In the Garbage Take of All Time, Some TV Journos Objected to Trump Using the Word 'Fight!' After Almost Getting Killed
No matter where you land on the political spectrum - whether you plan to vote for Donald Trump for a third time, or you wouldn't vote for him in a thousand elections or if you're completely apolitical - there's no denying the power of this moment. Regardless of what happens in the next few months, this image will define him. It's already one of the most famous photos of the 21st century. And saying it might become one of the most iconic images in American history is not off the table. Were it not for the fact an innocent bystander was murdered seconds earlier, it could be considered perfect.
Trump's reaction to getting shot could very well be the difference in the 2024 election. No matter whom we're talking about, you have to admire any man who gets clipped by an assassin's bullet and responds by jumping to his feet and defiantly pumping his fist. Regardless of what you think of him, you have to concede this was Trump's "I ain't got time to bleed." The Digital Age version of Teddy Roosevelt's "Friends, I shall ask you to be as quiet as possible. I don’t know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot—but it takes more than that to kill a Bull Moose!" moment:
Even Jeff Bezos, whose Washington Post has spent the last eight years throwing everything they have at Trump admits that:
But not everyone agrees. In the white hot intensity of last night as the story continued to unfold, at least a couple of TV journos drilled down into what they felt was the true horror on display: Trump's harsh rhetoric:
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Personally, I tend to lean in the direction of not urging people to fight. If, say, it's two guys in a bar beefing over a spilled drink or neighbors having a dispute over parking too close to someone's driveway. In most situations, I'm all about using your words. But I think we should cut all the slack in the universe to anyone who just survived a sniper round that the width of a pencil behind his ear from being a kill shot. With his teenage son on the stage with him, no less. To me, that guy is entitled to any reaction he wants in the heat of the moment. But I guess I'm built different than your average national TV newcaster.
I guess if you're one of these ladies, you'd prefer a more civilized, genteel message be sent. Five seconds after coming inches from a fatal head wound, it would've been more appropriate to use a different word than "Fight!" "Talk" perhaps? Possibly, "Come, let us reason together"? "This is no way for civilized people to resolve our differences" might've worked better? Maybe while he was done watching his life flash before his eyes and tasting his own blood, his first thought should've been about setting a good example. Politeness and proper manners. Etiquette and decorum. Tamping things down and lowing temperatures. And above all, not offending the sensibilities of people who sit in TV studios and report on assassination attempts. That's not too much to ask.
So nice job by these two journos. I'm sure they'd give anything to see Trump lose the election. But their garbage takes just delivered him a million votes each.