I had to read pretty deep into the incident Saturday night at the correspondents’ dinner before I realized the gunman was stopped at the first of multiple security perimeters at the Washington Hilton. He wasn’t even on the same floor as the event and the president. In other words, security measures did what they were supposed to do – stopped a threat.
Pardon me if I don’t gnash my teeth and clutch my pearls. Lots and lots of people dislike any president, not just this one. I don’t think this justifies any more police/security intrusions into public life; there are already plenty. As a fan of crime fiction, I long ago noticed how many novels are now set in the past, before thousands of high-resolution cameras were installed to spy on all of us, all the time. People willingly put these things inside their own homes, in fact; I heard an entertaining story about the role a camera system played in a divorce recently. We download and install tracking apps on the people we love and trust the most. Please, less. Please, enough.
A few grimly amusing details. What was right-wing Twitter saying, in unison, last night?
What does this have to do with anything? The ballroom isn’t going to be a rental space. No matter who is president in the years to come, the correspondents’ dinner will never be held there, nor should it be. But it does tell you who is on the White House text chain, and confirms what I’ve long suspected: That there’s a daily memo, of sorts, that goes out to certain connected accounts, which is then picked up and dutifully amplified by an unquestioning herd of baa-ing sheep. (I mean, when I amplify something I read online, I at least try to give credit, in the form of “I read something online…”)
Did you notice Bobby Kennedy, sitting at his table, head held high? Almost like he was just waiting for something. Something like…his destiny as a Kennedy. ONWARD TO VALHALLA.
I’m already bored with this story, and it’s not even a day old. I’m bored with so much these days. I can’t tell if it’s old age or just too much, too soon, too fast.
By the way, if you want to read the gunman’s “manifesto,” i.e., a 1,000-word email he sent to family members a few moments before he made his play, it’s in the New York Post (of course). It’s described as “crazed.” It is not crazed. It’s most definitely the wrong move, my brother, but it’s not crazed.
On to why I did any of this:
I am a citizen of the United States of America.
What my representatives do reflects on me.
And I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes.
Doesn’t sound crazed to me. Inviting the worst president in history to party with you, a journalist, and your colleagues? That sounds crazier.
And now here we are, more deflection from what should be our No. 1 priority for the remainder of 2026: Sweeping the midterms and defanging these rabid beasts. So let’s not worry about any of this. Eyes front.
Dave said on April 26, 2026 at 5:22 pm
I see that the useless rep from NE IN posted something similar, I’m not even sure why I started seeing his postings, as well as Banks and Young’s postings, all three of whom infuriate me daily. These people, I swear. . .
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Deborah said on April 26, 2026 at 5:25 pm
Honestly my first reaction I’m embarrassed to admit was that it was faked, I laughed. It wasn’t faked I know now, it was done by a person who obviously made a very unwise choice. My guess is that many of those right wing influencers who spout the talking points are being paid to write that crap, and they’ll continue to do so as long as the money flows and there is lots of money flowing because what the payers get, like tax breaks, deregulation etc is far more rewarding for them then the money they payout to the influencers.
One of the things that worries me now, something I never thought of before is that if you want to travel with undetected weapons to perpetrate a violent crime somewhere take a train. Now we’ll have to go through hell to get on a train like you have to do to get on an airplane. Nevermind doing something about guns, no, make it harder for all of us to travel anywhere, everywhere.
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Deborah said on April 26, 2026 at 5:44 pm
Holy shit you guys, I just saw this: hail the size of TENNIS BALLS!!! https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/26/us/texas-storm-deaths-hail-wind-runaway-bay.html?unlocked_article_code=1.d1A.nAkp.TDv8NOyI9PTB&smid=url-share. But donncha know, climate change is a hoax. Gift article.
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Sherri said on April 26, 2026 at 6:38 pm
I can never keep what the right wing wants straight. Usually, after a shooting, we hear how we need more guns, so that the good guys with guns can take out the bad guys with guns, and right wingers despise gun free zones. But now they think we need one, in the form of Trump’s tacky addition?
