affidavit that Authentic Campaigns never had contact with Judge Juan Merchan." (Also linked yesterday.)
The do-nothing Congress out-does-nothing itself: ~~~
~~~ Jacob Bogage & Julie Weil of the Washington Post: Although a majority of both Houses agree that U.S. hostages should not have to pay penalties on taxes for the periods of time they were detained by terrorists or hostile foreign governments, the House & Senate can't get together and pass a bill that forgives any penalties that might be levied. "... there' very little time left in the congressional session, so the Senate probably will not be able to consider the bill this year, and lawmakers will have to start the process from the beginning in 2025." (Also linked yesterday.)
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Arizona. Filip Timotija of the Hill: "The 19th-century abortion law in the battleground state of Arizona was officially repealed on Saturday. The 1864 law, which was initially passed even before Arizona became a state, was revoked ... Saturday.... The Civil War-era law banned nearly all abortions except in the cases to save the life of the mother.... With the repeal being official, the state will revert back to the 15-week abortion ban. The law has an exception for the life of the mother, but none for cases of incest or rape." An initiative to make abortion a state constitutional right is on the November ballot.
News Lede
Washington Post: "The five-day space voyage known as Polaris Dawn ended safely Sunday as four astronauts aboard a SpaceX Dragon splashed down off the coast of Florida, wrapping up a groundbreaking commercial mission. Polaris Dawn crossed several historic landmarks for civilian spaceflight as Jared Isaacman, a billionaire entrepreneur and adventurer, performed the first spacewalk by a private citizen, followed by SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis."
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Reader Comments (15)
What's the difference between an obviously disturbed old man wandering down a city street, muttering nutty stuff to himself and lashing out at the dark skinned people he passes--and the Pretender?
Quick answer: Money.
@Ken Winkes: The way you frame your question, I think the difference may be simply that Trump seldom walks anywhere, much less down a city street. Most of the places he inhabits are not in cities, and when he does stay in his city penthouse, he is driven from there to wherever.
As for the rest of your question, Trump is "an obviously disturbed old man, muttering nutty stuff to himself and lashing out at the dark skinned people."
Someone should remind Dumbvuck Trump that most of his
employees at his golf courses are probably immigrants, and all of those
companies he cheated or didn't pay hired immigrants, I'm sure.
When I see a roof being replaced in 95 degree weather (black roofs
usually) it's always immigrants crawling around sweating.
And working in fields harvesting our food, and on an on,
But he'd probably have one of his usual excuses like that's not what
I said, waaaaaahhh.
New York Times
"How Roberts Shaped Trump’s Supreme Court Winning Streak
Behind the scenes, the chief justice molded three momentous Jan. 6 and election cases that helped determine the former president’s fate."
Forrest: I believe that at Tr*mp properties the immigrant labor is referred to as "international staff."
Really.
RAS,
Not bad for a guy who claimed his job was simply to call balls and strikes....
Have to take the Pretender's message of America's decline very seriously when I think how many millions don't laugh outright at his candidacy for president.
Hard to imagine we could sink any lower than the living proof the Pretender's antics provide.
The article about Roberts' court includes discussion of the immunity decision. But it doesn't really illuminate how all of those "strict construction" "originalist" "textualist" justices issued a decision which has no reference to the US Constitution's text, nor federal statute, nor prior cases. The closest the article gets is to note that several of majority had prior White House legal positions, so knew that Presidents feel constrained by laws. And, the Pope is Catholic.
So, do as I feel, not as the law. The antithesis of founding principles
As Ken pointed out, brought to you by the guy the press has relentlessly told us is just a "balks and strikes" Justice. And apparently he has bought into the false narrative he created about himself thinking he would be heralded for his brilliant fake judicial reasonings. Trump isn't the only self deluded Republican.
Marie,
I think this is still the Thomas and Alito court. Roberts has been sitting on the the side of the pool dangling his feet in for a long time, but now he has jumped all in with the pool of political crazies. He saw that his power was mostly imaginary just like so many of the rules and norms that have kept our society going for these past centuries. It is more of a if you can't beat them join them situation. Or maybe he just got tired of hiding who he truly is deep down. Also we have seen that the more time you spend in conservo-fantasyland the more your brain rots. It appears slow at first, but usually it gains exponential acceleration. And then you end up where fully half our Supreme Court is now.
"Trump’s Project 2025 — but Schoolhouse Rock…"
Marie, one doesn't have to be an expert in macro-econ to refute DiJiT's economy BS. He puts all of his so-called "thought" into international trade, and hypes tariffs, embargoes, and tax preferences. These are "beggar thy neighbor" trade and finance mercantilist policies (think pre-20th century specie-based practices) which attempt to get other countries to finance your country's consumption and investment. It doesn't work for one simple reason -- everybody else starts treating you the way you treat them and then everyone is worse off. DiJiT believes the US can act unilaterally in the global economy and do well by it. That is demonstrably false. VP Harris needs to get a few current examples of how DiJiT's mercantilism doesn't work, and tell those stories (Foxcomm?). Stories communicate; policy statements don't get into voters' heads as well.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beggar_thy_neighbour
@Patrick: Quite right. Very short stories would work well. And some snappy catchphrases. That's not my specialty, but I'm thinking something like, "China doesn't pay Trump tariffs; you pay Trump tariffs." (Okay, needs improvement, but you get the idea.)
Fatty Economics 101
Build casino. Stiff workers. Go bankrupt with a business the raison d’etre of which is to print money.
Buy an airline with one of the most lucrative and most traveled routes in the world, the Eastern shuttle, and drive it into the ground in less than three years.
Trump steaks: cheap hamburger. Bust.
Trump vodka: lighter fluid. Bust.
Trump University: CFO, Fagin. Bust.
Trump Mortgage: scam. Bust.
DJT stock (first try) 1929 type collapse. Bust.
DJT stock (second try, based on cheesy antisocial app) loses 75% of value in matter of months, even as the stock market sees record gains. The rest of the market is crazy good. Trump’s stock sinks like the Titanic with extra holes in the hull.
Everything he touches, economically speaking, is designed to either make him look good or pad his pocket at the expense of investors.
He’s a loser of epic proportions, but trumpets finding a quarter in the return slot of a pay phone as proof of his business genius.
@Akhilleus: ... all of which makes me wonder why millions of Americans are still living in the glow of the long-ago teevee fantasty "The Apprentice," which portrayed a failed rich boy as a brilliant real estate mogul who "knows how to fix the economy." These people are adults. They have access to media as no other people before us had. And they are such ignorant boobs!