The Unadorned Truth About Donald Trump

We must treat him like any other candidate for high office who is
emotionally and mentally unstable.
By Jeffrey Goldberg
June 27, 2024, 6:17 PM ET
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Earlier this year, Atlantic staff writer McKay Coppins suggested that
voters, in the interest of civic hygiene and personal illumination,
attend a Trump rally. This would be the way to understand the candidate,
his thoughts, and his supporters, Coppins argued. He himself has attended
more than 100 such gatherings since 2016, and he noted, correctly, that
�nothing quite captures the Trump ethos like his campaign rallies.�
I myself have attended only a few of these rallies (though among them was
Trump�s January 6, 2020, rally on the Ellipse, which should count
double). But what one derives from the experience is, in the words of our
colleague Tom Nichols, the visceral sense that Trump is deeply unwell.
Attendance at Trump rallies can be metaphysically taxing�and some seem to
go longer than a Taylor Swift concert. So watching them from beginning to
end online is occasionally a welcome substitute.
A couple of weeks ago, on C-SPAN, I watched my first Trump rally in quite
some time, a gathering under a heat dome in Las Vegas. I watched not
because I expected to learn something new about the candidate, but
because I had been alerted by concerned friends and colleagues that Trump
had attacked me by name. This hadn�t happened in quite some time, and
self-interest dictated watching.
Trump is upset with me, and with The Atlantic, for a story I wrote in
September of 2020, in which I reported, among other things, that he
referred to American soldiers killed in action as �suckers� and �losers.�
(For more on the particulars, please read this story by Adrienne
LaFrance.) Trump is also upset by a profile I wrote late last year of
retired General Mark Milley, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff, in which Milley, a decorated combat veteran, is portrayed as
someone who defended the Constitution against Trump�s depredations. In
response to this article, Trump suggested that Milley be executed.
At his Las Vegas rally, Trump described me as a �horrible, radical-left
lunatic named Goldberg� (he hit the word Goldberg with what I perhaps, or
perhaps not, overinterpreted as special feeling). He articulated, at
great length, why he would never disparage American service members.
(Dear reader: He disparages the military constantly.)
All of this was to be expected. What I found surprising, as I watched his
entire presentation, was the ratio of gibberish to normal sentences.
Which is to say, there was even more gibberish than I remembered in the
typical Trump speech. The apotheosis of gibberish was his extended
soliloquy on sharks and battery-powered boats. No summary could do it
justice, so here is an extended cut:

�By the way, a lot of shark attacks lately. Do you notice that? A lot
of sharks. I watched some guys justifying it today. �Well, they weren�t
really that angry. They bit off the young lady�s leg because of the fact
that they were not hungry, but they misunderstood who she was.� These
people are crazy. He said, �There�s no problem with sharks. They just
didn�t really understand a young woman swimming,� now, who really got
decimated and other people too, a lot of shark attacks. So I said, �So
there�s a shark 10 yards away from the boat, 10 yards or here. Do I get
electrocuted if the boat is sinking, and water goes over the battery�the
boat is sinking; do I stay on top of the boat and get electrocuted, or do
I jump over by the shark and not get electrocuted?� Because I will tell
you he didn�t know the answer. He said, �Nobody�s ever asked me that
question.� I said, �I think it�s a good question. I think there�s a lot
of electric current coming through that water.� But you know what I�d do
if there was a shark or you get electrocuted, I�ll take electrocution
every single time. I�m not getting near the shark. So we going to end
that. We�re going to end it for boats. We�re going to end it for trucks.�

