Wow ... didn't see this one coming

In a rousing speech Monday on the opening night of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Sen. Tim Scott discussed the miraculous survival of former President Donald Trump from an assassination attempt two nights earlier. “If you didn’t believe in miracles before Saturday, you got to be believing right now,” Scott, R-S.C., told the crowd. “Thank God almighty that we still live in a country that still believes in the king of kings and the lord of lords.”  At a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, north of Pittsburgh, late Saturday night, a gunman took aim at Trump, grazing the former president’s right ear with a bullet.  “On Saturday, the devil came to Pennsylvania holding a rifle, but an American lion got back up on his feet, and he roared,” Scott continued, as the crowd chanted, “Fight, fight, fight, fight!”—which Trump shouted while pumping a fist in the air as he was hustled to safety by the Secret Service.  Scott, who ran for the Republican presidential nomination himself, was reportedly a finalist to be Trump’s vice presidential pick. Trump selected one of Scott’s colleagues, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio.  In his address, Scott looked to both the past and the future. “We are the Republican Party of Frederick Douglass and of Abraham Lincoln, of Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump,” he said, and offered new initials for the GOP.  “We are not just the party of our leaders. We are also the party of one woman in Wisconsin taking over her family farm, an Hispanic father working 16 hour days in Nevada, and a black teenager in Philly starving for opportunity,” Scott said. “We are not just the Grand Old Party of the past. We are the great opportunity party of America’s future.” The South Carolina lawmaker also brought up a point he said upsets liberal elites. “America is not a racist country,” Scott said as the crowd roared. “But if you are looking for racism today, you’ll find it in cities run by Democrats. Look on the South Side of Chicago—poor black kids, trapped in failing schools, thousands shot every single year, including one of my former interns.” The post Scott Credits Miracle for Sparing Trump’s Life: ‘American Lion Got Back Up on His Feet’ appeared first on The Daily Signal.

MILWAUKEE—Two days after the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, political commentator Tucker Carlson says, “It’s not crazy to think that there was something there, it was an effort to kill Trump, it wasn’t just a lone gunman.” The assailant crawled on to a nearby rooftop Saturday night while Trump was on stage at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, 33 miles north of Pittsburgh. The shooter fired multiple shots, striking Trump in the right ear. It remains unclear how the gunman, who was killed, was not seen and neutralized by authorities prior to opening fire.  “At some point we may find out what happened on Saturday,” Carlson says.  The Daily Signal caught up with Carlson behind the scenes of the Republican National Convention at The Heritage Foundation Policy Fest to ask about the implications of the assassination attempt on the election, and Trump’s selection of Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, for vice president. Watch the interview below or read the lightly edited transcript:  Virginia Allen: Big news today—we learned that JD Vance is the pick for vice president. Did Trump make the right choice? Tucker Carlson: We absolutely made the right choice. And I think, well, I love JD Vance. I know him pretty well personally, and I think he’s an outstanding person. He’s really smart, but he puts his intelligence to good use, which is to say the pursuit of wisdom. I mean, JD Vance is one of the only politicians I’ve ever met. He hasn’t been a politician in very long, but who thinks about what’s the right choice? What’s the moral choice? What’s the best choice for the country? So yeah, I’m thrilled. But I would also say that Trump didn’t choose a long list of truly destructive people who hate what Trump believes and who, for reasons that they would have to explain, wanted to serve them anyway. What is that? If you didn’t agree with somebody, you probably wouldn’t want to be their running mate, right? But if you want to be the running mate anyway, that would suggest what? Well, A, that you were incredibly dishonest, and B, that you’re probably working to subvert them. And there was, I’m not privy to Trump’s mind, but I did watch the process closely. And there were an awful lot of people who I personally consider loathsome. But even if I didn’t consider [them] loathsome, I know for a fact [they] dislike what Donald Trump believes, and they wanted to serve with him. And there was a lot of pressure, a lot of pressure brought to bear on the president to choose them, and he didn’t. And so I consider his choice an act of courage. I’m grateful for it. I think it says something really good about where this administration will go. I’m saying confidently that he’ll be the president he deserves to be. I think he will be. And so I find it thrilling. Allen: Tucker, the past 24 hours has been wild, the amount of news that has come out. How did the attempted assassination on former President Donald Trump change this election? Carlson: Well, Trump won when that happened because he displayed physical courage. And if you live in a society where people are literally dating by remote virtually and working virtually, you can kind of lose touch with the physical reality of life. But the unchanging truth is that leadership requires courage. And not just abstract courage, moral courage, but physical courage. Someone starts shooting a rifle like are you going to wet