Donald Trump Survived an Assassination Attempt. What's Next?
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This episode is brought to you by Jersey Mike's Subs. Jersey Mike's uses only the highest quality meat sliced right in front of you, piled high with the freshest toppings. It is a Jersey Mike thing. My favorite is number 13, the Italian. Love the Italian. I'm half Italian. I like Italian subs. I especially like Italian subs made in good places. Like Jersey Mike's, planning your summer picnic, backyard adventure, or beach day? Well, Jersey Mike's. They have you covered with everything you need to beat the summer heat.

They have your favorite summer sub combo. They have everything you want at Jersey Mike's. A sub above. Order on the app today or visit jerseymikes.com to learn more. Great app, by the way. Hi, I'm Tara Palmieri. I'm Puck's senior political correspondent, and this is Somebody's Gotta Win.

I'm coming to you now during this horrific moment in American history. Former president and presidential candidate Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday night. Two people were killed, including the gunman and a rally goer. And two other rally attendees are critically injured. We're still gathering lots of information. This is a developing story, but this obviously changes the 2024 presidential race.

and the Republican National Convention that is going on this week in Milwaukee. I will be there covering it all, and I will be dropping in with regular updates. I brought in my colleague, Meredith McGraw. She is a national political correspondent at Politico. We work together at ABC News, and she's been covering Donald Trump for the past 10 years.

We go into what we know, how the Trump campaign is moving forward, how they're doing and how we think this will change American politics going forward. Just so you know, we are recording this on Sunday at 1.30 p.m. East Coast time. So things are obviously developing.

Meredith, thanks for coming on the show. Hey, thanks for having me, Tara. So you've been in communication with the Trump campaign. We've all been following their statements, their movements. How has this changed the Trump campaign? Well, they're definitely in a state of shock right now. There was a smaller group of

Team members that traveled with him to Pennsylvania, you know, they're all getting ready for the convention in Milwaukee. And, you know, I got a hold of a memo that Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita sent out to their campaign staff after the assassination attempt. And, you know, they underscored that they're still horrified by all of this.

but they're going to work on trying to beef up security to keep campaign staffers safe. And they said that the convention is going to continue as planned in Milwaukee, that the show is going to go on. Now, at the same time, we know that there's

a lot of conversations that are going to be happening about the security at the RNC in Milwaukee. There have been conversations going on for years since planning got started around this with local law enforcement there. But just after the horrific events last night, uh,

You know that they're really going to be trying to make sure that everybody is kept safe, that the former president's kept safe, but that there's.

no attempts of violence again. I wonder if this will change their plans for rallies as well. I mean, it seems like they have to do extra protection now from the rallies. Will Trump be on the road as much? It seems like it's a bigger threat. Obviously, I think President Biden will probably need heightened security as well. It could just change the entire campaign. Totally. And it was something I was thinking about

Even as it was all unfolding, I've been to so many of these rallies where it's open air. We've been together. Yes, yes. Where it's open air and they're at a fairground or in a big field and

And it's easy to see why it is a security nightmare, probably for those who are having to handle it. That being said, I think this event raised a lot of questions about what happened, what went wrong and why the shooter was able to get so close to Donald Trump.

with a rifle and, you know, all of that is going to be deeply investigated. Because he was only about a football field away, right? Like that was the thinking was that he was so close. Yeah.

But he didn't have to go through security. He didn't have to go through the stuff that we would have to go through. Exactly. So there are going to be a lot of questions about that. But I do wonder if these big open air rallies, if there's going to be a change in thinking about how and if they're done. Right. I mean, when we were at ABC, I believe we needed security at one point, right? Yeah, I had security at different rallies. You know, we would...

have somebody that would escort us to our car, all of that. In recent years, that's changed, at least for me personally. It didn't feel like the sort of tinderbox that it maybe did years ago, but it's honestly sad that it's come to a moment like this. And I just hope that

the temperatures get turned down here. Earlier this week, you and I were talking about how this could actually be like a historical moment in the campaign, that it might be the moment when he announces who his vice president is. And you were saying you were considering going to Pennsylvania for the rally to cover this because, you know, at one point, the Trump team was advising us that, you know,

He would have to choose his vice presidential candidate before the roll call at the RNC on Monday. So ostensibly, he would be announcing that person at the rally. I reached out to camps for Doug Burgum and J.D. Vance because, you know, they are the front runners right now to see if they were invited to the rally. And at the time they weren't. But then the thinking was, OK, well, we'll wait and change some of the rules and see.