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Suzanne said on April 26, 2026 at 8:43 pm
I still think the shooting was not a surprise to Trump or his cabinet members. I am not a conspiracy theorist but there are just too many odd things about it.
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Colleen said on April 26, 2026 at 9:27 pm
Suzanne, I am not a conspiracy theorist either, but I smell shenanigans.
I also noted that when it came to getting out of the ballroom, these alpha males made sure it was every woman for herself…unless they were using her as a human shield.
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FDChief said on April 26, 2026 at 10:14 pm
The “best” part was the video clip where this kid Naruto-runs right through the “security” “checkpoint” as the…Secret Service(?) yobs stand around with their collective thumbs up their collective asses.
The worst? That this is just another day ending in “y” for the Graft Administration.
It doesn’t really make much difference whether this was (as I suspect it was) just another rando with a gun and a grudge, or some sort of Felony Fats kayfabe. The Maganazis will play it for everything they can, and the courtier press will tongue-bathe them while they do. And those of us who wish them all in Hell can do nothing but rage.
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Deborah said on April 26, 2026 at 10:21 pm
The thing that’s pretty amazing about the whole situation is how many of us automatically assumed it was fake, people who normally don’t think in conspiracy terms. When someone lies constantly like Trump (and his cabinet) it’s hard to take anything they say or happens to them as reality. And that seems to be the goal, to make everyone question everything all of the time so we give up on caring about democracy because it’s all so crazy.
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ROGirl said on April 27, 2026 at 6:11 am
This sums up things rather nicely.
https://slowcivilwar.substack.com/p/cole-allen
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Jeff Gill said on April 27, 2026 at 8:33 am
“The ballroom isn’t going to be a rental space.”
I’m tempted to place a modest bet on this one.
Talking last week to Patrick Ryan, author of “Buckeye,” he said the one thing he knew was that the generational novel he wanted to write would have to end before 1990, because he just couldn’t wrap his head around how he’d deal with computers where you can look stuff up so quickly, or phones you had wherever you went, and so on. Hence the 1916-1976 primary narrative.
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alex said on April 27, 2026 at 10:58 am
Even if the damn ballroom ever gets built, it won’t be there in time for Trump to ever use it, unless he and his stupid followers think he’s going to remain there after 2028. It’s a monumental waste, and not just figuratively speaking, and I hope that when justice is finally served that all of his ill-gotten gains will be used to rectify the whole mess and everything else he has done to federal property.
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Deborah said on April 27, 2026 at 11:17 am
As someone on Bluesky said, Trump goes to his club at Mar a Lago all the time, full of people, and nobody has ever said anything about how dangerous that is for him so he needs that ballroom at the White House instead, for his security.
Come to think of it, If I were an assassin Mar a Lago is where I would target him. It would take carful planning for sure, which the guy at the Hilton didn’t do at all.
Don’t get me wrong I don’t want trump to be assassinated it would just make him a martyr like Charlie Kirk and his MAGAs could feast on that for a long time. I want him to pass away from natural causes, the sooner the better. Me and Melania are hoping for the same thing.
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Dave said on April 27, 2026 at 12:29 pm
Deborah, your last line made me laugh out loud.
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Jeff Borden said on April 27, 2026 at 12:34 pm
The reactions of Gruppenfuhrer Stephen Miller and Bobby Brain Worms Jr. was instructive. Miller seemingky used his pregnant wife as a shield while anti-vax man abandoned his wife, Cheryl Hines, entirely as his security detail hustled him away. Such virile, manly he-men!
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alex said on April 27, 2026 at 12:44 pm
Even if he croaks from natural causes, his diehard supporters will cry murder and blame whomever is convenient at the moment. And it’s a waste of time to point out to them that Mar-a-Lago doesn’t have a bunker; those people don’t have enough mental capacity to unbundle contradictions, and that’s why they’ve been so easily had.
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Sherri said on April 27, 2026 at 2:28 pm
Given all the attempts on his life, it’s obviously too dangerous for Trump to golf at any public golf courses; it’s impossible to secure a perimeter that large. He can use the driving range and the single par 3 practice hole at Camp David. Or one of the 200 or so golf courses on military bases.