yourself and start crying and run away, or are you going to stand up and look at your people and raise your fist and say, fight? And very few people are capable of doing that, and he is. And therefore he wins because that supersedes all this nonsense that we talk ourselves into. Believing is important. No, the guy got shot in the face. He stood up with blood streaming down the side of his head, blood on his hands, and said, fight. Totally defiant. That’s an act of undeniable courage that was not staged. You couldn’t stage that. And that man is the leader, and he wins. And by the way, notice what happens to everyone in the crowd when a leader is strong, his people are calm, his courage gives them heart. That’s true for a father, and it’s true for a president. So yeah, he just won, and he deserves to win. That was the ultimate test Allen: You had predicted about a year ago, that an assassination attempt on Trump was likely. How did we get here? Carlson: Well, we got here. Disaster has many authors. So we got here for a bunch of different reasons. I think there’s been, I say this [as] someone who’s been in the media my whole life, 33 years, an extraordinary amount of recklessness and dishonesty in the American news media, which is loathesome. The legacy media, the big companies that I spent my life working for have really dedicated themselves to lying in a very cruel and vicious way. People like Joe Scarborough did a lot, I think, to make assassination attempts like that possible. They’re comfortable with violence— Scarborough especially is comfortable with violence, but a lot of them are, I think, and so they should be ashamed they’re not, but they should be. But I think more broadly, there’s a lot going on that is unseen. There’s a lot of evil all of a sudden in this country. I never noticed it before. I’m not saying it wasn’t here, but in the 55 years I’ve been here, I never— I haven’t seen it like I’ve seen it in the last year, people really being vicious, people espousing cruelty and killing, people telling you that abortion for its own sake or war for its own sake is a good thing. What is that? That’s evil. So there’s a lot of that. And this is, I would say, a manifestation of it. Allen: You are seen as very controversial by the leftist media. Carlson: Oh, you’re so controversial. Oh, you’re so controversial. Allen: Did the assassination attempt on Trump make you regret anything that you’ve said? Carlson: Well, I regret all kinds of things. I endorsed the Iraq war. I mean, talk about living in shame. Yeah, I regret a lot of things I’ve said, and all I want to do is apologize for those things and to say I was wrong, which I don’t enjoy saying I was wrong or apologizing, but it’s the only way forward. So yeah, I regret all kinds of things I’ve said, but I’m not controversial. That’s one of those words. When I was an editor, I banned that from my newsroom. It doesn’t mean anything. What it means is I don’t like you. In point of fact, I think I’m the most moderate person I know. My parents got divorced—I hate change. I want everything to stay exactly the same. That’s the opposite of radical. I’m the opposite of radical. I like the status quo. I go to bed at 10 o’clock with my wife and three dogs. I’m not into anything radical at all. I’m the least radical person I’ve ever met. In fact, I’m not radical enough. So no, if I’m a radical, I’m not the one getting rid of Easter and replacing with tranny day. You know what I mean? The person replacing Easter with tranny day is calling me radical. OK. Allen: You’re conservative for a reason. In other words, you want to conserve things. Carlson: Well, I’m just temperamentally that way. I mean, I like the country I grew up in a lot. I loved it. I love it still, but I’m very worried about it now. But no, I loved it. If I could press a button and make it 1985 again with no internet, no threat of AI and all the rest, I mean, I would do that. I can’t do that. Of course, that’s a middle-aged man’s dream. But I’m only saying that—it’s kind of pathetic even to say that, but it’s true. But just to show that, if you think I’m radical, you don’t know what the word means. Allen: Going back about five days, most of the conversation in the news was of course about President Joe Biden and his cognitive ability to serve another four years. Would a Harris administration be any different than a Biden administration? Carlson: Well, I don’t know. I have fewer friends [in] the Democratic party that I once had. Not surprisingly so I’m not privy to much insight information, some, but my strong sense is they, no, they’ve given up. Trump is going to be president. They know that at this point. It would just be too messy to stop that, stealing the election once again, like they did in 2020. It was just too hard. Everyone’s expecting it. I think it would not be worth it actually. At some point, we may find out what happened on Saturday. A guy with a rifle wound up on a building that close with a ladder, and all these people saw it. And the Secret Service, what is that? It’s not crazy to think that there was something there. It was an effort to kill Trump, and it wasn’t just a lone gunman who was killed, that it was something else. But I don’t think going forward, look, I think everyone has kind of accepted the fact that Trump’s going to win and it’ll be too hard to stop him from winning. That’s just my gut as of today. And Kamala Harris, that’s not going to work. What they really want to do is subvert Trump with a running mate who agrees with the Democrats on the big issues, on the economy and foreign policy. And there are a whole bunch of those. And donors tried to force them in in the last 48 hours. They tried really, really hard. You can’t beat Trump clearly. You shoot ’em in the face and he gets more popular. I mean, really. S o what we need to do is just rot it from within with some running mate who, let’s make Nikki Haley the running mate, or something like that, and they failed. So I’m pretty hopeful. Allen: What’s your message going to be here at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee when you speak on the main stage? Carlson: Oh, gosh. Well, I’ve never written a speech. I’ve given a lot of speeches over a thousand, and I’ve never written one. And so I won’t start. I’m not going to start this week. But my feeling about speeches is always the same, which is, it’s just like reporting a story. … You pay super close attention. You talk to as many people as you can. You listen carefully. You try to figure out what’s going on, and then you say a prayer and start talking. So that’s my plan. Allen: You have a speaking tour coming up this fall, starting in September. Tell us a little bit about that.  Carlson: We’re going across the country. I can’t—I live in a beautiful place, and I hate to leave, so I make myself, but we’re doing 15 or 16, 16 I think, dates across the country for a month, coast to coast. And the inspiration for that was frustration with Facebook and other media monopolies that were censoring me. And I thought, well, the one thing you can’t censor is a live event. And so let’s just get big venues, big venues, and tell the truth. And that’s exactly what we’re going to do. And I’m psyched. The post EXCLUSIVE: Tucker Carlson Says ‘Not Crazy’ to Think ’It Wasn’t Just a Lone Gunman’ appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said both he and former President Donald Trump have shown that “commonsense conservative leadership works.” Youngkin, a onetime businessman elected in 2021, said Monday night at the Republican National Convention that under President Joe Biden’s administration, Americans are facing 7.5% mortgage rates, while their raises can’t keep up with 30% increases in grocery prices and a 40% jump in the prices at the gas pump.  “Tonight, America—the land of opportunity—just doesn’t feel like that any more,” Youngkin said. “But eight years ago, there was an outsider, a businessman who stepped out of his career to rebuild a great nation, with the strongest economy, the mightiest military, energy independence, unlimited opportunity, lifting up every American. That outsider businessman was Donald J. Trump, and he will do it again.”  Youngkin said that the 2024 election “could not be more simple” and cast it as a contest of strength versus weakness and common sense versus chaos.  He also promoted his own record in Virginia, where he was the first Republican governor elected in 12 years.  “President Trump proved that commonsense conservative leadership works. It works for America,” Youngkin said. “We are proving it in Virginia, too, with $5 billion in tax relief, backing the blue, slashing red tape, declaring loudly that ‘yes, parents matter,’ and creating lots and lots of jobs. We were just named America’s top state to do business.” The post Trump and I Have Proved Conservative Policies Work, Virginia’s Governor Says appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Day 1: Trump's Triumphal Entry; UPDATE: 'One Tough SOB'

During their Monday night coverage of the Republican National Convention, CNN's faux conservative commentator Alyssa Farah Griffin and liberal activist Van Jones shared their thoughts on how the convention was unfolding so far. Griffin attacked Republicans, per usual, while Jones insulted the African American men who spoke at the convention by suggesting their speeches were "cringey." Griffin stated that Republicans have been pushing the message that “the country is in decline under Joe Biden.” Unsurprisingly, she wanted to highlight some Republicans and share why she doesn’t like them: Here's my problem with tonight's programming in prime time someone like Marjorie Taylor Greene, who is a spouse, just ridiculous conspiracy theories somebody who should not be elevated in this kind of platform. Mark Robinson, who's running in North Carolina for governor, who's shared vile anti-Semitic tropes left and right.     Griffin went on to say that giving these individuals a platform was a “mistake.” Jones chimed in that so far, the convention “was kind of cringey to me.” His reason was because “we got half an hour into 8:00. We had for African-American men. There's clearly an agenda here.” But he was far from done with his rant as he continued: JONES: There's an opening to get black men because of the double-whammy of black men feeling the economic pain seriously and also feeling some social dislocation with when it comes to gender and feminism and what's going on. There's an opening there but this is not it. I'm going to tell you right now. Further, Jones had some more rather offensive things to say in regards to the political leaders who were African American that spoke at the convention. According to him, they authentically black: "They -f all four of them sounded like black people who talk about black people, but don't talk to black people. That's how they sounded." Following the speeches made by Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) and John James (R-MI) at the convention, Jones decided to call the men out by name and bash what they said: I just wanna say – and in the things that they said you don't -- you don't say that you have thousands of black children dying in Chicago with glee the way Tim Scott did. You don't say that black children can't read the way that James did and that there’s a time we go back, where the zip codes didn’t matter. We've never had that time in America. Finally, Scott Jennings stepped in and put Griffin and Jones in their place as he defended the