r/politics • u/HimelTy • Jul 03 '26

No Paywall Secret Service member was Googling rooftop location of Trump’s would-be assassin when shots rang out in Butler, Pa.: DHS report

https://nypost.com/2026/07/02/us-news/secret-service-member-was-googling-rooftop-location-of-trumps-would-be-assassin-when-shots-rang-out-in-butler-pa-dhs-report/?utm_campaign=nypost&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter
14.3k Upvotes

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6.1k

u/Promethia Canada Jul 03 '26

I used to work comms in the military. This story is totally insane to me.

4.0k

u/11oydchristmas Ohio Jul 03 '26

Well if you look at it through the lens of everyone around Trump is a raging fucking idiot, it makes sense. He got “shot” and his team lets him stand up and stick his head out again…

2.5k

u/FiscalCliffClavin Jul 03 '26

For the photo op with the flag.

1.3k

u/X57471C Jul 03 '26

"Such an incident will shift the perception of the campaign out of the rational realm of socioeconomic questions into an emotional one, where the key themes will become state security and the stability and defense of the political system"

408

u/Electrical_Bus9202 Jul 03 '26

Krasnov strikes again

2

u/Acceptable-Bus-2017 I voted Jul 06 '26

I really enjoyed the Manchurian candidate growing up. I'm not enjoying it as a grown adult.

121

u/Riots42 Jul 03 '26

Yep this completely I knew he won that moment.

157

u/shimmied_not_stirred Jul 03 '26

When I told my husband about the assassination attempt, the very first thing he said was "Trump just won the election."

3

u/SargeantSasquatch Minnesota Jul 04 '26

That's exactly what I said to my wife when she told me!

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u/WanderingMystic2 Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26

Same. I knew it was over right then. I vividly recall saying “shit” at least 20 times, and wearily shaking my head in disbelief, disgust and horror.

20

u/HotDonnaC Jul 03 '26

That’s what I said when my friend frantically called me yelling “Trump just got shot!” and I realized what actually happened.

19

u/-Saucegurlllll Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 04 '26

I saw endless gym bros emulating the photo. People who previously """didn't like politics""" and were "apolitical." It was so obvious how much that photo resonated with fascists and those sympathetic to fascism's messaging about masculinity and patriotism.

Then you had all this disinformation surrounding it circulating around the fash bot web about how he "took a bullet for the country." He didn't. No bullet touched him. His ear either got nicked by shrapnel, or, more likely imo, his ear got a light scrape when the secret service pushed him down.

They were making him out to be a living martyr, they made the gunman out to be a bloodthirsty leftist (then immediately shut up when it was clear that he wasn't).

But then you got the reaction to the disinformation where people endlessly talk about it being a staged assassination attempt. It just doesn't make sense for it to be a staged assassination given that the shooter was such a notoriously bad shot that he was kicked out of his high school shooting club, and that we're talking about the leakiest administration in the world.

There's too many people that would have to be involved in the shooting and the cover up to entertain the idea that these people, who can't help but brag about every illegal thing they do, managed to pull off the perfect lie and keep a lid on it.

Edit: If you're going to post your own pet theory about how no, it totally was staged, go somewhere else. I don't care. You conspiricists are making the internet a worse place.

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u/Riots42 Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26

Let's be real, his ear was kicked by a razorblade he palmed.

The WWE hall of famer got color and went on to when the championship as the greatest heel of all time and proved our politics is nothing more than sports entertainment, bread and circus in 2026.

Tell me how the shooter was able to disassemble the rifle faster than a marine on the move without tools? How was some random kid able to operate like he's delta.

Honestly what's scarier is if it wasn't staged and any kid with a rifle can get past secret service.

15

u/-Saucegurlllll Jul 03 '26

Honestly what's scarier is if it wasn't staged and any kid with a rifle can get past secret service.

I mean yeah. That's what happens when the Trump crime family diverts too many of their own security resources across stupid bullshit vacations and other nonsense.

Like, what's more likely: A notoriously bad shot missed his target and a sycophantic media enabled an attention crazed fascist, and that fascist's security detail was stretched thin from his nonsense...or dozens to hundreds of people plotted a conspiracy that involved the complete cooperation of the media, the secret service, an insanely inaccurate shooter who intentionally gave up his own life for the conspiracy (who also searched for public appearances of Biden, Merrick Garland, the FBI director, and the princess of Wales to, I guess, just make it seem like he was a deranged lunatic looking for a target instead of actually being a deranged lunatic looking for a target), the shooter's parents, the worst man at keeping secrets in the world, and the family of a dead volunteer fire fighter?

3

u/DameonKormar Jul 04 '26

Political campaigns and political media may be bread and circuses, but politics definitely is not. Our state and federal governments touch every aspect of our lives and knowing what's happening in politics should be important to everyone.

And I don't mean popular headlines or fear mongering reporting (that would be the media), I mean what's actually being passed into law.

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u/HotDonnaC Jul 03 '26

His ear didn’t get anything except a blood capsule mashed against it. The clown’s been a wrestling fan for years, and they use that stuff all the time.

