Democrats paralyzed as the Trump Show kicks off in a changed world

Milwaukee — The Republican National Convention opens Monday in a very different world from the one we all expected when we left work on Friday.

Republicans are in complete and total unity. Even former governor, professional Trump critic, and perennial neocon Nikki Haley is getting in on the action, squeezing into a speaking slot at the last minute. Blaze News has learned that rapper and businessman 50 Cent started making calls this weekend to see if he can join the festivities. “We’re trying to make it happen,” a person involved with the talks told me on the way to Wisconsin.

On the other side of the aisle, the Democrats are in total disarray. Calls went out suspending campaign advertising shortly after the deadly attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump Saturday evening. Much to worried donors’ chagrin, the entire campaign strategy had focused on demonizing Trump as a “threat to the nation,” an “enemy of democracy,” and “a threat to the very soul of this country.” That isn’t going to work any more.

Meanwhile, Republicans stand ready to rule the news, with Trump’s vice presidential announcement coming any moment now. The former president even flew into Milwaukee Sunday night (far earlier than normal for a secured nominee) to ride the wave of party excitement.

Democrats' day-to-day plans, on the other hand, are a mess. Joe Biden canceled a planned speech at the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin, Texas, where he was set to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Rumors ricocheted around the capital Friday that former President Barack Obama had pressured him to use the speech to announce he was stepping aside as the presidential candidate in favor of Vice President Kamala Harris, but that Aaron Sorkin-style Democratic fantasy will have to be put on the back burner. The White House apparently didn’t think it was worth it to commemorate the legislative landmark if it would have to be done in a dignified and nonpartisan manner.

Corporate media will likewise have to tamp down on the rhetoric, if only due to how little time has passed since the Republican candidate dodged a bullet to the brain by mere millimeters, a 5mph wind, and the hand of God. Other innocents in the crowd were less fortunate.

Since the shots rang out in Butler County, Pennsylvania, Democratic Party politicians have called for a new sense of unity that few of them have practiced over the past half-century. They’re saying political violence has no place in American society after cheering on race riots, demagoguing opponents, and repeatedly denying the existence of the left-wing terror group Antifa.

Even the last political shooting — when a left-wing would-be-assassin opened fire on the Republican congressional baseball practice, nearly killing Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) — barely dented their rhetoric. If Democrats were remotely serious this time, they’d drop the lawfare against Trump. They won’t, because they are only serious about destroying Trump.

Any delay in the Democrats’ plot to force Biden aside will cost them dearly, and they know it. But to quote former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, “What difference, at this point, does it make?” The assassination attempt might lead to renewed calls for a change of candidates for a historically changed race but is far more likely to cool political rhetoric across the board.

Americans aren’t used to seeing their candidates’ faces smeared with blood. It's been more than 56 years since former Attorney General Bobby Kennedy was shot on TV while celebrating his win in the California Democratic primary. His assassination, a few months after war-weary Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson's shocking decision not to run for re-election, helped fuel the tears, tumult, and tear gas that consumed the party’s fateful August convention in Chicago.

“The presidential contest ended last night,” one person NBC News described as a senior Democratic operative said after the instantly iconic photos were released of a bloodied and defiant Trump, surrounded by Secret Service and pumping his fist in the air beneath the American flag. “Now it’s time to focus on keeping the Senate and trying to pick up the House. The only positive thing to come out of last night for Democrats is we are no longer talking about Joe Biden’s age today.”

“We are so f***ed,” a “longtime Democratic insider” added.

When Congress returns next week, lawmakers will have just two weeks until the long August recess — and less than a month until the Democratic National Convention, where they’ll tempt the fates by returning to Chicago. Don't count on less chaos.

Blaze News:Biden makes another brief statement about 'assassination attempt' against Trump

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Blaze News:Christian father killed in attempted Trump assassination lived and 'died a hero'

Spectator World:Milwaukee readies itself for Trumpmania

Blaze News:DEI professor fears black men might identify with Trump following deadly assassination attempt

Glenn Beck:Pray for Donald Trump, our leaders, and our republic

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IN OTHER NEWS

‘Blaze News Tonight’ heads to Milwaukee

Julio Rosas and I landed in Milwaukee Sunday night for what’s sure to be a historic event. We’ll be running around Brew City, chasing down politicians, covering protests, and reporting details to bring to you every night on “Blaze News Tonight.” Tune in each night at 8 p.m. ET at BlazeTV.com, on YouTube, or on X for exclusive interviews with top Republicans, presented by anchor Jill Savage and worked over by editor in chief Matthew Peterson.

And if you’re in town, let us know! We’d love to buy you a Pabst.

The fire rises: Unherd:The terrible echo of 1968

A nation divided, an unpopular president stepping down, a chaotic Democratic convention in Chicago, and political assassinations caught on camera. If you had managed to miss comparisons between 2024 and 1968 until the weekend, Saturday’s deadly violence will have changed that. Emily Jashinsky reports on a wound that hasn’t healed:

“I was 10 years old when my uncle was assassinated and I remember it like it was yesterday,” said Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. on Fox News, hours after a bullet skimmed the side of Donald Trump’s head. Kennedy recalled the days after that tragedy in 1963. “There was a healing that took place,” he said.

Not five years later, Kennedy’s father lost his life at the hands of an assassin, just months after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Andy Warhol took a bullet the day before. More than half a century later, the Smithsonian describes 1968 as “the year that shattered America.”

Anti-war protests rocked campuses. Democrats planned to convene in Chicago. A man named Robert F. Kennedy was on the ballot. It may seem like we’ve been here before, but what if we never actually left?