The Daily Populous Sunday July 14th, 2024 day edition
Authored by rollingstone.com and submitted by Mecos_Bill

In the aftermath of a shooting that injured former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday, several Republican lawmakers and conservative media personalities baselessly blamed President Joe Biden for the assassination attempt against his rival for the White House.

“Joe Biden sent the orders,” Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) wrote on X, formerly Twitter, minutes after the shooting.There is, of course, zero evidence to support this accusation.

Joe Biden sent the orders. https://t.co/pOc0XLxCwg — Mike Collins (@MikeCollinsGA) July 13, 2024

Collins pointed to a recent statement made by Biden during a Monday call with top Democratic donors. “I have one job, and that’s to beat Donald Trump. I’m absolutely certain I’m the best person to be able to do that. So, we’re done talking about the debate, it’s time to put Trump in a bullseye,” Biden said, adding: “We can’t go another day, another day, without explaining what he’s doing, and we have to go after him.”

This quote does not substantiate Collins’ claim, but instead reflects Biden’s desire to shift the national conversation away from his declining health and onto Trump’s right-wing plans if he wins.

The shooter was identified Sunday morning by the FBI as 20-year-old Pennsylvania resident Thomas Matthew Crooks, but many details surrounding Crooks’ motives remain hazy. Federal authorities also confirmed that the shooting is being investigated as an attempted assassination. Despite the lack of information, Collins — who’s office did not respond to a request for comment from Rolling Stone — and other Republican figures have seized on the portion of Biden’s statement referencing a “bullseye” as proof that the president ordered or tacitly endorsed an attempt on Trump’s life.

The details surrounding the shooter and their motives remain hazy. According to the Associated Press, the incident is being investigated as an attempted assassination. Despite the lack of information, Collins and other Republican figures have seized on the portion of Biden’s statement referencing a “bullseye” as proof that the president ordered or tacitly endorsed an attempt on Trump’s life. Editor’s picks

The X account of the Republican-controlled House Judiciary Committee attempted to connect the same statement to the shooting, “Joe Biden: ‘It’s time to put Trump in a bullseye. ‘That just happened.”

Joe Biden: “It’s time to put Trump in a bullseye.”

That just happened. — House Judiciary GOP 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@JudiciaryGOP) July 13, 2024

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) wrote “shame on him” in reference to the same quote.

“It’s time to put Trump in a bullseye.”

Shame on him. — Rep. Lauren Boebert (@RepBoebert) July 13, 2024

Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), who is seen as a top contender for Trump’s vice presidential spot, similarly tried to blame Biden for the shooting — though he cited Biden’s criticisms of Trump’s authoritarian leanings.

“Today is not just some isolated incident,” Vance posted on X. “The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs. That rhetoric led directly to President Trump’s attempted assassination.”

Right-wing media figures even further, claiming that Team Biden may have been involved in a covert assassination plot against Trump.

Sean Davis, founder of the far-right publication The Federalist, suggested that “the Biden regime knew about this and either allowed it to happen… or made it happen.”

“They did it to Kennedy, and his brother, and they just tried to do it to Trump,” Davis added. Related

Biden, Harris, and every single deranged Democrat who spent years whipping their nutjob followers into a frenzy so they would try to kill Trump needs to resign and beg for forgiveness.

And then the investigations can begin to see who in the Biden regime knew about this and… — Sean Davis (@seanmdav) July 13, 2024

Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones claimed that the shooting was evidence of “globalists” desire to kill Trump and other prominent conservative allies and supporters. “Deep State Will Try To Kill Trump Again!” he wrote on X.

Biden addressed the shooting in a televised statement on Saturday. “There’s no place for this kind of violence in America,” Biden said. “We must unite as one nation to condemn it,” he added, calling it “sick.”

The president said he planned to speak directly with Trump. Trending Republican Congressman Baselessly Accuses Biden of Ordering Trump Shooting 50 Cent, Kid Rock, More Artists React to Trump Rally Shooting Clarence Thomas, a $267,000 RV, and Why American Health Care Sucks Trump Responds to Rally Shooting, Says He Was 'Shot With a Bullet'

Before leaving the podium, Biden was asked if he felt the shooting was an assassination attempt. “I do not know enough. I have an opinion, but I do not have any facts. I want to make sure of all of the facts before I make a comment,” the president replied.

Others would do well to follow his lead.

PatriotNews_dot_com on July 14th, 2024 at 02:46 UTC »

I think we should offer our thoughts and prayers and move on quickly like we do every other shooting

Ltmajorbones on July 14th, 2024 at 02:35 UTC »

Pretty sure if Biden had ordered it, the gunman would not have missed.

Udjet on July 14th, 2024 at 02:33 UTC »

Who didn't see this coming? And they wonder why shit like today happens (or Giffords, or Mr. Pelosi or...)