The Daily Populous Monday July 15th, 2024 night edition
Authored by rollingstone.com and submitted by rollingstone

Not long after the attempt to assassinate former president Donald Trump, Republicans began to blame the Democrats; the media; diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts; and critical race theory as responsible for the shooting, even though law enforcement thus far has not shared information about the shooter’s motivations.

“The greatest threat to our nation right now is that we are horribly divided,” Republican Sen. Ron Johnson told Jake Tapper on CNN’s State of the Union Sunday. “But again, in general, we share the same goals. Why are we so divided? Well, there are political figures, there are political groups. I would argue that’s what identity politics is about. That’s what critical race theory is about. So there are people who are purposely trying to divide us for political advantage. Resist. Don’t let them get away with it, and again, start talking to each other. That’s part of the problem.”

Ron Johnson: "As President Lincoln said, a house divided against itself cannot stand. I've been saying for quite some time as much as we're not addressing our debt and deficit issue, I think the greatest threat to America right now is the fact that we're horribly divided." pic.twitter.com/xmtV02X6EM — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 14, 2024

Twenty-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, a registered Republican who once gave $15 to a progressive anti-Trump political action committee, opened fire at a Trump rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday. A Secret Service sniper shot and killed Crooks seconds after he began shooting. Trump was injured and seen bleeding from his right ear and later said he was “shot with a bullet.” One rally goer died and two others were injured in the shooting.

House Speaker Mike Johnson told The TODAY Show on Sunday that “there is no figure in American history at least in the modern era — maybe since Lincoln — who’s been so vilified and really persecuted by media and Hollywood elites, political figures, even the legal system.”

"Everyone needs to turn the rhetoric down." Speaker Johnson comments on today's heated political environment. pic.twitter.com/LVsiCxGVei — TODAY (@TODAYshow) July 14, 2024

Johnson also said allegations that Trump poses “a threat to democracy” are untrue. Trump, who still refuses to commit to accepting the results of the upcoming presidential election, in December boasted that he wants to “be a dictator for one day” on his first day, should he return to the White House. “You know why I wanted to be a dictator? Because I want a wall, and I want to drill, drill, drill,” he told a crowd in New York City. Trump more than a month later claimed his dictator comments were “said in jest.” Editor’s picks

Republican Sen. J.D. Vance, who once opposed Trump before becoming one of his staunchest supporters and a finalist for the vice presidential nomination, wasted no time Saturday blaming Democrats. “The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs,” the Ohio senator wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “That rhetoric led directly to President Trump’s attempted assassination.”

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham claimed that the rhetoric against Trump “is way too hot.” During a Sunday appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press, he said, “You know, if he wins, democracy is not going to end. He’s not a fascist. He represents a point of view that millions share. The rhetoric is way too hot.”

When host Kristen Welker asked Graham about Vance’s comments as well as a tweet from Rep. Mike Collins claiming without evidence that “Biden sent the orders” to shoot Trump, Graham said, “There is frustration, on our side, about the way President Trump has been treated.”

Conveniently, Lindsey Graham on Meet the Press doesn't want to talk about the absolutely unhinged rhetoric offered up by Sen. JD Vance and Rep. Mike Collins in the wake of Trump's shooting pic.twitter.com/PciutsDqOz — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 14, 2024

Another GOP politician on Trump’s shortlist for VP, Sen. Tim Scott, on Saturday baselessly claimed that the “radical left” and the media “aided and abetted” in the shooting. “This was an assassination attempt aided and abetted by the radical Left and corporate media incessantly calling Trump a threat to democracy, fascists, or worse,” Scott wrote on X.

Conservative firebrand Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene in several tweets blamed the Democrats and “scumbags in the media.” Law enforcement has not shared what, if anything, they know about the shooter’s motives. Related

“The Democrats and the media are to blame for every drop of blood spilled today,” Greene wrote Saturday evening on X. “For years and years, they’ve demonized him and his supporters. Today, someone finally tried to take out the leader of our America First and the greatest President of all time.”

In a separate post, Greene accused Democrats and members of the media of being responsible for “the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump, death threats and attempts against me and other Republicans, and brain washing half the country with your sick violent rhetoric.”

Greene in 2021 appeared in a campaign video holding a 50-caliber rifle and promising to “blow away the Democrats’ socialist agenda.” She then fired the rifle at a Toyota Prius with a “socialism” sign on its side. Footage showed the vehicle exploding with the words, “Target destroyed” displayed on screen. The video promoted a giveaway of the rifle “for Americans only.” Trending Shannen Doherty, 'Beverly Hills, 90210' Actress and TV Icon, Dead at 53 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

Johnson wrote on X that the House will “conduct a full investigation of the tragic events today,” including seeking testimony from Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle “and other appropriate officials from [the Department of Homeland Security] and the FBI.”

House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer sent a letter late Saturday to Cheatle indicating he is opening an investigation into the shooting and requesting that she voluntarily testify before the committee.

Freud-Network on July 14th, 2024 at 15:32 UTC »

Those "Shoot Your Local Pedophile" bumper stickers seem problematic, now.

TintedApostle on July 14th, 2024 at 15:32 UTC »

Remember this is the same party that blamed 1/6 on Antifa.

Squirrel_Chucks on July 14th, 2024 at 15:27 UTC »

Ted Cruz Greg Abbott blamed Texas power outages in winter on the Green New Deal....which wasn't even law or in effect.

When he Abbott said (or was it Abbott? 🤔) that wind turbines couldn't work in cold weather, I pulled up a live stream of wind turbines in Vermont turning and working during a blizzard.

Republicans don't need their conspiracy theories to make sense or be true for then to be useful.

Edits