Today is Saturday, July 13, 2024. Well, everyone must know now that there was a failed assassination attempt on the life of convicted felon Republican presumptive presidential nominee Donald Duck at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The shooter took aim from an elevated position and it has been reported that he is now dead as a result of being killed by agents of the Secret Service. One innocent Dump supporter was also shot dead by the gunman. Two other attendees are critically injured. This is a country racked by gun violence and it doesn’t stop. Former president Donald Trump lends his name to former presidents and senators who have been attacked in American history. In a CNN article by Zachary B. Wolf entitled “Here are the US presidents, former presidents and candidates who have survived assassination attempts,” a list is provided of those who either survived a shooter’s bullets or were actually assassinated in office.

Here is a list provided by CNN’s research library.

President Andrew Jackson: In the pre-Civil War era, he was shot at while attending a funeral in the Capitol. The shooter fired twice, but the gun failed.

President Theodore Roosevelt: Like Dump, he was trying to get his old job back during the 1912 campaign. He was shot on the way to a speech in Milwaukee by a saloon keeper.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt: He was president-elect when a would-be assassin fired at him in Miami in 1933. The shooter, Guiseppe Zangara, missed Roosevelt but killed Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak.

President Harry Truman: He took over the presidency after Roosevelt died and was shot at across from the White House by Puerto Rican nationalists in 1950.

Alabama Governor George Wallace: The segregationist was running for president for the third time in 1972 and was shot after a campaign event outside Washington, D.C. The shooting left him paralyzed from the waist down.

President Gerald Ford: He faced two assassination attempts in quick succession in 1975.

President Ronald Reagan: He was shot in 1981 outside the Hilton in Washington, D.C., after giving a speech. His press secretary, James Brady, was more seriously wounded than Reagan and later became an activist for gun control.

President Barack Obama: An Idaho man was charged with the attempted assassination of Obama when he fired shots at the White House in 2011.

Four presidents – Abraham Lincoln, James A. Garfield, William McKinley, and John F. Kennedy – have been assassinated.

So it seems that with this latest attempt to forever shut up a convicted felon of a candidate, the country has experienced a spate of political violence for many, many years. It goes back to Andrew Jackson’s time and moves through the centuries with a rapid clip. Most of these assassinations have been effectuated with long guns and hand guns.

As expected, President Joe Biden denounced the violence in remarks Saturday night in a statement earlier in which he said he’s “grateful” Trump is safe. Biden, who was planning to stay in Delaware for the weekend, is returning to the White House earlier than planned so he can continue receiving briefings from law enforcement.

There is so much that one can say about this horrendous event. Of course, we cannot condone any sort of political violence against anyone, even if it’s the Orange Turd himself. At least this event has taken the spotlight off Joe Biden and his many shortcomings. I don’t know how this will shape the campaign since the Republican National Convention is still supposed to begin on Monday in Milwaukee. Which I will not watch at all! Let’s hope this failed attempt on Trump’s life doesn’t make him a martyr to the far right cause? I just heard someone say on MSNBC that the incident makes him want to vote for Dump even more. “To send a message to those who would want to stop our candidate,” the young man said to the MSNBC reporter.

There are so many unanswered questions arising from this incident. Who was the gunman? What was his motive for shooting at Trump? Why wasn’t the roof of where this sniper positioned himself not under some sort of surveillance by law enforcement agents? Why weren’t this guy seen by law enforcement? It appears that the rooftop was outside the rally venue from which he could be detected.

This is all so alarming and exasperating. Why can’t we do something about this ceaseless gun violence? We are literally the Wild, Wild West when it comes to our guns and the carnage that they cause. Will anything ever be done to stem the tide of bloodshed? I seriously doubt it, I’m sorry to say.

Stay safe and be well.