Trump can announce later in the game. Maybe he'll announce on Monday is the thinking or maybe he'll wait till Thursday. But the point is, a lot of reporters are planning on going to this. It turned out that

They weren't going to announce the VP at this event. And it wasn't as momentous of an event. And I guess I'm sure you're thinking to yourself, I would have been on the plane. I may have been in that same area. It's got to be like a frightening thought to you. Well, I was checking in with friends who are reporters who were there. I was checking in with Trump campaign aides who were there just to make sure that they were safe, that they're okay, to let them know that I was thinking of them. Because...

we have, have all been in these situations and it's really traumatic. It's really scary. And like you said, I think there were probably more reporters that were planning on going, but then, um, once we got more reporting that it seems Trump would announce his VP at a different time and not at the rally, you know, Vance wasn't invited to go, um,

Rubio, Burgum, none of the potential running mates were there. Trump's kids weren't there. I think other people are trying to scramble to get to Milwaukee and the idea of going to Western Pennsylvania and then Pittsburgh and then getting on a plane and trying to just make the logistics work of it. No direct flights. Exactly. But it still is. It's in a

Ruby Red, part of the state, Trump won that area by double digits in 2016 and 2020. And Pennsylvania is really important to the Trump campaign. They really want to obviously win it in 2024. So they're putting a lot of resources into the state. So that being said, it was the last big rally before the RNC and sort of set up

big week for the campaign. I know we talked about how this changes the campaign, but also the imagery, the tenor, the tone. There's been some reporting that now it will be a campaign of vengeance. Do you think that's the direction that

that the team will go in. I mean, so far, Trump himself seems to be tempered and measured. Obviously, this plays into a narrative that he's had for a long time that he is, you know, a victim. And now he's basically reached like near martyr level, having survived an assassination attempt. Even J.D. Vance is blaming Biden in a tweet. He said that because Biden has said that Trump is an existential threat to democracy, this is what happens.

Is it just going to be a chorus of his allies, you know, blaming Democrats for this and Trump takes a step back? Or do you think Trump will lean into it as well? I don't know. So far, I think you're right in that Trump has been more measured in his immediate response. You know, he has expressed gratitude for the first responders, obviously.

offered prayers to the victims, the man who was killed, a supporter who was killed, and then there are two that are in critical condition. And so far, it's not the same sort of

punchy tone that we often get from Donald Trump. But, you know, I do wonder if his campaign sees us as a real opportunity in some ways. They have this moment where they have national attention next week, every night. And if they are able to communicate that

political unity, that could be a really powerful moment for them. At the same time, what we're seeing online, though, from politicians, Republicans, Democrats, though, is continuous finger-pointing and

It just feels like that it would only make matters even worse. So there are Democrats who are blaming Trump for increasingly raising the temperature of the rhetoric for many years, you know, an insurrection, Charlottesville. Exactly. They're saying you started this. And then you have Republicans saying just last week, Biden said it's time to put Trump in the bullseye.

So you see a lot of like mud slinging already. It's obviously just shows you that we are in this very dark moment in history. We have like reached a boiling point. This assassin or attempted assassin, he was 20 years old. He wasn't even able to vote in the last election. He's lived through COVID as a teen. God knows, you know, exactly what his psychological state was obviously disturbed, but to have grown up in this environment, right?

