President Joe Biden walked back previous remarks stating that he should put former President Donald Trump in the "bullseye," Breitbart reported. Biden wants to distance himself from inflammatory remarks now that there was an assassination attempt on Trump.
The assassination attempt against Trump Saturday turned the political world upside down. After years of harsh rhetoric that included strong language against Trump, Democrats attempted to back peddle, including Biden.
NBC Nightly News host Lester Holt pressed Biden Monday on his use of such strong rhetoric. Biden ultimately admitted that it "was a mistake" to use the metaphoric language and said he instead "meant focus on him, focus on what he’s doing, focus on his policies, focus on the number of lies he told in the debate."
Biden usually gets a pass from the media, but Holt was not about to let Biden off the hook as many are linking Biden's rhetoric to the shooting. "Well, let’s talk about the conversation this has started, and it’s really about language, what we say out loud, and the consequences of those," Holt began.
"You called your opponent an existential threat on a call a week ago, you said it’s time to put Trump in the bullseye. There’s some dispute about the context. But I think you appreciate –," Holt said before Biden cut him off.
"I didn’t say crosshairs. I was talking about focus on — look, the truth of the matter was, what I guess I was talking about at the time was, there was very little focus on Trump’s agenda," Biden claimed.
"Yeah, the term was bullseye," Holt shot back. Biden continued, "It was a mistake to use the word — I didn’t say crosshairs. I meant bullseye," the president said. "I meant focus on him, focus on what he’s doing, focus on his policies, focus on the number of lies he told in the debate," Biden said.
"Focus — there’s a whole range of things that— look, I’m not the guy that said I want to be a dictator on day one. I’m not the guy that refused to accept the outcome of the election," Biden claimed. "I’m not the guy who said that I wasn’t going to accept the outcome of this election automatically. You can’t only love your country when you win. And so, the focus was on what he’s saying."
As reported in Politico, Biden decried that political discourse has become "very heated" and that it's time to "cool it down" in the immediate aftermath of the attempt on Trump's life that killed a bystander and wounded two others. However, he ignored his own history of hate.
One of the most notorious came in a screed in September 2022 in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, lit up in blood red. "Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic," Biden said at the time.
"MAGA forces are determined to take this country backwards — backwards to an America where there is no right to choose, no right to privacy, no right to contraception, no right to marry who you love. They promote authoritarian leaders, and they fan the flames of political violence that are a threat to our personal rights, to the pursuit of justice, to the rule of law, to the very soul of this country," he continued.
"They look at the mob that stormed the United States Capitol on January 6th — brutally attacking law enforcement — not as insurrectionists who placed a dagger to the throat of our democracy, but they look at them as patriots. And they see their MAGA failure to stop a peaceful transfer of power after the 2020 election as preparation for the 2022 and 2024 elections," the president claimed.
The left has been making hysterical predictions about Trump's authoritarian bent since before he was elected in 2016. After years of convincing leftists that they should be afraid of him and his supporters, they now want downplay the very incendiary rhetoric that got us here.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A Pittsburgh television station is reporting “dramatic new details” in connection with the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump on Saturday, with sources Monday saying law enforcement was made aware of gunman Thomas Crooks on the roof nearly half an hour before shots rang out.
WPXI-TV reports: “According to multiple law enforcement sources, Thomas Crooks was spotted by law enforcement on a roof nearly 30 minutes before shots were fired that injured Trump, killed a former fire chief, and injured two others in the crowd.”
Channel 11's Nicole Ford confirmed that Beaver County's ESU team had eight members at the rally, including snipers and spotters. According to Ford's sources, one of them noticed a suspicious man on a roof near the rally at 5:45 p.m., called it in and took a picture of the person. We have learned from our sources the person in that picture is Thomas Crooks. We're told it's not clear if Crooks had a gun with him at that point.