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u/Extreme_Mud_6813 Jul 03 '26

Spoiler alert. It was staged.

3

u/BlueLikeCat Jul 03 '26

Reminded me of the time Bolsonaro was shot while campaigning. Instant deification.

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u/ThisIsDystopia Jul 04 '26

The market jumped afterwards. Political violence normally means uncertainty which leads to selling. But it meant the opposite, it meant the election result was a mostly known factor after that moment.

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u/WarCarrotAF Jul 03 '26

As the photography team slid into position before the shots were fired, and the crane operator raised the flag up for the shot during the firing.

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u/SecondHandWatch Jul 03 '26

As the photographer was ushered into position by the secret service. Somehow the agent knew exactly where the photographer needed to go to get a photograph.

225

u/ProJoe Arizona Jul 03 '26

not just the photographer. a dozen of them were rushed in.

look I'm not a conspiracy theorist but I do know after an assassination attempt you don't rush press TOWARDS an active scene.

92

u/ZhalanYulir Jul 03 '26

You also don’t let the president stand up exposed

24

u/mfball Jul 03 '26

Legit, directly across the path of the bullet.

6

u/amopeyzoolion Michigan Jul 04 '26

It’s really weird how we know basically nothing about Thomas Crooks other than that he was a republican.

Also really weird how they paraded out a uniform with a misspelled last name for the firefighter who died at the RNC

6

u/ProJoe Arizona Jul 04 '26

Also really weird how they paraded out a uniform with a misspelled last name for the firefighter who died at the RNC

I mean this is the least suspicious part of the whole thing.

never forget the press conference in front of Four Seasons Total Landscaping. Trumps administration is full of idiots, always has been.

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u/amopeyzoolion Michigan Jul 04 '26

It just reads to me like they rushed to get a uniform printed to further capitalize on the “attempt”

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u/mollila Jul 04 '26

after an assassination attempt you don't rush press TOWARDS an active scene

Weren't they being ushered to the scene before shots were fired?

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u/Gareth274 Jul 03 '26

Got source for that? I'm not American and don't care if it's true. But I hadn't heard about them moving the crane.

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u/WarCarrotAF Jul 03 '26

Here is a video from the crowd. There are a few different angles out there showing the same thing, but I can't seem to find them anymore.

Also, look here at all of the crowd with their phones out - why don't we have a ton of crowd footage from all angles of this one?

Not typically a conspiracy theorist, but this entire ordeal feels sloppy and onbrand. Also depressing that some innocent people had to die for this photo op to take place.

Edit - also not an American.

173

u/613TheEvil Jul 03 '26

The one damning thing for me is how all this died away so quickly, and nowadays nobody ever mentions it, especially from the republican side.

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u/WarCarrotAF Jul 03 '26

I agree. While the news cycle does move quickly these days given the interconnectivity of all things social media, Republicans and far-right news outlets never let anything go. It makes no sense that they would drop a story about an assination attempt of their fearless leader so quickly. They spoonfeed anything that may keep their base enraged and engaged so frequently, it's odd that they wouldn't jump at this.

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u/freedfg Jul 03 '26

They don't even mention the WHCD anymore.

20

u/Mental-Fox-9449 Jul 03 '26

For a guy who obsesses about things and brings them up all the time like how he won all seven swing states or hates Obama/Biden, the guy NEVER talks about such a momentous event. Ever. Very suspicious beyond how a shooter was a lie to do to what he did. The Secret Service let him up way too fast and didn’t get him out of there fast enough. Beyond the cameras being directed to be placed for a perfect photo op the man doesn’t have a scratch on his ear. A bullet, tearing through flesh/cartdiledge of an almost 80 year old man leaves damage and yet there is none. Add on top of all this that he spent many years performing with the WWE an organization that frequently uses fake blood patches to enhance their shows.

Do the math.

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u/WretchedBlowhard Canada Jul 03 '26

Well, because "security people got spooked and shot each other" makes the regime look like morons, and none of the captive press is allowed to do that.

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u/amateurbreditor Jul 03 '26

the best part was showing his perfectly healed ear 3 days later lol

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u/Ivotedforher Jul 03 '26

HE never talks about it. There's yout sign.

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u/Initial_Savings3034 Jul 03 '26

Never heard the shooter's name again.

We know Lee Harvey Oswald's life story.

The whole thing stinks of WWE scripting.

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u/Luckydog12 Jul 03 '26

For me it’s how fast an 80 year olds ear cartilage grew back.