His political environment, I'm sure, had a really big impact on him. And is this really the time to be blaming people? Yeah, I hope that politicians can, you know, appeal to better angels here and try to just lower the temperature and have a moment of introspection about just how fiery the rhetoric has been. You know, politicians have always used fighting words, you know,

crazy figures of speech and how they talk. But to just use a little bit more caution, we'll see what happens. I want to be optimistic here. But at the same time, this political moment that we've been living in just feels so tense, so divided, so polarized. I think it's going to take a lot of work for things to...

come back together. And it's not like it's just one side that has suffered because of this. You know, you had Nancy Pelosi's husband, a man broke into the House and brutally beat him. You had Steve Scalise, a Republican leader who was shot at at a congressional softball game. Gabby Giffords was shot at. There's been political violence, I mean, throughout history, right? But the last like real assassination attempt was Ronald Reagan.

And if you didn't think this race could get crazier, it just is getting just more intense and more intense. And I've got to say, in a lot of ways, Trump falling down, dodging a bullet and rising back up with his arms bloodied and

you know, he's defiant. It's quite the contrast from the image that Democrats are dealing with right now, which is an enfeebled president. And my take is that this puts off the conversation of whether they need to change Biden on the ticket for a while because the conversation has obviously shifted. But I don't know that it necessarily helps Democrats either. Yeah. I mean, well, think of what an incredible moment that was, though. Trump is on stage.

a bullet grazes his ear. He touches his ear. His hand is bloodied. He,

He drops to the ground. Secret Service is telling him to get down. They stay down for a while and the shots continue to be fired. There's screams going out when Secret Service gets the all clear that the shooter has been killed. And Trump is lifted up by the Secret Service agents who are trying to surround him and keep him safe.

He has this moment where he says, wait, wait, wait. And before they usher him off the stage, he wanted to give the audience some fist bumps. He said, fight, fight, fight.

As he was taken off the stage and whisked away. He wanted to get his shoes. He didn't want to look weak walking off in socks, probably. Right. Well, he wanted to get his shoes, but the instinct for him to like fist pump and say, fight and give this, like have this defiant moment. The political instinct there is, is really remarkable that, and it all happened in such a short time.

amount of time and pretty remarkable too that the photographers the pool photographers they happen to be brought up to the stage at the time they don't stay up there in that area for the entirety of the speech and it was only you know five or six minutes into the speech they were up there getting photos um

And, you know, they're already iconic in so many ways. So I don't know how the campaign would use them, but... You don't even need to use them. They're already out there on the internet. Supporters are forwarding it. It's not even necessary. Somebody will do it anyway for you at this point. Super PACs, etc. Exactly. It's a historic image, right? It is. It is. The blood coming down his cheek, all of it. It's still shocking to look at.

This episode is brought to you by Jersey Mike's Subs. Jersey Mike's uses only the highest quality meat sliced right in front of you, piled high with the freshest toppings. It is a Jersey Mike thing. My favorite is number 13, the Italian. Love the Italian. I'm half Italian. I like Italian subs. I especially like Italian subs made in good places. Like Jersey Mike's, planning your summer picnic, backyard adventure, or beach day? Well, Jersey Mike's. They have you covered with everything you need to beat the summer heat.

They have your favorite summer sub combo. They have everything you want at Jersey Mike's. A sub above. Order on the app today or visit jerseymikes.com to learn more. Great app, by the way. How does the Biden campaign go forward from here? I know that they pulled advertisements for a few days. The president came out. He said, I can only speak to what I know. I don't want to say yet. It's an assassination attempt. He said he called Trump. Apparently they spoke. I was shocked to hear that since it seems to me that they

hate each other, viscerally hate each other. But I guess, you know, moments like this. Yeah, you know, in years, because they just communicated through the moderator at the debate. I know that, like you said, the campaigns, you know,

putting a pause on advertising. They're expected to have a presence at the RNC officials from the Biden campaign and the DNC. And I think they're going to like pull back a little bit out of respect for what happened and they're, they're doing the right things with all of that. You know, this somebody died. And right. So I think they're,

obviously still trying to figure things out in real time too. Chris LaCivita, who is basically the number two on the campaign trail, he is a combat veteran. He's been really leaning into this on his Twitter and posting all these pictures. It seems like his aides and his allies are leaning into defiance and vengeance. If he's not...