According to multiple sources, a law enforcement officer had also previously seen Crooks on the ground and called him in as a suspicious person with a picture prior to 5:45 p.m. Our sources tell us an officer checked the grounds for Crooks at that point, but did not see him where the first picture was taken.
26 minutes after the second picture of Crooks was taken by law enforcement and the information called in, shots were fired from the roof of the American Glass Research building. Seconds later, a Secret Service sniper returned fire and killed Crooks.
As WorldNetDaily previously reported, local police reportedly encountered Donald Trump’s would-be assassin Thomas Crooks just moments before he opened fire on the former president Saturday, but failed to stop the shooter despite the clear threat.
The New York Post reports: “After rallygoers spotted Crooks on the roof of a manufacturing plant just 130 yards from the stage where Trump was speaking just after 6 p.m. Tuesday, police were notified and one officer climbed a ladder to investigate, law enforcement officials said on the condition of anonymity.
"There the officer encountered Crooks, who pointed his AR-style rifle at them.
"The officer then backed down the ladder, and Crooks immediately took aim and loosed eight shots at the former president – grazing him in the ear, killing one bystander in the rally crowd, and gravely wounding two others.
"After that volley of shots, Secret Service snipers shot Crooks dead."
Meanwhile, another witness to the mayhem has been interviewed on camera, saying he saw the shooter "move from roof to roof" before shots were fired.
"I was up at the fence line, saw the guy [the attempted assassin] move from roof to roof. [I] told an officer he was on the roof," the man explained.
"I heard that there was somebody that could see the person, so I went back to where they were standing, saw the person, went back and told the officer again that if he goes back to that particular spot he can see the person, figuring that he would go and radio. An when I turned around to go back to where I was is when the gunshots started and then it was just chaos."
Earlier, another rally attendee told BBC News he tried to alert authorities to the gunman, to no avail.
"We're pointing at the guy crawling up the roof," the man explained.
"He had a rifle, we could clearly see him with a rifle absolutely. We're pointing at him. The police are down there running around on the ground. We're like. Hey man, there's a guy on the roof with a rifle. And the police were like, Huh, what? Like they didn't know what was going on. …
"I'm thinking to myself why is Trump still speaking? Why have they not pulled him off the stage?"
The witness added he was "100%" certain the shots fired came from the gunman to whom he was trying to alert authorities.
Two suspects have been arrested in connection with a string of five shootings in and around Charlotte, North Carolina, one of whom has been identified as an illegal immigrant.
18-year-old Carlos Roberto Diaz and a 16-year-old juvenile were arrested in connection with the spree of shootings that have led to charges ranging from first-degree murder to shooting into an occupied dwelling.
The juvenile was charged with first-degree murder, and additional charges are expected to come in the coming days.
Diaz faces a host of charges including one count of first-degree murder, two counts of shooting into an occupied vehicle, one count of felony conspiracy to commit murder, five counts of attempted murder, two counts of shooting into an occupied dwelling, and one count of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill or inflict serious injury.
Diaz is in the U.S. illegally and immigrated from Honduras and had an encounter with Border Patrol when he crossed the border in 2019 at the age of 14.
The shootings that took place last week have become part of an increasingly overbearing nightmare for innocent Americans who are watching the country devolve into violence and chaos thanks to President Joe Biden's open borders.
Thousands upon thousands of unvetted immigrants, often young men, have poured into the United States causing violence and unrest thanks to Biden's refusal to close the border and order deportations.
Diaz and his 16-year-old accomplice are just two individuals who are a part of this growing problem and we know that Diaz should never have entered the United States.
What's worse is the motives for this event seem to be entirely random as the 16-year-old reportedly told police that he and Diaz decided to go on a crime spree after they went to a party together. The pair would go on to commit five different shootings which happened in about 30 minutes following that party.
Anthony Blocker, a neighbor, told the media "You got people now just going by and shooting because they don’t have anything to do. Yeah, that’s scary. That’s scary. I’m glad we no longer have that in our community."