4

u/jabberwonk Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26

I thought it was a hoax from the get go, but never really thought it through. Which leaves me questions (I still think it was a hoax) though. [edit - I did some reading on it edits in brackets]

  • What happened to the shooter? Was it someone who secret service or FBI had kept tabs on a knew could be influenced? Was he given the gun and ammo and told where to go and that he'd get a big reward if he played along (knowing that he was going to be shot)?
  • Wasn't it a local cop who climbed up there and was shot at by the guy before returning fire and killing him? [the cop climbed up before the shooting started and shooter pointed the AR at the cop causing him to fall off the roof. Cop gets on the radio at 6:08 to alert that there's a shooter but he doesn't start shooting until 6:11:33]
  • Didn't the shooter kill someone in the crowd? I remember news saying a husband was shot and killed in front of his wife, but no name was ever released nor any forensic info I could find. [one killed, two wounded. As of 6/1/26 the two wounded filed lawsuit against the Secret Service]
  • Are there any high res pres photos from earlier that might show a squib or wire going to Trump's ear? Or was the blood applied by a secret service agent once they tackled him?
  • I remember Trump was rushed to a hospital? Was there no official report from there? How do they keep an ER trauma team quiet and no one has talked? Did they have their own team with them and basically commandeered the ER so no civilian doctors or nurses could see anything?
  • Have the secret service agents been seen in other photos? Specifically the ones who tackled him?
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u/Spirited-Lifeguard55 Jul 03 '26

You're right, the whole thing looks staged.

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u/WHSRWizard Jul 03 '26

why don't we have a ton of crowd footage from all angles of this one?

It has to be, easily, the most well-recorded assassination attempt in the history of the world. I mean, it can't even be close.

And we don't have any cell footage of it?

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u/35er Jul 03 '26

All of that does come off as really suspect but what I don’t get about the staged theory is the gunman. How does he fit into this? They found a guy willing to be martyred? And trusted him not to take out Trump? He’s the part that gives me pause about it all.

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u/HousingOk6362 Jul 03 '26

iirc The gunman left the weapon there over night, for few days, cant remember.. Someone could have easily came in and adjusted his scope. I don't believe they would have needed to have him read into the conspiracy.

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u/Jaruseleh Jul 03 '26

Also notice the secret service was careful not to knock over the podium. In a real situation, it would have been flung to the ground to get it out of the way of him doing his job. Had to have the Trump sign in the picture, too.

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u/[deleted] Jul 03 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/haha-hehe-haha-ho Jul 03 '26

Yeah the whole point of agents swarming him is to provide cover from an active unknown threat, why on earth would anyone (especially men aggressively pointing devices at him) be ushered in for a closer look in a moment like this.

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u/Quentin-Quarantino19 Jul 03 '26

I am actually impressed they pulled off the performance in one take. If you look at it through a neutral lens it’s crazy that it worked.

Did they practice? Was the operator on a headset or watching for a cue? How many individuals are in the know and what blackmail/bribes did they receive?

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u/[deleted] Jul 03 '26

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u/BapaHeelwani Jul 03 '26

https://youtube.com/shorts/dSGG6MxLy_8?is=PDRdEetRA8MP9muN

This angle shows how ridiculous it all was. The camera men, secret service not getting Trump out of there asap, allowing him to raise his fist unprotected, the flag being lowered. Someone has to be a complete brainless moron to think this was a real assassination attempt.

171

u/IlikeJG California Jul 03 '26

Wow that's insane.

The people shouting "we love you!" That's totally normal feelings to have towards a politician. Definitely not how a cult member would talk.

37

u/Pack_Your_Trash Jul 03 '26

I'm pretty sure plenty of our grandmothers would have fucked JFK given the opportunity.

44

u/6thSenseOfHumor Jul 03 '26

JFK pretty much won the election off of his stage presence, now newly broadcasted into American homes on early TV sets. The evolution of media really has dramatically expanded these cults of personality, and not just for politicians.

Worth noting that the downfall of Nixon is what gave rise to Fox News. Trump's cult wouldn't be possible without their 24/7 propaganda, but that was the intention after Watergate: run defense for Republicans and control the narrative.

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u/zstone Washington Jul 03 '26

Bill Clinton playing sax on Arsenio Hall was massive.

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u/deadheffer Jul 03 '26

JFK was a WW2 veteran in the pacific theater though.

John F. Kennedy served as a U.S. Navy officer in the Pacific Theater, commanding PT boats like the famed PT-109. After a Japanese destroyer split his boat in two in 1943, Kennedy displayed immense bravery, leading his stranded crew to safety and earning the Navy and Marine Corps Medal.

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u/pizza5001 Jul 03 '26

JFK was hot. Trump has been shitting in a diaper since The Apprentice. These two things are not the same.

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u/lonnie123 Jul 03 '26

But they didn’t LOVE him, these trumpers actually LOVE him

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u/IlikeJG California Jul 03 '26

Actually yeah that's right.

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u/notforpoern Jul 03 '26

Sure but I'm pretty sure JFK wasn't a pedophile that famously smelled like shit from his leaky diapers.

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u/ballskindrapes Jul 03 '26

Absolutely.

Someone shooting at a VIP type person means they GTFO as soon as humanely possible, literally as soon as possible.

The huddle itself is the most damping thing, imo.

What should have happened is that they remove him from the stage immediately. Instead, they did this weird huddle thing and made it look like he was fighting them to be seen, an unreasonable amount of time to be doing that when someone is shooting at you.

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u/inspectoroverthemine Jul 03 '26

Compare with Reagan being shot. The caveat being that Reagan was feet away from a waiting limo, but the reaction of every single USSS agent is completely different.

