In pictures: Trump injured in shooting at Pennsylvania rally
CNN
Secret Service Faces Scrutiny After Trump Rally Shooting
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Above: Fformer Pres. Donald Trump is rushed offstage by US Secret Service agents during a rally on July 13, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania. Image copyright: Anna Moneymaker/Staff/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Facts
After Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt at a Pennsylvania rally Saturday, Pres. Joe Biden said he's "directed an independent review of the national security" to probe how a shooter could manage to evade the US Secret Service and get onto a roof in close proximity to a presidential nominee.
Biden also said he has asked the Secret Service to review all security measures ahead of the Republican National Convention, which begins in Milwaukee on Monday. He added that the investigation is underway to find a motive for the assassination attempt.
The Spin
Narrative A
The Secret Service has one job — to protect former and incumbent presidents — and it failed spectacularly Saturday. The agency must answer some damning questions, including how a 20-year-old shooter could get close to Trump and why warnings from the public don't appear to have been sufficiently acted upon.
Right narrative
Some left-wing and left-wing-sympathetic pundits are actually subscribing to the notion that Trump brought this on himself. While Secret Service failings have to be accounted for, another facet of this failed assassination attempt was the language by Democrats who constantly described Trump as an authoritarian fascist whose election would irreversibly damage American democracy.
Left narrative
The right's rhetoric in the aftermath of the shooting is extremely dangerous. It ignores the prevalence of guns in America, long-standing right-wing extremist violence, and the unclear motives of Crooks — who was a registered Republican. Biden has called for an investigation and for America to turn down the temperature — the Right must follow suit.