While violent crime certainly existed prior to Biden throwing the borders open, things have gotten much worse since Biden stepped in and decided to let in thousands of unvetted young men.
Biden's border policies have been an abject failure and the American people are paying the price for it. Incidents of random violence committed at the hands of illegal immigrants are countless and Biden owes Americans an explanation.
Thankfully, a reckoning is coming as Americans have a chance to render a referendum on Biden's policies in November's presidential election.
Americans largely disapprove of Biden's border handling and it is a major issue that former President Donald Trump is running on. We can only hope this madness ends before more victims are terrorized by offenders who aren't even supposed to be here.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A settlement has been reached that will hold accountable the pro-abortion radicals who attacked Heartbeat of Miami, a faith-based ministry that provides life-affirming programs and support to women and couples facing unplanned pregnancies, according to First Liberty Institute.
"While we cannot publicly discuss the specifics of the settlement quite yet, the vandals associated with Jane's Revenge who sought to injure, intimidate, and interfere with access to Heart of Miami, and several Florida pregnancy resource centers, will be held to account," the organization announced.
A case was launched last year by First Liberty and volunteer lawyers from Lawson Huck Gonzalez to seek accountability from those who defaced and spray-painted threatening messages on the private property.
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody also filed an action that included $170,000 in penalties against each individual under the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances.
First Liberty said, "It's the first instance of a state attorney general using the FACE Act to hold violent protesters accountable."
"This case is a reminder that no one should suffer violence for simply providing faith-based counseling and baby supplies to women and their babies," explained Jeremy Dys, counsel for First Liberty.
Such centers are charitable groups that are motivated by their religious beliefs to help pregnant mothers and families. They care for parents by providing diapers, wipes, formula, baby food, blankets, and clothing. Some offer guidance for raising children.
But following the release of the Dobbs Supreme Court decision that overturned the long-faulty Roe v. Wade abortion "rights" case, many such centers were vandalized and threatened.
Offenders "spray-painted threatening messages such as 'If abortions aren't safe, neither are you,' fire-bombed buildings, broke windows, doxed staff, board, and volunteers … and disrupted private events."
First Liberty explained its case "claimed that Caleb Freestone and Amber Marie Smith-Stewart, as representatives of Jane's Revenge, vandalized Heartbeat's building with spray-painted threats on July 3, 2022. Annarella Rivera then allegedly joined Caleb Freestone on September 17, 2022, to hack their way onto Heartbeat's guest list, giving them access to Heartbeat's annual gala where they shouted obscenities, disparaged Heartbeat's staff, volunteers, and supporters, and leafletted the venue with propaganda."
A report at the Post-Millennial explained it was the first time a state has prosecuted “these types of attacks carried out by Jane’s Revenge and Antifa, both far-left groups…”
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
That an out-of-control extremist tried to assassinate President Donald Trump during a campaign event on Saturday was a surprise, but it really shouldn't have been that big of a surprise.
It's because, "For months, politicians, the press and pundits have escalated reckless rhetoric in this campaign on both sides. That includes claims that Trump was set to kill democracy, unleash 'death squads' and make homosexuals and reporters 'disappear.'"
That’s the verdict delivered from Jonathan Turley, a prominent legal commentator, constitutional expert in his testimony to Congress and law professor at George Washington University.
He explained, "President Biden has stoked this rage rhetoric. In 2022, Biden held his controversial speech before Independence Hall where he denounced Trump supporters as enemies of the people. Biden recently referenced the speech and has embraced the claims that this could be our last democratic election."
He said it's not the nation's first "age of rage," but it might be the most dangerous.
"Some of us have been objecting for years that this rage rhetoric is a dangerous political pitch for the nation. While most people reject the hyperbolic claims, others take it as true. They believe that homosexuals are going to be 'disappeared' as claimed on ABC's 'The View' or that the Trump 'death squads' are now green lighted by a conservative Supreme Court, as claimed by MSNBC's Rachel Maddow."