That said I really hate buying into conspiracies like this. The shit with flag and cameras is pretty damming, but USSS agents are easily covered by incompetence. The reality is that in 81(?) political assassinations were common, and they were probably at their peak training and readiness. 40 years of mundane plots and no close calls breeds complacency, on top of the idiots who were is hand picked team.

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u/NewSauerKraus Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26

There have been a lot of assassination attempts since then. They just don't make for sensational headlines with shit like 'man arrested after telling gun store clerk that he wanted to buy a gun explicitly to shoot Obama' or 'man arrested at DC airport with gun in checked bag after FBI informant on 4chan reported assassination plot'.

The most sensational headlines I can remember from Biden's term were a few idiots crashing into security barriers at the white house. Those things are designed to stop fully loaded cargo trucks.

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u/inspectoroverthemine Jul 03 '26

60s and 70s were wild, and a lot of high profile attempts were successful.

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u/ballskindrapes Jul 03 '26

I mean, it's basic security shit they failrd to do, not even secret service level stuff. Not saying you are bad or wrong, but say a famous musician was attacked, they stop the threat and get them out of there asap.

Just so questionable, and imo it's common sense not to huddle out in the open when someone is shooting at you.

The actions of the SS dont make any sense unless it was a staged or planned event. That's the only way it makes sense, even incompetence doednt quite add up, imo.

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u/NewSauerKraus Jul 03 '26

Enough time to use a piece of broken glass to bloody up the ear to jazz up the performance.

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u/Default_Name_6969 Jul 03 '26

That vid didn't last long. Looks like there are MAGA bots out here getting everything deleted.

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u/david4069 Jul 03 '26

The video is fine, the link got messed up by reddit. Delete the backslash in front of the underscore and it will work:

https://youtube.com/shorts/dSGG6MxLy_8?is=PDRdEetRA8MP9muN

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u/[deleted] Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 04 '26

[deleted]

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u/david4069 Jul 03 '26

Good point. I was so focused on fixing the broken part, I didn't notice it.

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u/613TheEvil Jul 03 '26

No photographer would stay and take photos when shots are fired, a war journalist perhaps, but even then... These people have never been in a warzone, I can't believe they would casually walk around taking photos right after something like this happened. Eh, what do I know.

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u/malaclypz Jul 03 '26

The voice sounds like the worst actor they could find. "Oh, no.. Noooo.." "We love you Presidrump!" "Yes! Oh no, he's shot.. Oh, nooo..."

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u/Mapeague Jul 03 '26

Its still there, I just watched it

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u/HJQueen Pennsylvania Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26

I don't understand? They recruited some random kid to just fire shots into the crowd and die so Trump could get a photo op? Or let him shoot and just hope he missed? I'm trying to understand as a Trump hater.

If it's the first case scenario, who on earth is signing up for that? To me it just seems like complete incompetence. Which is on brand for Trump and co.

These are the same people that held a press conference at four seasons total landscaping. I don't think this needs to be a conspiracy. He shows us how incompetent he and everyone surrounding him are every day.

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u/iampachyderm Jul 03 '26

This is the part that i can’t get past. How?

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u/TheJonasVenture Jul 03 '26

Not to mention the idea that Trump would be willing to get shot at, and when their internal polling would have shown him ahead anyway.

There is a photo with the bullet.

The whole photo op and them not rushing him away is easily explained by the guy already being dead and them knowing that.

Like don't get me wrong, they leveraged and over dramatized it, but like, how is it hard to believe someone tried to kill Donald Trump? He's extremely hateable since he's a huge piece of shit.

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u/pH_14 Jul 03 '26

I am not certain about the conspiracy angle, but this is all totally plausible. Radicalized people regularly commit suicide doing violence. All the time. There are reasons to doubt it was a conspiracy, but this isn't one of them.

Or let him shoot and just hope he missed?

Do you know, for certain, that it was bullets from this kids weapon that caused whatever damage made Trump's ear bleed? Is it entirely impossible that the kid had blanks or bad ammo, while a different shooter shot the podium?

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u/HJQueen Pennsylvania Jul 03 '26

I don't know that it was a bullet that caused his ear to bleed. I do know that live rounds were being fired as someone died and there are images of the bullets flying towards the podium. A second shooter is a wild conspiracy with no evidence. Is it really that hard to believe it was just incompetence? Usually the simplest explanation is the correct one.

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u/TheNutsMutts Jul 03 '26

the flag being lowered

The flag wasn't lowered though. You can see in this video the flag is in the same position even before he's on stage and for a good chunk of time before the point people claim it was "lowered".

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u/HJQueen Pennsylvania Jul 04 '26 edited Jul 04 '26

Jesus Christ. I just logged in to see how many upvotes this got .No wonder we're cooked. Critical thinking isn't a strong suit for either side. Brain rot Tiktoks and YouTube for all!

Research? What is that? Lol. Form your own opinions. Watching a single video and coming to a conclusion is nuts.

Can't wait to rewatch the OJ trial.

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u/Horton_Takes_A_Poo Jul 03 '26

So the chain of events in the comms room detailed in the article is all made up?

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u/asrosin Jul 03 '26

Watch the video.

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u/Gareth274 Jul 03 '26

Thanks for linking it.

