Trump: Time to Stop Playing the Left’s Game

On Saturday evening during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, former US President Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt by the narrowest of close shaves. He was shot in the upper ear by 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, who managed to fire eight rounds from an AR-15 rifle before being killed himself by a Secret Service sniper. Despite agents attempting to bundle him to safety, a bloodied but defiant Trump paused at the lectern to raise his fist, shouting to the jubilation of the crowd “Fight! Fight! Fight!” He was then escorted to hospital, where he was confirmed ‘safe’ and subsequently discharged. 

First and foremost, can we have some respect for the other victims? Naturally I understand Trump is the story, but two other spectators were injured in the shooting (David Dutch and James Copenhaver), while another man was tragically killed:  Corey Comperatore. Comperatore died a hero’s death, shielding his daughters from the fire. The hole left in this family’s heart is no less poignant than if it had been Trump, and those calling it ‘divine intervention’ that the 45^th President of the United States survived might want to reflect on their words. 

The big question of course is ‘inside job’ or ‘breathtaking incompetence’, because almost no aspect of the shooting makes sense. Why was a rooftop with a direct line of sight, 140M away from the stage, seemingly unattended? Why has Trump’s security team’s recent demands for ‘beefed up’ protection apparently been repeatedly denied by Homeland Security? Why in God’s name were women used as security; women who not only were about a foot shorter than Trump (making efforts to shield him rather pointless), but who also seemed incapable of holstering their sidearms? 

Why furthermore were officials not compelled to react, when informed of the shooter’s presence by members of the public? 

You don’t have to be of a particularly conspiratorial bent, to imagine that Andrew Bridgen is right: the Democrats are panicking. Impeachment, arrest, prosecution and conviction haven’t yielded much of a result, “If he (Trump) gets back into power he’ll come after them…They’ll do ANYTHING to avoid that situation.”

A large swathe of the commentariat is attempting to make this an issue of free speech, arguing that it needs to be ‘toned down’. That’s right, those who’ve spent the best part of a decade calling Trump literally ‘Hitler’, holding up his severed head and ‘joking’ about having him taken out, are now suddenly concerned about the ramifications of language. Not only that, but it’s Trump many are taking issue with, having clearly not taken sufficient time musing over his post-assassination comments. 

Here’s the BBC’s Jon Sopel:

Am sure the former president must have been in shock when USSS led him to safety, but seeing him mouth ‘fight, fight, fight’ was depressing. The US has seen enough fighting and political turmoil. Let all violence be condemned – calmly and firmly

I don’t think this has anything to do with free speech. Rather, I’d say it highlights the fundamental dishonesty of the Left – namely, the claim that they are morally superior; the scandal that the rules never apply to them, and the unwritten agreement that everyone on the Right can be tried, convicted and hanged by the appropriate use of the latest ‘-ism’. 

For a long time (and in no small way thanks to the cowardice of conservatives), the Left has been able to get away with this. Saturday’s events must now draw a line over that nonsense. You cannot simultaneously demand that all Brexit voters, MAGA supporters, Tories, Reformers, or simply white men are directly accountable for any crime committed by their colleagues, while excusing the flip-side because it might be insensitive to minority feelings. 

No one cares when it’s Jo Brand calling for Nigel Farage to be attacked with ‘battery acid’, because she’s on the Left. No one cares when it’s Brendan Cox admitting to sexual assault, because his wife was murdered (and of course, he’s on the Left). No one cares when it’s Sophie Duker ‘joking’ about ‘we want to kill whitey’, because she’s on the Left (and black for good measure). Try getting away with any of that as Tommy Robinson, Nigel Farage or Donald Trump, and let us know how you get on. 

We must also resist the temptation to play their game; cancelling those who have obviously gone too far in their social media proclamations that they hate Trump and wish him ill. It’s a perfectly understandable position, but it’s wrong; not tactically wrong, morally wrong. If anything, we need more free speech not less of it – and the Left must be forced to use it, rather than cancel everyone they disagree with via the only two arguments they have: besmirch or bullet.  

Instead, I think two things need to happen. First, they need to be called out on their hypocrisy. Don’t silence them, humiliate them. Every single Democrat, celebrity and liberal mouthpiece who has called for Trump’s death should be held up to the light the next time they try this shit on with us. Because while language naturally matters, accountability for your own actions matters more. The idea that anyone from Joe Biden down is reading David Aaranovitch and thinking, “Yeah, that’s a good idea” is frankly insulting. We used to learn this in primary school, when your friend dared you to do something and you got caught – you told the teacher, and what did they say? “If he told you to put your hand in the fire, would you do it?” 

The second thing the Right must do, is stop rolling over to these bastards. The Left are not morally superior, they’re morally defunct. The stock answer to the smears needs to be something like this: “We don’t care whether you think we’re racist, sexist, xenophobic etc (and neither would it affect the truth if we were), deal with the argument, or get out of town”. There were notably no riots over the weekend, of course there weren’t. Can you imagine if it had been Biden or BLM? The Left riots even when they win for God’s sake!

There’s one more thing which needs saying, which is the remarkable resilience and calm shown by Trump. None of us know quite how we will react under genuine threat, and on the cusp of 80 to come out of it heroically, and further to call for calm and unity is truly inspiring:

“Our love goes out to the other victims and their families. We pray for the recovery of those who were wounded and hold in our hearts the memory of the citizen who was so horribly killed. In this moment, it is more important than ever that we stand united, and show our true character as Americans, remaining strong and determined, and not allowing evil to win.”

Perhaps for a few days we might be permitted a respite from the relentless charge of ‘far-right’. And perhaps, someone on the Democrat team might come up with the truly extremist position, of actually trying to win the argument and the election by solely legitimate means. 

Frank Haviland is the author of Banalysis: The Lie Destroying the West, and writes a Substack here.

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