they're doing it for him here i'm seeing someone from his campaign margo martin strong and resilient he will never stop fighting for america they are showing videos of him getting off the plane also today he's tweeting joe biden's tweet it's time to put trump in a bullseye yeah so apparently that tweet was deleted today this was joe biden's tweet yeah it's pretty crazy right now i know um

I talked to somebody earlier who had spoken with Trump, who's a Bedminster. They shut down Bedminster today because Trump and his team are there and, you know, it's a security precaution and all of that. And they said that he was in good spirits. He seemed...

like he was doing well, wanted to get a message out that he was thinking about the victims, but that this person said he seemed strong. So even the people who don't work for him, that's definitely the message that is being conveyed through all of it. Yeah, I'm getting the feeling the show must go on. I think the tenor though of the RNC has definitely changed.

I think it's going to be different this week. I think it's going to, like you said, unity, but possibly more vengeance. And I just wonder, how does Biden continue with the messaging that Trump is a threat to democracy when he almost died? And it's not that his message was wrong. It's how do you continue to make that argument without tying yourself in a pretzel, right? Right, right. And, you know, on the...

The stage this week at the RNC, I think you're so right. Is this going to be a moment where they try to talk about unity or is it going to be an even bigger focus on unity?

the, you know, demonizing the left and their policies. I don't know how they handle it, but... I mean, it plays into their radical left, you know, that's the language that they've been using all along. It's interesting, though, that this 20-year-old shooter was a registered Republican who also donated to a liberal group in 2021. We also know that Joe Biden is expected to make on-camera remarks after a briefing today, and...

The RNC will go on as planned. I will be there. You will be there. We'll catch up together. Any last thoughts, Mayor? This moment has just made me really sad, Tara. You know, I think we've been covering Trump for years now and.

We've just been watching in real time how the temperature has just been turned up and up and up and up in terms of just this political moment that we're living in. And I'm really sad that somebody lost their life, that others were injured. It's a really scary moment.

And it was harrowing to watch. And I hope we don't have to go through it again. I think it's going to change our jobs as well. I do. In what way? I just think access to the actual principle will change. There'll be much tighter security around them. I think there'll be more security around us as journalists.

I think that we are going to have to be careful about how we even cover people who are making incendiary comments. And I am not saying this to be just reflective on the press, but I think this is just going to change everything. And I think it's a good time to just for reflection, like you said, for like the nation to really think about how we got to this place. And it's sad. You're right. It's really, really sad. It is. Well, I'll be watching to see how it's all handled this week in Milwaukee. Um,

I hope to see you there out and about and we'll see what happens next. That was another episode of Somebody's Gotta Win. I'm your host, Tara Palmieri. I want to thank Christopher Sutton, my producer, for jumping on the line. He's been in touch with me all night as we tried to figure out what was the best time to come in here with an update during this sad and historic moment. I also want to thank Connor Nevins, who's also been

up all night planning with me. I will be in Milwaukee this week with lots of episodes. So please tune in. Please subscribe. Rate the show. Send it to your friends. If you like my reporting, go to puck.news.terrapalmeri where I write a column every week. You can use the discount code TERRA20. And I'll be back tomorrow with another episode or maybe even later tonight. Thanks.

This episode is brought to you by Jersey Mike's Subs. Jersey Mike's uses only the highest quality meat sliced right in front of you, piled high with the freshest toppings. It is a Jersey Mike thing. My favorite is number 13, the Italian. Love the Italian. I'm half Italian. I like Italian subs. I especially like Italian subs made in good places. Like Jersey Mike's, planning your summer picnic, backyard adventure, or beach day? Well, Jersey Mike's. They have you covered with everything you need to beat the summer heat.

They have your favorite summer sub combo. They have everything you want at Jersey Mike's. A sub above. Order on the app today or visit jerseymikes.com to learn more. Great app, by the way.