174 - What Everyone Gets Wrong About Trump's Assassin
Conservatives are claiming he was a liberal operative. Liberals are claiming he was a registered republican who got fed up. Here’s what both sides are glossing over…
This weekend a young man named Thomas Matthew Crooks attempted to assassinate presidential candidate Donald Trump at a political rally. And while both parties are trying to find ways to blame the other side, nobody seems to be talking about the simple demographics of modern shooters. That is, Thomas Matthew Crooks fits the exact profile of every other 20-something mass shooter we’ve already seen this year. Maybe, just maybe, this isn’t a political issue, so much as an issue of youth despair and lack of hope.
In this episode we explore the motivations and characteristics of political shooters, present and throughout history, and we examine the similarities between Crooks and other would-be American assassins. We also talk about non-political factors like mental health issues, isolation, and a desire for recognition. Then we address the elephant in the room: the tendency for mainstream media to immediately assign blame to the opposing political side.
Links:
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3gw58wv4e9o
https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2024/07/14/trump-assassination-lincoln-kennedy/