African American speakers. He started out by noting “Trump’s currently scoring in the 20’s” when it comes to polls concerning African Americans voting for Trump and “their featured tonight, whether you like him or not.” Jennings continued to support the African American speakers as he stated" “These are messengers who are willing to go on a stage on national television, and say the Republican nominee is our guy.” He continued to applaud those involved in the convention as he shared: You've also got Sean O’Brien, the president of the Teamsters, coming out tonight a union leader, somebody who's going to be speaking to the working class when I think about how Trump is going to win this race, peeling back African American men, peeling back rank and file union members. When it comes to African American leaders and union workers, Jennings confidently concluded “for my whole career, Democrats have counted on both. Now, the Republicans are making a real play, and that's why he's leading in all these swing states.” Click "Expand" to view the transcript: CNN Republican National Convention 7/15/2024 8:31:13 – 8:33:57 PM ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN: Look, Republicans have a clear message here. The country is in decline under Joe Biden, we have an economic agenda that's going to make you richer, wealthier, and more prosperous. People are on message. Here's my problem with tonight's programming in prime time someone like Marjorie Taylor Greene, who is a spouse, just ridiculous conspiracy theories somebody who should not be elevated in this kind of platform. Mark Robinson, who's running in North Carolina for governor, who's shared vile anti-Semitic tropes left and right. What happens is you elevate some rising stars in the party like a John James and a Wesley Hunt but then put them aside these very figures who should be fringed figures and giving them equal billing. I think it's a mistake. I think it was a choice, but overall, the message is there and this is what the Biden camp has struggled with, is you can't really say what the core message is. You can walk away from tonight, whether you agree with it or not, and you know what the core message is.  VAN JONES: You know -- it's -- that was kind of cringey to me. You got -- we got half an hour into 8 o'clock. We had for African-American men. There's clearly an agenda here, and let me just say, I'm glad that the Republicans are trying to get black men. I think both parties should compete vigorously. There's an opening to get black men because of the double-whammy of black men feeling the economic pain seriously and also feeling some social dislocation with when it comes to gender and feminism and what's going on. There's an opening there but this is not it. I'm going to tell you right now. They all four of them sounded like black people who talk about black people, but don't talk to black people. That's how they sounded. My – my – my phone is blowing up because it felt so -- it felt so off in terms of the tone and the thing that they – and I just wanna say – and in the things that they said you don't -- you don't say that you have thousands of black children dying in Chicago with glee the way Tim Scott did. You don't say that black children can't read the way that James did and that there’s a time we go back, where the zip codes didn’t matter. We've never had that time in America. Those guys sound like people who talk about black people, not to black people. JAKE TAPPER: Scott? SCOTT JENNINGS: Just as a tactical matter tonight, you think about what Trump is doing, eating into the traditional democratic seed corn. African-American men all the polling is very stable. Trump's currently scoring in the 20s. Their featured tonight, whether you like him or not. These are messengers who are willing to go on a stage on national television, and say the Republican nominee is our guy. That's number one. You got people like that. You've also got Sean O’Brien, the president of the Teamsters, coming out tonight a union leader, somebody who's going to be speaking to the working class when I think about how Trump is going to win this race, peeling back African American men, peeling back rank and file union members. For my whole career, Democrats have counted on both. Now, the Republicans are making a real play, and that's why he's leading in all these swing states.

Former President Donald Tump made an appearance Monday at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with a bandage and appeared to tear up while listening to the speakers. Trump had a white bandage on his right ear where he was shot on Saturday while speaking at a rally. The former president sat next to Republican Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, who had just been chosen as his vice presidential candidate. He came down a hallway to massive applause and cheers from the convention audience. Even liberal commentators on CNN and MSNBC acknowledged the hair-raising electricity felt by the crowd when the former president made his appearance. Viewers said Trump appeared humble and pensive while watching the convention speakers. Trump was far more defiant on Saturday after he got shot and was being rushed off the stage in Butler, Pennsylvania. His alleged assailant was shot and killed at the scene and later identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks. He has said that he was so affected by the shooting that he was going to rewrite his speech that is scheduled for Thursday in order to encourage Americans to be less divisive and come together. “I’m not supposed to be here; I’m supposed to be dead," said Trump in an interview Sunday. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

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