Just not at his personal clubs.
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Deborah said on April 27, 2026 at 3:49 pm
Hitler had 40 assassination attempts on his life in Germany when he was in power. All the despots like Stalin, Mussolini etc had them too. Deitrich Bonhoeffer a Lutheran theologian in Germany had a role in one of the attempts on Hitler, and when I was at a Lutheran (LCMS) college they were proud of that fact, that’s where I first heard about it, we studied it in relation to Luther’s writings about “sinning boldly” as I recall. Bonhoeffer was eventually executed for his participation along with others. I find this ironic comparing that to LCMS teachings today. Trump now compares himself to Lincoln as though multiple attempts are something that makes him righteous and impactful, or whatever. No, he’s a fellow despot.
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Sherri said on April 27, 2026 at 5:06 pm
You can not watch sports these days without being inundated with ads and discussion about betting. DraftKings and the like have made it trivial to bet on sports, in ever more creative ways. And even though gambling is usually supposed to be restricted to 21 and older, online apps have made it easy to avoid age and geographic restrictions.
Which brings us to one Brendan Soresby. Like some 60% of college students, Soresby has bet on sports. Allegedly, he bet on sports as a college freshman at Indiana, including placing bets on the IU football team, which he was a member of (though didn’t play his freshman year.) Soresby, a QB, played the following year at IU, then transferred to Cincinnati, where he got a nice NIL deal. He starred at Cincinnati, and saw an opportunity for an even bigger NIL deal at Texas Tech, so he transferred there to play his final season this fall.
Reports have the QB making $4-5 million for his year at Texas Tech, though his departure from Cincinnati has been messy. That university has sued him for $1 million over the terms of his NIL deal there.
But now, the NCAA is investigating, and Soresby has checked into a gambling rehab. The NCAA does still have a few rules, and one is you can’t bet on college or pro sports, especially not your own team. Betting on your own team, even if you didn’t affect the outcome of the game, will result in loss of eligibility.
It’s unlikely that Soresby is the only athlete betting on sports. You can tell people not to bet on sports, but when the sport is awash in gambling money everywhere you turn, which message is louder?
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nancy said on April 27, 2026 at 5:42 pm
We have to be careful not to huff lefty farts the way the other side does Trump’s. I don’t believe Stephen Miller was using his pregnant wife as a human shield. Rather, security was behind him, hustling him along, and she was in front of him. There’s really no gallant, graceful way to be evacuated in that situation, and it often produces awkward moments like that. Same with Bobby K. He might have tried to get Cheryl in front of him, but from the looks of the pictures, SS just frog-marched him out, the way they’re supposed to do. Their remit is to protect the secretary, not his spouse, too.
Oh, and as I’ve said many times here, I’m hoping for natural causes in the form of the Elvis Exit, and a WH steward savvy enough to snap a pic before the SS gets there.
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Brandon said on April 27, 2026 at 7:57 pm
Re: the Michael biography: Has anyone seen it? Or does anyone plan to see it soon?
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nancy said on April 27, 2026 at 10:04 pm
Nope and nope. I don’t even listen to his music anymore.
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Jeff Gill said on April 27, 2026 at 11:27 pm
Dodging thunderstorms between Bloomington & Indy, I listened to too much cable news discourse, and I just want to say: if a) Trump hadn’t decided to go to the WHCD about four weeks ago, and b) a slew of Cabinet secretaries hadn’t decided to attend on top of that pivot, you wouldn’t have a “situation” to start with.
Should it have been designated a “National Special Security Event” like the State of the Union? In retrospect: maybe. There was nowhere near all of the Cabinet present, but enough of the top “line of succession” crowd to mean they may need to revise some criteria. Is the Washington Hilton a dated, awkward mess? Yes, as are most legacy venues deep in urban cores, which are why football teams and convention centers are all heading out to where sprawl is encouraged and space is not at a premium.