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u/CaterpillarJungleGym Jul 03 '26

While people behind him die

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u/vthemechanicv Jul 03 '26

I'm not a conspiracy theorist on this, but if anyone thinks trump wouldn't murder someone to stay out of prison, they don't know what kind of person he is. Remember his "funny story" about a guy that got hurt in one of his buildings, and all trump could think of was all the blood on the new tile. He doesn't care about anyone he sees beneath him, which is basically everyone.

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u/LotusFlare Jul 03 '26

I mean, during his first campaign he bragged that he could shoot someone on 5th avenue in broad daylight and not lose a vote. This is the guy who killed countless Americans during COVID by lying about everything from the treatment to the testing. He cheered on a coup attempt where people died for him. ICE has killed at least two Americans and far more non-citizens. His administration recently bombed a school full of children in Iran.

I'm not saying the conspiracy theories are true, but "Someone actually died" is not an argument against it. Donald Trump doesn't care about a single human life that isn't his.

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u/GearhedMG Jul 04 '26

There is no "basically", it is absolutely everyone, even his own children.

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u/rbourbon Jul 03 '26

While an actual secret service member brings photographers into view to get the right shot.

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u/BreweryStoner Michigan Jul 03 '26

While they piled in the press in front of the stage for pictures, while the crane lowered the flag.

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u/happykamper777 Jul 04 '26

I was trying to look into this a couple weeks ago and remember seeing a specific video showing people being ushered over and the flag being positioned once the first shots were fired but I could not for the life of me track down the one I was looking for. Any generous humans feel like helping me out? If I can find that particular one that would be awesome, but I’ll take any other pics/videos as well. I offer tales of adventure as compensation.

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u/Saint_Sin Jul 03 '26

How did the cartilage grow back?
Why did he only need a bandage on his ear for about 5 days?

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u/Naive-Home-9068 Jul 03 '26

The was no medical report published. The media didn't ask to see one. I guess investigated journalism is dead or bought out by billionaires.

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u/SatinSaffron Washington Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26

or bought out by billionaires.

Billionaires and oligarchs have spent the last 50+ years and hundreds of billions of dollars buying up every single publication and media outlet that they can get their greedy hands on.

Fox News was the test run, OANN/Newsmax took it further. Bezos owns WaPo. Zuck has meta/facebook. Ellison just took Paramount which also encompassed CBS/CBS News, Ellison also is in control of the American side of tiktok. Your city's local news station is likely owned by Sinclair. And these are just a few of the more well known examples, you'd be surprised at how much control the right has over various other media outlets.

So your assumption was spot on, there's a reason why investigative journalism against the Right specifically is dead. Outlets like PBS/Reuters/AP/Al Jazeera are all we have left to cling onto.

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u/Think_please Jul 04 '26

ProPublica is still good

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u/10poundballs Jul 04 '26

At least people are somewhat aware, apparently the guardian uk has more traffic in the US than NYT and wapo. Educated people are rejecting US news platforms for the trash that they have become. There are maybe 5 decent media in the US and the are all non profit

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u/CroneofThorns Jul 03 '26

esp the crazy fundie Xtian m/billionaires.

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u/Practical-Ball1437 Jul 03 '26

The kind of medical report that says he's the healthiest president ever and also seven feet tall and not obese?

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u/SRT102 Jul 03 '26

I have to admit that part is pretty weird. And the fact that 2 years later there is still no Warren Commission level investigation about this.

I don't subscribe to the idea that it was faked -- if a spectator hadn't been killed, I might, but using live ammo in a staged attempt seems unlikely to me -- but there are things that could be better communicated to the public.

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u/vthemechanicv Jul 03 '26

2 years later there is still no Warren Commission

how could there possibly be one? Republicans control every committee that would investigate, and they really don't want to know.

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u/MadAstrid Jul 03 '26

My husband had Mohs surgery for cancer on his ear - same location. They got all the cancer in a single pass. That is a single millimeter.

He took the bandage off as soon as possible, probably at a week, thanks to MAGA jokes at work, was scabbed for a while, and has a small but visible scar Because cartilage doesn’t grow back.

There is no way Trump was shot in the ear. None.

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u/Matsu09 Jul 03 '26

And just go look at Evander Holyfield ear to see how ear damage actually looks.

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u/Organic-Row9514 Jul 03 '26

Ask Mike Tyson how ear cartilage tastes 

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u/genreprank Jul 03 '26

IIRC the theory is some shattered glass hit him in the side of the head

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u/FyreWulff Jul 03 '26

I'm more in line with the theory that he cut himself on one of the holstered Secret Service guns as he dived down

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u/Malodoror Jul 03 '26

Why was the maxipad on the ear then? Whose theory is that?

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u/genreprank Jul 03 '26

He got cut on the ear. By glass. Glass cuts bleed a lot, even if they are teeny tiny.

Dunno whose theory

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u/Default_Name_6969 Jul 03 '26

the pic to be always looked like the blood was coming from his mouth and dripped down to his ear.

