After weeks of largely remaining in the background as his Democratic rival fought to tamp down a rebellion against his candidacy within his own party, former President Donald Trump traveled to Butler, Pennsylvania Saturday for a rally on the eve of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. Within minutes the outdoor campaign event had turned deadly, as an assassin's bullets flew through the air.
According to Trump, a bullet grazed his right ear, causing blood to drip down his face and neck as Secret Service members formed a human shield around him and pulled him down to the floor of the riser from which he was speaking. Law enforcement officials later reported one spectator had been killed and several others seriously injured.
"Our love goes out to the other victims and their families," Trump posted on his Truth Social account Sunday morning. "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"
The incident stunned the nation and elicited broad condemnation, with President Joe Biden reaching out to his political opponent Saturday night and addressing the country in brief remarks televised live. He called the attempt on Trump's life "sick" and said he "was grateful" that his predecessor was safe.
"There's no place in America for this kind of violence," said Biden.
Also condemning the shooting was Congressmember Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), whose husband Paul was brutally attacked in their San Francisco home in October 2022 by a man who was looking to harm her. She also survived the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, where several of the rioters chanted her name and ransacked her office.
"As one whose family has been the victim of political violence, I know firsthand that political violence of any kind has no place in our society. I thank God that former President Trump is safe," wrote Pelosi on her X account.
The F.B.I. identified the shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. He was killed, though it remains unclear exactly how.
The shooting immediately upended the plans for the GOP convention that officially kicks off Monday and wraps Thursday, when Trump is set to accept his party's presidential nomination for a third time. The night prior, his vice presidential pick is expected to take the stage inside Fiserv Forum, home to the Milwaukee Bucks basketball team.
Already a high-security event, the convention will see even more measures taken to protect the safety of Trump, other GOP officials, and attendees. Coincidentally, Milwaukee was where former President Theodore Roosevelt was shot on October 14, 1912, as he was about to address a campaign event during his bid to return to the White House.
As the New York Times noted, Roosevelt "went ahead to give his speech anyway with a bullet in his chest."
Trump said Sunday he has no plans to skip being at the convention and plans to be there in person.
"I truly love our Country, and love you all, and look forward to speaking to our Great Nation this week from Wisconsin," Trump wrote in Truth Social post Sunday.
The tenor of the convention is expected to be altered due to the shooting. Prior to the weekend, the lineup of speakers over the next four days was expected highlight a message that the Republican Party isn't solely for an aging white electorate. It has been making a play for Black and Hispanic voters concerned about the state of their finances and job prospects in order to peel enough away from the Democratic ticket to see Trump win a number of key battleground states in the Midwest and Southwest.
Hammering home that theme was the LGBTQ conservative political group Log Cabin Republicans. It had picked the theme "Big Tent Event" for its luncheon it is hosting Wednesday with gay former U.S. ambassador Ric Grenell, who served in Trump's first administration, among the speakers.
"This will be a fantastic opportunity to hear from our leadership team for a briefing on our programs, discuss the 2024 Battleplan to take back the White House and the Senate, and increase our majority in the House of Representatives," noted an invite to the $125-a-head gathering.
Leading up to the convention Log Cabin announced endorsements last week of a number of GOP congressional candidates, including the reelection bids of California Congressmen Kevin Kiley and Mike Garcia. It has now endorsed five of the Golden State GOP incumbents whose races are seen as critical to win if the Republicans want to maintain control of the U.S. House.
"While our candidates are distinct in their stories, experiences, and skills, they stand united in the desire to expand economic opportunity, protect individual liberty, and prioritize the safety and security of all Americans," stated Log Cabin Republicans President Charles Moran.
In a post on X Saturday, Moran wrote, "We are shocked by tonight's apparent assassination attempt on President Trump in Pennsylvania and relieved that he is safe and in good condition. Our prayers are with President Trump, his family, and our country while we wait to learn further details. We are also praying for the family of the innocent bystander who was killed. Our movement will not be deterred."
The San Francisco Republican Party is hosting a party to watch Trump accept the nomination at 6 p.m. Thursday at Trinity Bar and Restaurant, located at 1851 Union Street in the city's Cow Hollow neighborhood. RSVPs can be made online here.
