The President's Daily Brief - The Attempt on Trump’s Life: A PDB Special Bulletin | July 14th, 2024

Episode Date: July 14, 2024

In this special edition of The President's Daily Brief: Mike Baker dives into the latest developments surrounding the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump during a campaign rally on Saturday evening in Pennsylvania. We’ll explore new details about the attack, including the security failures that allowed the assailant to get so close to the former President. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President’s Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. Email: [e-mail]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Second Half 2025, all rights reserved. It must provide a recent consumer mobile bill in the name of the person, and give me the deal, additional terms, conditions, and restrictions apply. It's Sunday, 14 July. Welcome to a special edition of the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world's stage. I'm sure by now that you're aware of the attempt on former President Donald Trump's life that occurred during a campaign rally at Butler, Pennsylvania, yesterday.

I just wanted to give you a brief update on what we know at this point and some thoughts on the shooting. As always, when there's an evolving story of this magnitude, There's going to be a lot of misinformation out there. However, here's the information that the PDB has high confidence in. In terms of the shooting itself, the dramatic video of the incident, well, that tells most of the story. As the former president delivered his remarks to the crowd, several shots rang out. Trump clutched the side of his head and then hit the deck at the urging in command of his secret service detail, which rushed the stage to cover, protect, and then move him to safety.

after a half a minute or so, a bloody Trump got to his feet, and his detail began escorting him off the stage, but not before he paused briefly and delivered a few fistpumps to the crowd. Trump was rushed to the hospital, and it was later revealed that he was shot in the right ear. Tragically, Trump wasn't the only victim on Saturday. One rally attendee died, and two other spectators were critically injured, including reportedly the nephew of Texas Congressman Ronnie Jackson. In a post on truth social, Trump thanked everyone for their thoughts and prayers and said that it was, quote, God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening. He added, quote, we will fear not, but instead remain resilient in our faith and defiant in the face of wickedness. In a memo to staff, the Trump campaign says he's in great spirits and doing well after the shooting. Now, the suspect in the assassination attempt has been identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, a resident of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. He carried out the attack from the roof of a manufacturing plant, over roughly 130 yards away from the stage where Trump was, using what's been described as an AR-style rifle.

Now, he was shot and killed by Secret Service snipers shortly after firing on the president. Law enforcement officials have told the Associated Press that investigators believe the weapon was purchased by the suspect's father legally at least six months ago. They also told the AP that bomb-making materials were found inside a vehicle belonging to Crooks as well as inside his home. As of right now, the motive is still unconfirmed. The suspect's political leanings are somewhat confusing based on the information that we have. While records show Crooks was registered as a Republican voter in Pennsylvania, federal campaign finance reports, also show that he donated to a progressive political action committee. Now, as mentioned at the start of this brief update, one problem with an event of this magnitude is the sheer amount of misinformation and speculation that gets tossed out into media and social media while the dust is still settling.

The news media obviously feels the need to cover the story nonstop. But that means that they have to fill up airtime with pundits and pontificators who may have expertise but not details or facts given that it's a, breaking story and the investigation is ongoing. Social media has essentially made every citizen, a journalist or analyst, and all that input simply adds to the confusion and the noise. Now, it's understandable, right? People want answers, and they want answers straight away. Who exactly is the shooter? What was the actual motivation? Were there security failures? Okay, well, the answer there is self-evident. Of course, there were. But how did they happen? A combination of the advanced team, missing the obvious line of sight concerns from outside the perimeter, perhaps

a management failure in terms of denying Trump a more robust secret service security package above and beyond what a former president would normally receive. Typically, look, there are layers. It's a combination of factors that contribute to a security breakdown. There's not one simple answer, and there's not one person or office responsible at the end of the day. My point is that the PDB, we try to stick to the facts. And at this time, the facts are still surfacing as local, state, and federal authorities work the case. As information becomes available, we will bring it to you. There are already plans for an investigation on the Hill and D.C. as to the security protocols and obvious failures. Agents on the ground, Secret Service senior management, DHS, local law

enforcement that were involved in the event. Look, there are a lot of questions to be answered, but it's Washington, D.C., so frankly, don't expect full transparency or a particularly speedy result. And finally, there will likely be a brief moment of introspection. On both sides, how did our political discourse become so ugly? Well, politicians and pundits will bemoan the divisiveness. They'll say it's unacceptable that we need to be better. Now, mind you, many of those same people calling now for civility have spent the past few years demonizing Trump, saying he must be stopped before he destroys democracy,

that he's the biggest threat to our country, and of course they've been throwing out the Hitler, Nazi, and dictator terms routinely. I'm not optimistic that their brief moment of introspection will lead to self-awareness and a change in behavior. If I had to guess, the civility will last for a brief moment in time, and then everyone will revert to the mean. And that might be friends, is this special edition of the President's Daily Brief for Sunday 14 July. I'm Mike Baker. I'll have more on this developing story tomorrow. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, and let's all try to stay cool. Yamava Resort and Casino at San Manuel is California's number one entertainment destination for today's superstars. Catch the Jonas Brothers return to the

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