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Another Assassination Attempt

Plus, stuffed with kindness.

The Flag

Good morning and Happy Tuesday! Here are the Flag’s Top Five stories that should be on your radar to start the day:

  • US: Elon Musk deletes X post about Biden, Harris assassination threats after backlash (CNBC)

  • World: Putin orders military to boost troop numbers by 180,000 to 1.5 million as Ukraine fighting continues (AP)

  • Business: Murdoch succession drama plays out in closed court in Reno, Nevada (Reuters)

  • Technology: Apple releases iOS 18 for iPhones, but it doesn’t include Apple Intelligence (CNBC)

  • Sports: Panthers benching former No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young after 0-2 start; Andy Dalton to start at QB (NFL)

And of course, some good news: Stranger travels 1500 miles to return lost stuffed animal to 9-year-old.

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Right: Trump Arlington Photo Furor a Study in Hypocrisy, Peter Van Buren, American Conservative

Right: Newly Registered PA Voter Motivated by Economic Circumstances, Salena Zito, Washington Examiner

Right: GOP Could Sweep The Senate…If We Don't Screw It Up, Kurt Schlichter, Townhall

Left: Harris Turns North Carolina Into a Toss-Up, George Chidi, The Guardian

TRUMP

Another Assassination Attempt

Today’s Top Story: On Sunday, Former President Donald Trump was proclaimed safe after an apparent assassination attempt at his Florida golf club, where the Secret Service detained 58-year-old suspect Ryan Wesley Routh, who has a history of criminal activity.

Reporting from the Right: Who is Ryan Wesley Routh: Alleged gunman at Trump golf club (Fox News)

Reporting from the Left: Biden says Secret Service ‘needs more help’ after second Trump assassination attempt (Washington Examiner)

RIGHT-LEANING SENTIMENT

The Democrats and Media’s Fault

The Top Argument From The Right: Reckless rhetoric from Dems and media to blame for second Trump assassination attempt, Miranda Devine, New York Post: “It’s a frightening development that highlights the recklessness of the hateful rhetoric constantly aimed at Trump by his political opponents, even after he was shot at a rally in Pennsylvania in July. Last week, Kamala Harris falsely accused Trump of calling Nazis ‘fine people,’ promising a ‘bloodbath,’ and being responsible for ‘the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War.’ She and Joe Biden and their surrogates constantly exaggerate the J6 Capitol riot and use it to frame Trump as a ‘threat to democracy.’ Biden has labeled Trump and ‘MAGA Republicans’ as ‘semi-fascists’ and domestic terrorists. Tim Walz called Trump a ‘fascist’ and a ‘threat to Democracy’ who will ‘put people’s lives in danger.’ On Saturday, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) described Trump as ‘a candidate explicitly running on the promise of political violence.’ In Orwellian fashion, they accuse Trump and his supporters of stoking violence, when the evidence is almost all the other way. Conveniently, whenever Democrats are feeling the heat on a damaging issue, there are always bomb threats or phony-looking racist leaflets to distract the media and get maximum publicity.”

Honorable Mention #1: Stop Trying to Kill Donald Trump. Is That Too Much to Ask? Jim Geraghty, National Review.

LEFT-LEANING SENTIMENT

A Feature of American Political Life

The Top Argument From The Left: Violence and instability have become a feature, not a bug, of US political life, David Smith, The Guardian: “The incident was the latest shocking moment in a campaign year marked by unprecedented upheaval and fears of violence and civil unrest. … Danger and instability have become a feature not a bug of US political life. A white supremacist march in Charlottesville, Virginia, that led to the death of a civil rights activist. A mob of angry Trump supporters storming the US Capitol on 6 January 2021. A hammer attack on the former House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband Paul in their home. Countless threats of violence to members of Congress and judges. … The normalisation of violence crosses partisan boundaries. … But only one of the two major parties is actively fanning the flames. Trump encouraged strongarm tactics against protesters at his rallies. He mocked Pelosi over the hammer attack. He called for shoplifters to be shot and disloyal generals to be executed for treason. He warned of a ‘bloodbath’ if he is not elected and claimed that undocumented people in the US are ‘poisoning the blood of our country’. … Biden and Harris rightly condemned both attempted assassinations and said they were glad Trump is safe. Even his harshest critics should not condone such actions. But it is inescapably also true that…Trump has polluted the political atmosphere and created a permission structure for violence.

Honorable Mention #1: We Cannot Go On Like This, Gail Collins and Bret Stephens, The New York Times.

FLAG THIS

Trump Attacks Sparks Debate on Responsibility

In a series of YouGov polls conducted a week after the first attempted assassination of Donald Trump. A significant 85% of respondents attribute the blame to the shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, while 31% believe gun laws, 30% mental illness, and 28% the Secret Service share responsibility.

Political affiliations also influence perceptions, with 55% of Democrats blaming gun laws and 47% blaming Trump and Republicans, whereas 51% of Republicans blame Biden and Democrats and 49% blame left-leaning media(YouGov).

Do you believe this attempt on Trump's life is indicative of a growing trend of political violence in the United States?

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WATERCOOLER

Occupy Wall Street, Self-Forgiveness, Waffle Frolics

On This Day in 2011, hundreds of activists gathered around Zuccotti Park in lower Manhattan for the first day of the Occupy Wall Street Movement—a weeks-long sit-in in New York City’s Financial District protesting income inequality and corporate corruption. While the movement failed to see any of its goals or policy proposals come to fruition, years later, Occupy Wall Street is still considered a blueprint for decentralized activism.

Today I learned early Americans held waffle-eating parties called “waffle frolics.”

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