Democratic counterprogramming
Meanwhile, Biden's campaign announced it was pulling all of its advertising this week online and on broadcast channels due to the shooting. Nonetheless, Democratic Party officials are expected to shine a spotlight on the Republican Party's platform it adopts this week, as well as the conservative game plan for a second Trump term dubbed Project 2025. The draft platform, while avoiding an anti-stance on same-sex marriage, does support various homophobic and transphobic stances.
For instance, it calls for cutting federal funds to schools pushing "radical gender ideology" and "other inappropriate racial, sexual ore political content on our children." It also states men should be kept "out of women's sports."
As the Bay Area Reporter has noted in several stories about the Project 2025 document, it is chock-a-block with anti-LGBTQ policies, from rolling back marriage equality to ending federal programs supporting LGBTQ Americans.
The Democratic National Committee this month put up English and Spanish-language billboards in major metropolitan areas in all seven battleground states, including Raleigh, Charlotte, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Detroit, Lansing, Grand Rapids, Green Bay, Phoenix, and Las Vegas, tying Trump to Project 2025 after he tried to disavow having any knowledge about it. Numerous former Trump administration officials and supporters, however, had a hand in drafting it.
"Donald Trump and his Republican buddies are trying their best to hide their dark and sinister plans because they know that giving Trump limitless power, banning abortion with or without Congress, and gutting Social Security and Medicare don't go over well with voters," stated DNC Communications Director Rosemary Boeglin. "They've done their best to keep their proposals under lock and key — going so far as to write their platform behind closed doors. They know that when Americans hear about Project 2025, they do not support it. The DNC won't let them get away with it."
While the GOP gathering will give Biden some reprieve this week from the intense spotlight he has been under since his faltering debate performance last month, it is unlikely to extinguish the maneuvering by anxious Democratic leaders to see him end his candidacy ahead of their own national convention in mid-August. As of Friday afternoon, 18 Democratic congressional members had publicly called on Biden to do so.
On that list is lesbian Congressmember Angie Craig of Minnesota. She came out in support of seeing Biden exit the race on July 6.
"President Biden is a good man & I appreciate his lifetime of service. But I believe he should step aside for the next generation of leadership. The stakes are too high," she wrote in a post on X.
One of the fiercest defenders of Biden has been Pennsylvania U.S. Senator John Fetterman, who took to X on Saturday to state he was "appalled and condemn in the strongest terms this violence in Butler. I extend my condolences to those injured and wish a speedy and full recovery for Mr. Trump."
As for Biden dropping out of the race, Fetterman has sent his supporters emails with the expletive subject line "F*ck that" over the last week. In explaining his stance, he reminded them how he was counted out after his own halting debate performance during his 2022 race only to go on to win that November.
"President Biden has repeatedly shown us what a true President looks like; and he — for sure — looks a whole lot better than the convicted felon he is running against," wrote Fetterman. "I refuse to join the Democratic vultures on Biden's shoulder after the debate. No one knows more than me that a rough debate is not the sum total of the person and their record."
In San Francisco, seven members of the governing body for the city's Democratic Party announced last week that they had signed an open letter to the Democratic National Committee chair, Jaime Harrison, in support of seeing it get behind Vice President Kamala Harris, the city's former district attorney, as the party's presidential replacement nominee should Biden drop out.
Among the signatories was gay District 6 Supervisor Matt Dorsey, who is an elected member of the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee.
"Our party has fought to undo the work of the first Trump administration. If Donald Trump is reelected president, he will take our country into a dark age," stated Dorsey. "On abortion rights. On climate change. On LGBTQIA+ rights. On international security. On the basic freedoms that define our great nation. Unequivocally, Donald Trump cannot be the president again."
On numerous occasions last week Biden reiterated his intention to remain in the race.
"I believe I'm the best qualified to govern," Biden told White House reporters during a closely watched hourlong news conference he held July 11. "And I think I'm the best qualified to win."
Time is running short for Democrats to change their party's standard-bearer ahead of the November 5 election. Their party's convention is set to begin August 19 in Chicago.
But in order to ensure Biden appears on Ohio ballots, the party had announced it would hold a virtual roll call to officially nominate Biden as its 2024 presidential candidate by August 7. It has yet to be scheduled.
An answer to when it will be held could come this weekend. The DNC's convention rules panel is to meet Friday, while its credentials committee is scheduled to do so Sunday.
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Got a tip on LGBTQ politics? Call Matthew S. Bajko at (415) 829-8836 or e-mail [email protected]
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