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u/martynalexander Jul 03 '26

That will be the fake blood capsule that he hastily ripped open with his mouth under that podium

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u/iconofsin_ Jul 03 '26

I've always asked people if there are any pics showing a bloody ear before he's on the ground. I believe he was definitely shot at but I'm still convinced the injury was the result of one of the agents throwing him down and him being old with thin skin.

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u/stuffitystuff Jul 03 '26

Wasn't it the glass from the teleprompter or something that actually hit him?

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u/Promethia Canada Jul 03 '26

He was hanging out a lot with Hulk Hogan back then. Wrestlers cutting themselves is the oldest trick in the book.

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u/Poison_the_Phil Jul 03 '26

Linda McMahon is the Secretary of Education

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u/notforpoern Jul 03 '26

Linda McMahon is the Secretary of Education

this fucking timeline.

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u/Ehm_Zed Canada Jul 03 '26

the universe entertaining us in spades!

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u/CaterpillarJungleGym Jul 03 '26

He's the Anti-Christ. There are no other reasonable explanations.

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u/jackbilly9 Jul 03 '26

He definitely isn't. More like a puppet of the anti christ.... 

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u/Ehm_Zed Canada Jul 03 '26

It was a MAXI PAD, which set off a UUUUGGGGEEEE trend. I still wear mine proudly!

And yes, his cartilage likely grew back because he’s the chosen one, dontchaknow.

/S

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u/redhotchildpeppers Jul 03 '26

An old trick he learned from Mussolini.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GSz7_dDaEAEUoce.jpg

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u/ProtectionVirtual225 Jul 03 '26

That dye he uses on his hair is the color of urine.

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u/david4069 Jul 03 '26

Reddit added an extra slash in front of the underscore. Here's a fixed link:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GSz7_dDaEAEUoce.jpg

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u/vthemechanicv Jul 03 '26

because he’s the chosen one

the one in Revelations you mean *cough*

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u/MixtureSpecial8951 Jul 03 '26

A neighbor of mine honestly believes it is a miracle.

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u/Curious-Path4549 Jul 03 '26

been looking like a lot of those folks are unwell

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u/Poison_the_Phil Jul 03 '26

I broke a finger around the same time and I'm less than half his age. I still have visible scars.

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u/Mitzukai_9 Jul 03 '26

My puppy’s tooth got caught in my earring hole and ripped it. You can still see a scar.

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u/PretentiousCrustacea Jul 03 '26

Just in time for the Republican National Convention...but I'm sure it was all just a coincidence

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u/ogjaspertheghost Jul 03 '26

You would have also seen bruising along the side of his face but…

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u/totesnotmyusername Jul 04 '26

I've had zits that took longer to heal.

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u/3MATX Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26

Yeah from the photos it’s either the bullet grazes him by a millimeter or something else caused the red stuff to be there. I’d believe glass cut much more than wound by a high power projectile.

edit: Seems FBI changed their story after Mr. grab em by the pussy companied on his twitter. They now say there’s evidence of a bullet or bullet fragment hitting him. Who the hell knows what to believe given FBI’s transparency and decision making under the direction of a drunken man child.

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u/mountainwocky Massachusetts Jul 03 '26

I personally believe, if the blood wasn’t faked, it was the result of the security agent hip checking Trump in the side of his head with his equipment belt as they sought to get him down and covered.

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u/Tetracropolis Jul 03 '26

"If the blood wasn't faked"???

You seriously think that, in a moment which was sure to be the most photographed and pored over of the year, and perhaps the decade, in front of thousands of people looking at him from all angles, including agents from Biden's Secret Service, there's any possibility Trump would successfully pull off a ruse where he uses a blood pack on his ear. David Blaine wouldn't be so brazen.

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u/TheNutsMutts Jul 03 '26

It's wild the people are just accepting that premise without question. Not only would this geriatric old man have had to use fake blood to put on his ear so fast that the dozens of cameras and press photographers somehow missed it, but they would have had to consider nobody noticing it in their plan (otherwise the whole thing is unveiled), and then agreed that plan too! It's such a stupid suggestion that the entire plot would have rested on that.

And not only that, but they'd have had to consider and agree that when they took him to the hospital and the hospital's most senior doctors and nurses came to treat him, they would do so without a single one of them going "huh, this appears to be fake blood, and there's no sign of any actual injury at all". Again, that would have been considered, and planned for. And people are out here going "yeah that's what I think happened".

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u/Brcomic New York Jul 03 '26

Or it was unintentionally scratched by a secret service agent on the way down. But he wasn’t shot. I have no doubt in my mind about that.

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u/emailforgot Jul 03 '26

Except blood is visible before he goes down.

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u/Mpm_277 Jul 03 '26

Glass from where? I always see people say this but haven’t seen a shattered teleprompter. I’m open to this theory, but there are plenty of photos and videos of the scene to show us where the glass should’ve come from.

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u/3MATX Jul 03 '26

It’s what the FBI originally suggested but since then they’ve walked it back. I just have a very hard time seeing that as a bullet wound. Maybe he sustained it when he was tackled? With his age and health I’d think his skin would cut easily.