Should either Trump or Kimmel be joking about violence as a funny topic or partisan amusement? No. Who should unilaterally disarm in this perverse conflict? Well, I’d say the bigger person should go first. Let’s let them take up that challenge. But it’s clear as things stand: no one regrets anything. That’s our new normal. Anyhow, I guess I need to go to the basement, or so my TV keeps shouting at me.
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Deborah said on April 28, 2026 at 1:30 am
I don’t think Kimmel’s joke was meant to be about violence unless you consider Big Macs violent. It seemed to me to be about what a lot of people are hoping when Trump disappears for a few days. The timing of the joke was unfortunate I will say. But I didn’t hear it in context only read the pertinent line after it was performed the night before the hotel event.
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Deborah said on April 28, 2026 at 1:57 am
One of the best things I’ve ever read in the NYT https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/27/opinion/culture/war-and-nachos-on-my-social-media-feed.html?unlocked_article_code=1.eVA.dnie.V08mi8doMmN5&smid=url-share gift link.
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Jeff Gill said on April 28, 2026 at 7:40 am
There are few things more violent than a Big Mac. At least, that’s the effect they have on me.
I think Kimmel was making a joke about Trump being old, not a big target. But everyone is reacting in these situations to “well, they did it first.” Hard to figure out a path forward on that basis of scorekeeping.
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Sherri said on April 28, 2026 at 12:15 pm
I don’t think it’s quite fair to say that everyone reacts with “they did it first” scorekeeping. One side has consistently refused to take any responsibility for anything they say.
I’d also say there’s a difference besides who went first between a late night comic making a joke about a Big Mac and the President of the US, who has routinely called for violence on his perceived enemies.
Let me know when you routinely see Democratic leaders say the kind of things that come of out of the mouths of GOP Congress members regularly, and then I’ll consider a “both sides” argument.
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Deborah said on April 28, 2026 at 1:06 pm
The Republicans know better, they just whine about it because they think it helps their cause, no matter how wrong they are. Repetition changes minds so they keep at it. The more often you tell the same lie, the more people will begin to believe it, it’s their MO, has been for ages. The ends justify the means to them, they couldn’t care less.
I do think that Trump is at a point either because of old age or his worsening toxic narcissism that he has started to believe some of the lies he tells, he has repeated them so many times his deteriorating mind can’t tell the difference.
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Deborah said on April 28, 2026 at 2:34 pm
My current passport expires in 2027, how can I avoid getting a new passport with Trump’s photo on it? How embarrassing to go abroad and have to show your American passport with that on it. Holy cow, can I say I lost it now so I can get a new one before it happens? Will the next 10 years of eligibility start with the new one I get now or will it just be a replacement for the one that still expires in 2027? I do not want a passport with his picture on it. No. Way. If I have no recourse and have to get one with his picture on it, can I place googly eyes on it, or a Simon Legree mustache on it, or both? Will that negate the document? Will they deport me to the Congo?
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Deborah said on April 28, 2026 at 2:57 pm
OK, I’m taking deep breaths now. Apparently it’s a proposed limited edition passport to have his picture on it. You actually have to pay extra for it, like a limited edition license plate for your car. Who in the hell would want that?
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susan said on April 28, 2026 at 5:02 pm
30% of our voting population would want that picture on their passports, Deborah, except they don’t have passports because they never leave Possum Holler.
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Sherri said on April 28, 2026 at 6:22 pm
From The Needling, Seattle’s version of The Onion:
https://theneedling.com/2026/04/27/rural-armed-militia-converts-compound-to-ballroom/
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Deborah said on April 28, 2026 at 6:56 pm
All I have to say right now is 86 47.
edit: and of course I don’t mean, kill him.
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Deborah said on April 28, 2026 at 10:02 pm
Off topic, again: Can anyone point me to a website that breaks down money spent on individual campaigns? I mean after it is acquired from donors where does it go bit by bit to pay for a campaign. I realize there would be differences for local, state and federal electons of a particular candidate. I mean I get that you’ve got speech writers, graphic designers, event planners and designers, venue renters and renting, TV and radio spots, social media spots, travel and lodging, campaign strategists, printers etc. It would seem this material would be easy to track because isn’t it required to be available? Where is it documented for public consumption?
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