In a shocking incident that occurred at 6:11 pm on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania, former President Donald Trump was nearly assassinated by 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks.
The bullets fired by Crooks missed Trump by mere inches, striking him in the ear and tragically killing a bystander. Despite the harrowing experience, Trump, after being attended to by his Secret Service detail, managed to walk off stage, his face bloodied, and yelled, "fight fight fight! as he pumped his arm.
This incident, as reported by Christian Whiton in the Conservative Daily News, is being hailed as a defining moment in our political time. Whiton suggests that the image of Trump, bloodied yet defiant, will become an icon of our political era. He compares this moment to other significant events in American history, such as President Theodore Roosevelt's energetic campaigning, President Franklin Roosevelt's declaration of war following the attack on Pearl Harbor, and President Ronald Reagan's call for the Soviet Union to tear down the Berlin Wall.
Whiton argues that the incident underscores the core message of Trump's political movement: the fight for freedom. He suggests that Trump's supporters believe that a corrupt government, in collusion with corrupt business, academia, and media, is systematically changing the nature of the United States to take away their freedom.
Whiton further criticizes Trump's opponents, accusing them of trying to silence Trump by taking away his voice, power, wealth, and even his freedom. He also points out that some have even fantasized about taking his life, and this recent incident was a manifestation of that.
The author also criticizes the Secret Service for their failure to prevent the incident. He argues that the $3.3 billion-per-year Secret Service, whose presidential motorcades make Roman celebrations of triumphs look modest by comparison, allowed a would-be assassin to take position on a roof just 400 feet from perhaps the most-targeted man in the world.
Whiton also criticizes establishment Republicans for their response to the incident. He takes issue with former Bush-era Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's call to lower the temperature of the political debate and uphold the hallmarks of a healthy democracy, arguing that it is the Democrats who have raised the temperature in the first place.
Despite the uncertainty of the political future, Whiton concludes that the image of Trump's fight has been etched forever into the American story. He ends his piece with a rallying cry, echoing Trump's words: "Fight .. fight fight "
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