Op-ed views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author.
At his massive rally in Butler, PA, President Donald Trump survived assassination by millimeters, saved by the grace of God and a turn of his head. Sadly, an attendee was killed, and two others were seriously wounded by a 20-year-old assassin. As the investigation continues into the killer and the major security lapses at the event, it is important to reflect upon the intended victim, Donald Trump.
He is a man of enormous courage, who used the assassination attempt to show amazing strength to his supporters by yelling “Fight, Fight, Fight” and pumping his fist in the air. It was a sign that he was not backing down, he was not quitting.
In fact, as the Secret Service agents were moving Trump off the stage, he yelled “Wait” to give him an opportunity to address the crowd. Their response was to cheer and yell “USA, USA.”
The photo of Trump being led off the stage by the agents with his fist in the air and the American Flag in the background has already become an iconic image, perfectly representing the essence of President Trump. As his son, Eric Trump, said after the shooting, his father is the “toughest man I have ever met.”
No politician in American history has had to endure what Trump has faced since descending the escalator in 2015 and announcing his presidential campaign. Upon declaring his candidacy, he was immediately labeled a “racist” and critics demanded that he apologize. He refused and continued to speak his mind. A typical Republican politician would have caved to the media pressure, but not Donald Trump.
During the campaign, his enemies leaked the “Access Hollywood” tape, but he turned it around by bringing women who had accused former President Bill Clinton of sexual abuse to his debate against Hillary Clinton.
After his election, the left tried to encourage electors to betray their promise to support Trump, but it failed. During his campaign, presidential transition and in the White House, Trump was surveilled by the FBI and the subject of a bogus “Steele Dossier,” which alleged unverified “Russian collusion.”
This would spawn the wide-ranging, lengthy, and costly Mueller investigation, involving a crew of leftwing attorneys. It led to Trump’s eventual exoneration after no evidence of any “Russian collusion” or obstruction of justice was found.
His enemies were only getting started as the first impeachment over a “perfect” phone call to the Ukrainian President was launched, followed by an eventual acquittal. In the immediate aftermath, he had to deal with the pandemic and the George Floyd riots, including leftwing violence outside of the White House.
The controversial 2020 election created the huge “J6” protests in Washington D.C. Even though Trump told his followers to “peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard,” he was impeached again, acquitted, and investigated by a sham U.S. House committee, solely composed of Democrats and Trump hating Republicans.
In August of 2022, gun toting FBI agents raided his home in Mar-a-Lago, even rampaging through his wife’s closet and his son’s bedroom. Thereafter, he received 91 criminal charges from the Biden Justice Department and Democrat District Attorneys resulting in potential prison sentences exceeding 700 years.
Trump had to endure a mugshot in Fulton County, GA, followed by bogus civil cases, presided by leftwing judges, resulting in massive financial penalties that could exceed $600 million.
Subsequently, Trump was convicted in the Manhattan courtroom of a judge, who donated to the Biden campaign and has a daughter who is a Democratic Party consultant. This judge will sentence Trump in September, possibly resulting in jail time or home incarceration for the former President.
Through all this incredible abuse, Donald Trump has been resolute and has not retreated at all. This extraordinary strength is needed because Democrats and his detractors in the Republican Party and the media continue to denigrate him, repeatedly calling him a dictator.
For example, several days ago, President Joe Biden told donors on a video call, “I have one job and that’s to beat Trump…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.”
These comments are an insight into the thinking of the progressive left. They view Trump as “an existential threat to Democracy.”
Too many on the political left are disconnected from reality and suffer from “Trump Derangement Syndrome.” For example, earlier in the year, U.S. Congressman Bennie Thompson (D-MS) tried to pass legislation to remove the Secret Service protection from President Trump.
This review reminds us of what President Trump had to endure prior to the assassination attempt and continues to face. No one else could have withstood this treatment. Everyone else would have retreated from politics, but not Donald Trump.
There is no one on earth like him, thank God. The work ahead is critical because there is a nation that needs to be saved and there is only one person capable of doing the job, President Donald Trump.