He continued, "Rage is addictive and contagious. It is also liberating. It allows people a sense of license to take actions that would ordinarily be viewed as repulsive."
It started as soon as Trump was elected, with entertain Kathy Griffin's stunt where she held a "bloody, severed head" of Trump.
"For months, people have heard politicians and press call Trump 'Hitler' and the GOP a Nazi movement. Some compared stopping Trump to stopping Hitler in 1933. Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., declared Trump 'is not only unfit, he is destructive to our democracy and he has to be eliminated," the column explained,
Goldman later backtracked.
Turley noted he doesn't think those engaged in "rage rhetoric" actually want violence.
"But they have knowingly created conditions for extremist views and, yes, extremist actions."
And the media's culpability is clear, as it denounces such language from the right, "while largely ignoring the same language on the left."
Such as threats against conservative Supreme Court justices before the assassination plot against Brett Kavanaugh.
Turley explained, "Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., went to the steps of the Supreme Court and called out Kavanaugh by name: 'I want to tell you, (Justice Neil) Gorsuch. I want to tell you, Kavanaugh. You have released the whirlwind, and you will pay the price. You won't know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions.'"
Later, Nicholas Roske went arrested year the Kavanaugh's home, caught in in an alleged assassination plot.
"When the president (Biden) is claiming that the election may end democracy in the nation, it can be heard as much as a license as a warning, particularly when he adds 'we're done talking about the debate, it's time to put Trump in a bull's-eye.'"
The attack, he said, didn't happen in a vacuum.
"It occurred in a time when our leaders long abandoned reason for rage."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Local police reportedly encountered Donald Trump's would-be assassin Thomas Crooks just moments before he opened fire on the former president Saturday, but failed to stop the shooter despite the clear threat.
The New York Post reports: “After rallygoers spotted Crooks on the roof of a manufacturing plant just 130 yards from the stage where Trump was speaking just after 6 p.m. Tuesday, police were notified and one officer climbed a ladder to investigate, law enforcement officials said on the condition of anonymity.
"There the officer encountered Crooks, who pointed his AR-style rifle at them.
"The officer then backed down the ladder, and Crooks immediately took aim and loosed eight shots at the former president – grazing him in the ear, killing one bystander in the rally crowd, and gravely wounding two others.
"After that volley of shots, Secret Service snipers shot Crooks dead."
Meanwhile, another witness to the mayhem has been interviewed on camera, saying he saw the shooter "move from roof to roof" before shots were fired.
"I was up at the fence line, saw the guy [the attempted assassin] move from roof to roof. [I] told an officer he was on the roof," the man explained.
"I heard that there was somebody that could see the person, so I went back to where they were standing, saw the person, went back and told the officer again that if he goes back to that particular spot he can see the person, figuring that he would go and radio. An when I turned around to go back to where I was is when the gunshots started and then it was just chaos."
Earlier, another rally attendee told BBC News he tried to alert authorities to the gunman, to no avail.
"We're pointing at the guy crawling up the roof," the man explained.
"He had a rifle, we could clearly see him with a rifle absolutely. We're pointing at him. The police are down there running around on the ground. We're like. Hey man, there's a guy on the roof with a rifle. And the police were like, Huh, what? Like they didn't know what was going on. …
"I'm thinking to myself why is Trump still speaking? Why have they not pulled him off the stage?"
The witness added he was "100%" certain the shots fired came from the gunman to whom he was trying to alert authorities.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A picture says a thousand words, and this amazing photo may say even more as it captured a bullet in mid-air streaking by the head of former President Donald Trump during Saturday's assassination attempt at a political rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The image was snapped by Doug Mills, a well-known photographer for the New York Times.
The bullet can be seen flying above Trump's shoulder to the right go his head as the president turned to the side momentarily.
Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich told Sean Hannity of Fox News it was “providential” that Trump turned his head just before the shot, noting Trump “has been vilified by Joe Biden and the Democrats in the left wing more than any president since Abraham Lincoln.”
Mills kept clicking the shutter on his camera and caught the sequence of events as Trump was shot.
The FBI identified the gunman, who was killed by a sniper, as 20-year-old Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, saying:
"The FBI has identified Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, as the subject involved in the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump on July 13, in Butler, Pennsylvania. This remains an active and ongoing investigation, and anyone with information that may assist with the investigation is encouraged to submit photos or videos online at FBI.gov/butler or call 1-800-CALL-FBI."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Dan Bongino, a former U.S. Secret Service agent and present-day talk-show host, is calling Saturday’s failure of the federal agency to protect former Donald Trump “absolutely catastrophic,” and says Kim Cheatle, the director of the Secret Service, should resign today.
Appearing on "Fox & Friends" Sunday morning, Bongino also said there's only "one entity" that rescued Trump from a certain assassination in Butler, Pennsylvania, and that's Trump himself.
"There's only one entity out there that saved Donald Trump's life yesterday and it pains me to tell you guys this, you know who that is? It's Donald Trump," Bongino explained.
"If he moves his head an inch to the left or right, guys, this is a really different show today. I mean, this is – it's bad enough we have to do this show about this topic. Can you imagine what would have happened if Donald Trump did not duck?
"Looking at the stage there, I'm speculating but I'm pretty sure based experience that the bunting around the front of the stage is probably armor. Donald Trump knew to duck. Most people would. He saved his own life. That's just a fact.
"The evacuation did not go right. I mean the rule of the secret service is cover the protected and evacuate. The other rule is maximum to the protectee, minimum to the problem. Why minimum t the problem? Because you don't know that's the only problem. It could be a distraction. There could be another person in the crowd. If the you don't jump on the protectee, you could be looking at multiple shooters. So at least that part the guys stepped up there.
"But the failure here is absolutely catastrophic and I've got to tell you, the secret service should be very careful. I can tell you and absolutely confirm from the horse's mouth, from multiple people, not just one, and I saw congresswoman Waltz text this out before on X, there have been repeated requests to increase the security footprint around not just the residences of Donald Trump but the body itself and they have been rebuffed. I can tell you actual quotes.
Elon Musk voiced the same sentiment as Bongino, saying: "The head of the Secret Service and the leader of this security detail should resign."
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries withheld his endorsement of President Joe Biden following the news conference that was supposed to restore faith in the president's reelection bid, the UK Guardian reported. This comes as fundraisers back out while demanding Biden step down.
Biden is just getting around to courting important Democratic lawmakers as his campaign slowly implodes. The president seems powerless to stop it and instead is attempting to rally lawmakers to his side.
This included a meeting with Jeffries on Thursday following his embarrassing news conference. According to CNN, Jeffries issued a letter the day after the meeting stating he "directly expressed the full breadth of insight, heartfelt perspectives and conclusions about the path forward that the Caucus has shared in our recent time together."
Noticeably absent from that statement was any mention of his endorsement of Biden. This comes as the president struggles for support among lawmakers while major donors are abandoning ship.
Democrats and their allies are struggling to remain committed to Biden after several incidents that demonstrate Biden's cognitive decline. The worst came from last month's debate, where Biden appeared tired, confused, and weak.
With less than four months to go before the November election, Biden is struggling to unite the Democratic Party behind him in the aftermath of that performance. While many are reluctant to publicly call for his ouster, there are many behind-the-scenes rumblings amid a severe lack of enthusiasm.
Even Biden's campaign communications director Michael Tyler was forced to admit Friday that there is "anxiety" among lawmakers about Biden's fitness for office. Still, the plan is for Biden to continue to try to make the case for keeping him in the running.
"Does there continue to be anxiety? Yes, we understand that, the president understands that," Tyler admitted.