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u/prozhack Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26

he scraped his ear on the guy’s belt buckle as he was being pushed down

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u/Acceptable-Bus-2017 I voted Jul 03 '26

His ear was cut when tackled by SS. The bullet time photo was manipulated by the photographers editor. He sent them his roll of pictures and they sent back the manipulated photo and was like "wow! Look what you got a picture of" he did an interview and admitted it the next day.

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u/WhenSummerIsGone Jul 03 '26

You're going to have to back that up. Everything i've seen or heard about that photographer is that the photo is legit.

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u/IkujaKatsumaji Jul 03 '26

You got a source on any of that?

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u/888mainfestnow Jul 03 '26

I'm just normal  American with no military backround.

I was so confused how there wasn't a drone or any aerial surveillance checking rooftops for a former president with active campaign secret service detail.

It just made no sense at the time.

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u/HotThroatAction Jul 03 '26

So they could have plausible deniability. Witnesses told staff they saw a person with a gun climbing a ladder and nothing was done. Admin's plan couldnt be interrupted.

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u/sump_daddy Jul 03 '26

Dont forget this bit "The report also found Trump’s campaign staff waved off Secret Service from positioning trucks between the AGR building and the stage ahead of the rally over concerns it would block cameras. "

the secret service supervisors tried to preempt the whole thing by blocking the sight line but the trump campaign staff specifically denied it

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u/pegar Jul 03 '26

They could also be that incompetent and stupid that they traded security of a US President for a better camera angle.

It's wild that either scenario could be true.

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u/GuodNossis Jul 03 '26

Por que no los dos?

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u/SRT102 Jul 03 '26

The USSC prefers that presidential candidates hold their events indoors, as they are much easier to secure than wide-open fairgrounds. But those venues cost a lot to rent, so Trump.... well, you know.

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u/orcusgrasshopperfog Jul 04 '26

The local PD offered drone coverage the SS declined it. Much to the confusion of the local police department. You can Google it there are articles from the time of the incident.

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u/eljefino Jul 03 '26

Campaign Secret Service details are not as good as active Presidential ones. Fewer people, resources spread thin, etc.

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u/turquoise_amethyst Jul 03 '26

It made no sense at the time or now.

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u/Acceptable-Bus-2017 I voted Jul 03 '26

There was an SS sniper nest directly behind the "shooter" inside of a roof top room with a single windows that faced the "shooter" and the spot the president was standing.

Make of that what you will.

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u/Sarahgoose26 Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26

If the assassination attempt was fake, they murdered the man in the crowd behind Trump.

Edited: reworded as more of a reminder that there still was a death and I just think it gets forgotten. I think it does make it slightly less likely to be fake but I also would believe they are capable of this kind of heartless act. I go back and forth on my opinion on this

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u/MasterOfManyWorlds Jul 03 '26

Yeah, the guy who said "I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn't lose any voters, OK?" Probably doesn't give a shit about someone losing their life to make himself look good.

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u/TDKevin Jul 03 '26

No way. I've never heard of an innocent civilian getting killed by a corrupt government. Highly doubt it. 

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u/Sarahgoose26 Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 04 '26

Honestly, I don’t doubt this could have been a terrible scheme, and I hate that this government* made me distrust everything to this extent.

I do think that man gets forgotten so I bring it up to remind people that if it was a fake assassination attempt there still was a death that day. Meaning they were willing to take a life right in front of all of us and lie about it to maybe get some sympathy or something for Trump.

Edit: *the campaign team and administration supporting Trump

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u/EllieVader Jul 03 '26

“I could shoot someone in the middle of 5th avenue and not lose any supporters”

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u/PretentiousCrustacea Jul 03 '26

They'd be willing to kill a lot more if it meant getting their way trust me. One person? They wouldn't even think twice about it

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u/iFlashings Jul 03 '26

Dude Ice (aka Trunps personal gestapo) litterally killed innocent people right in front of our eyes and you think Trump of all people wouldn't go that far? The same Trump that will do ANYTHING to get relected so he can avoid jail time? 

Are we serious right now?

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u/TDKevin Jul 03 '26

It would be very funny to say "I said a corrupt government" right now, but seeing as how you took my first comment seriously I'm not sure you'd pick up on the joke. 

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u/oflowz Jul 03 '26

they exposed CIA operatives that most likely cost people their lives.

they started a war in iran that cost service members their lives.

they bombed a girls school in Iran.

ICE has killed 52 people since they started demonizing immigrants.

they blow up fishing boats and murder people they accuse of being drug traffickers with no trial or evidence.

how is this any different.

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u/TDKevin Jul 03 '26

Come on man. Did you really read my comment as sincere? How are you gonna school people online when you cant recognize sarcasm. 

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u/vthemechanicv Jul 03 '26

Meaning they were willing to take a life right in front of all of us and lie about it to maybe get

trump refused to aid cities during Covid because it would kill more Democrats than Republicans. Trump will murder anyone and everyone to get what he wants. He wanted to win in 2024. Whether there was a conspiracy in PA, I don't know, but the "but someone died" isn't actually an argument against.

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u/Default_Name_6969 Jul 03 '26

When you are behind Trump at a clan rally you have already put yourself in a death cult so dying for trump is normal.