"That’s why he’s gonna continue to engage with folks on the Hill. That’s why we’ve engaged with governors, mayors across the country, the vast majority of whom are firmly behind Joe Biden and understand the stakes in this election," Tyler continued.
Even if Democratic lawmakers find their way back to Biden, he must contend with a continued loss of support from those beyond the Beltway. As the New York Post reported, megadonors to the Biden-friendly Future Forward super PAC have threatened to withhold donations if the party doesn't replace Biden.
This means Democrats could lose as much as $90 million from the political action committee. The donors who have threatened to pull their money remain anonymous, but one very big name has also pulled his support.
Actor George Clooney, who previously raked in $30 million for Biden at a fundraiser, said Wednesday that Biden should step down. The 63-year-old actor warned Democrats that they "are not going to win in November with this president."
Sen. Joe Manchin (I-WV), who recently left the Democratic Party, thinks the weekend might yield more bad news. "I think everyone will be talking over Friday, Saturday, and, by Sunday, you should have some idea of what’s going on," Manchin said.
If Biden can't even get the top lawmakers in the Democratic Party behind him, he has no hope of winning the general election. The Democrats must replace Biden before it's too late.
Amid rising energy prices, the Biden administration's restrictions on fossil fuel production on federal lands have triggered a Republican-led congressional investigation, The Washington Free Beacon reported.
The probe by the House Small Business Committee focuses on policies limiting oil and gas drilling across 41 million acres as part of President Biden’s climate strategy.
The House Small Business Committee, chaired by Roger Williams, has begun a formal investigation into the Biden administration's environmental policies. These policies have significantly curtailed oil and gas extraction on federal properties, which encompass areas like Alaska's National Petroleum Reserve and Montana's Powder River Basin.
On Earth Day, President Biden announced specific measures affecting Alaska, shortly after the Department of the Interior implemented a coal leasing ban in Montana. Together, these actions have prohibited energy production on lands equal to the size of Florida.
Recent statistics show a 2.6% rise in gasoline prices over the past month, with similar trends observed in other energy sectors. Critics argue that while these policies aim to combat global warming and protect wildlife, they contribute to inflation and higher prices for consumers.
A moratorium on new fossil fuel leasing, imposed soon after Biden's inauguration, was initially halted by federal courts. However, the administration has persisted with a reduced onshore leasing program and higher royalty fees.
Further tightening its stance, the Biden administration finalized a plan for offshore oil drilling, described as the most restrictive in U.S. history. This plan limits lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and other regions through 2029, despite ongoing legal and political pushbacks.
This series of decisions has drawn considerable criticism, particularly from the Republican members of the House Small Business Committee. They argue that these measures unnecessarily increase costs for American businesses and consumers without delivering substantial environmental benefits.
Chairman Roger Williams has been vocal in his criticism, stating that since President Biden's tenure began, there has been a targeted impact on the oil and gas industry and its supporting small businesses. "Main Street plays a pivotal role in this industry, and our Committee has sent letter after letter urging this administration to consider the needs of American energy independence and the small businesses that play a part in it," Williams stated.
"Unfortunately, our concerns have been largely ignored, but we will not stop in calling out these ridiculous decisions that hurt the American people," he added, urging Biden to reconsider and reverse his policies.
Despite the backlash, the administration maintains that its decisions are necessary steps towards a sustainable environmental future. The measures are intended to significantly reduce the nation's carbon footprint by phasing out dependency on fossil fuels, which are major contributors to global warming.
However, the Department of the Interior has declined to comment directly on the ongoing investigation and criticisms.
In summary, the Biden administration’s environmental policies have led to a significant reduction in domestic oil and gas production, covering an area as large as Florida. This has sparked a probe by the House Small Business Committee, which claims that the policies are economically detrimental without benefiting the environment.
As energy prices continue to rise, the controversy surrounding these decisions is likely to intensify, highlighting a critical debate over America's energy future and environmental responsibility.