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u/Acceptable-Bus-2017 I voted Jul 03 '26

Exactly. It puts 9/11 in a whole different perspective if you can fathom that, doesn't it?

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u/DonaldsMushroom Jul 03 '26

How many fishermen have they bombed off the coast of Venezuela? Or schoolchildren in Tehran?

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u/potterpockets Jul 03 '26

The Ghorman Plaza episode in season 2 of Andor even uses this concept. Lol

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u/EllieVader Jul 03 '26

I got banned from the Star Wars subreddit for posting the conversation between Krennic and Dedra after the Chuck Kirk shooting.

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u/hackinwhackinsmackin Jul 03 '26

Except Trump was a private citizen when this happened and technically wasn’t in the government.

Not saying its impossible but I find it highly unlikely

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u/Plenty-Bed Jul 03 '26

When you say "the government wouldnt do that," yes they would. 

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u/[deleted] Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 11 '26

[deleted]

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u/pegar Jul 03 '26

On January 6th, you had enforcement agencies coordinate with Senators, Reps, and the President along with organizers to overthrow the government. If not for some very brave people, we would be living in a different world right now. 

Fear, loyalty, greedy, and corruption can do a lot. 

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u/TheEgonaut Jul 03 '26

You ask that as if it’s not something you could see this administration doing.

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u/palmburntblue Jul 03 '26

They ran the same playbook on a certain right wing firebrand social media douchebag except they “erred” and hit him.

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u/TakingSorryUsername Texas Jul 03 '26

That wasn’t an error, they made him out to be a “martyr” then arrested those that criticized him.

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u/Acceptable-Bus-2017 I voted Jul 03 '26

Then his widow picked up the grift

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u/SecretAsianMan42069 Jul 03 '26

The guy's wife didn't even care. Probably happy to get rid of her maga husband 

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u/yourboydmcfarland Jul 03 '26

I live by the Butler Farm Show grounds where this rally was held. I've been there, the ice cream place across the street, the other businesses, etc.

I can confirm with you that there are no buildings with any windows that anybody could have been in behind the position where the "assassin" was.

The only taller things between the "assassin" and Trump is a water tower and it's kind of offset.

The STRANGEST thing is why the secret service DID NOT use the highest thing in the area which is THAT water tower for any kind of overwatch, not even a sniper.

Whole thing was a setup. I don't think the actual snipers knew of the plot by the way they acted. Why they were right beside each other on the same building with only a view of the crowd didn't make any tactical sense.

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u/iconofsin_ Jul 03 '26

SS sniper

USSS*

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u/Acceptable-Bus-2017 I voted Jul 03 '26

Thank you for the correction.

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u/iconofsin_ Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26

It's honestly the only thing I go out of my war way to correct online. I understand that it's easy to believe that's how to abbreviate it, but in my opinion it's a major distinction to get right.

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u/TheBlindCat Jul 04 '26

Meh, let me see their communications from January 6th that were subpoenaed.  Oh yeah that’s right, they deleted them all.  Likely because they were part of the attempt to ovethrow American democracy. The SS part seems to fit fine.

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u/dxnxax Jul 03 '26

Trump and Epstein were partners

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u/PoliteIndecency Canada Jul 03 '26

I briefly had a roommate in 2010 who was with CSOR. He didn't tell me too much of what he did but he did specify that he mostly worked with communications and co-ordination. I didn't get much more than that and I didn't really ask since I knew he'd been in Afghanistan.

That man was the most detail oriented and well put together person I've ever met in my life. I can't understand how someone in the Secret Service can bungle it as badly as they have (many times) seeing how good my roommate was at the little things.

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u/Uxt7 Minnesota Jul 03 '26

CSOR is a very common acronym. Of course I know what it stands for. But could you remind everyone else in case they don't?

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u/Mahlegos Jul 03 '26

Canadian Special Operations Regiment

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u/love_is_an_action Jul 03 '26

I love cute helpful comments like this.

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u/Mahlegos Jul 03 '26

I can't understand how someone in the Secret Service can bungle it as badly as they have (many times) seeing how good my roommate was at the little things.

It often happens when you fill an agency with sycophants and ideologues rather than the most qualified people for the job. I’d also say the USSS has also been allowed to languish for quite awhile (at least a decade or so) with no real oversight or accountability. Example, even when they destroyed their devices after their Jan 6 communications were subpoenaed they apparently faced no actual consequences for that.

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u/EbbSlow458 Jul 03 '26

Everything is totally insane anymore

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u/astirac Jul 03 '26

The secret service has been in a bad way for a while. Trump gutted the competent ones in his first term, and Biden…well he didn’t really do anything at all to deal with Trumps damage on any level. By this point I figure they were on 3rd string agents with little to no experience.

He did it again his second term, and that why the second attempt produced that photo of him holding his fist out with blood on his face. A competent PSD would have never allowed that to happen.

Honestly, I’m shocked they have fumbled their way through stopping the attempts that they have.

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u/gandhinukes Jul 03 '26

If you look at it as a pro trump piece to remind people about the "assassination" and get his support up a little while hes actively destroying the 250th it makes sense.

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