Please watch the whole thing, and as you do, imagine Trump�s words coming
from the mouth of President Biden, and then imagine the Democratic Party
allowing Biden to continue to run for president.
Trump overwhelms us with nonsense. This is the �banality of crazy,� as
the Atlantic contributor Brian Klaas calls it. By �us,� I mean, of
course, the voting public, but I especially mean the editors and
headline-writers of my industry, who sometimes succumb to one of the most
pernicious biases in journalism, the bias toward coherence. We feel,
understandably, that it is our job to make things make sense. But what if
the actual story is that politics today makes no sense?
It works like this: Trump sounds nuts, but he can�t be nuts, because he�s
the presumptive nominee for president of a major party, and no major
party would nominate someone who is nuts. Therefore, it is our
responsibility to sand down his rhetoric, to identify any kernel of
meaning, to make light of his bizarro statements, to rationalize. Which
is why, after the electric-shark speech, much of the coverage revolved
around the high temperatures in Las Vegas, and other extraneities. The
Associated Press headline on a story about the event read this way:
�Trump Complains About His Teleprompters at a Scorching Las Vegas Rally.�
The New York Times headlined its story thus: �In Las Vegas, Trump Appeals
to Local Workers and Avoids Talk of Conviction.� CNN�s headline: �Trump
Proposes Eliminating Taxes on Tips at Las Vegas Campaign Rally.�
In my house, the headline from the Las Vegas rally was the disconcerting
and surprising news that I�m a �radical-left lunatic.� Outside my house,
though, the public should have been informed, above everything else, that
a former and possibly future president went on a ludicrous, illiterate
rant about sharks and batteries, a rant that calls into question not only
his fitness for office but his basic cognitive abilities.
Watching the Las Vegas rally reinforced my view that, at our magazine, we
can best serve our readers by highlighting aspects of Trump�s rhetoric
and behavior that we would highlight about any other politician,
including Joe Biden. I�ve never wanted this magazine to become part of
the �resistance.� (You just have to read our coverage of Biden to
understand that we are not.) I simply believe that we should tell the
unadorned truth about Trump, and treat him like any other candidate for
high office who is emotionally and mentally unstable. A bias toward
coherence is understandable. But reality is what we must live with long
after the debates and rallies are over.

Minneapolis police investigate deadly Labor Day shooting
(ABC 6 News) – Minneapolis police are investigating a fatal shooting at Lake Street and 13th Avenue South Monday morning.

At about 3:07 a.m. Sept. 2, officers found a man on the sidewalk with a life-threatening gunshot wound.

The man died at the scene, despite life-saving efforts.

Minneapolis police claim there was a group gathered in the area before shots being fired, and additional police were called to “assist with an uncooperative and hostile crowd.”

Anyone with information is encouraged to call CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). Tips may be submitted electronically at www.CrimeStoppersMN.org.

There have been no arrests.

https://www.kaaltv.com/news/minneapolis-police-investigate-deadly-labor-day-shooting/

>Minneapolis police investigate deadly Labor Day shooting
>(ABC 6 News) – Minneapolis police are investigating a fatal shooting
at
>Lake Street and 13th Avenue South Monday morning.
>
>At about 3:07 a.m. Sept. 2, officers found a man on the sidewalk with a
>life-threatening gunshot wound.
>
>The man died at the scene, despite life-saving efforts.
>
>Minneapolis police claim there was a group gathered in the area before
>shots being fired, and additional police were called to “assist with
an
>uncooperative and hostile crowd.”
>
>Anyone with information is encouraged to call CrimeStoppers at
>1-800-222-TIPS (8477). Tips may be submitted electronically at
>www.CrimeStoppersMN.org.
>
>There have been no arrests.
>
>https://www.kaaltv.com/news/minneapolis-police-investigate-deadly-labor-
da
>y-shooting/
>

Everyone knows guns are great for shooting Americans.

How can 20,000 murderers and 40,000 firearm injuries per year be wrong?

Is it true that even red state children sleep with a gun under their
pillow?

Red States Have Higher Gun Death Rates Than Blue States. Here�s Why

Apr 28, 2023,09:22am EDT
Updated Apr 28, 2023, 12:26pm EDT

Topline

A new study published in Journal of the American Medical Association�s
Surgery found that firearm deaths are more likely in small rural towns
than in major urban cities, adding to research that contradicts common
belief that Democratic blue areas have higher incidences of gun-related
deaths than do Republican red districts. Firearm Laws To Be Tightened In
Britain

Firearms on display.Getty Images
Key Facts

Researchers from Children�s Hospital Philadelphia, Columbia University
Mailman School of Public Health and the University of California examined
two decades of mortality rates and cause-of-death data from the National
Center for Health Statistics� National Vital Statistics System to compile
the study.

A Third Way report found that between 2000 and 2020, Trump-voting states
had 12% higher murder rates than did Biden-voting cities.

Data shows that in 2020, eight of the ten states with the highest murder
rates voted for the Republican presidential nominee in every election in
this century.

In the past, Republicans have made crime a major campaign talking
point�in
October 2022, one quarter of attack ads on Democrats focused on crime,
and
in the two months leading up to the midterms, Fox aired about 141 crime
segments on weekdays, according to the report.

A report published in the New England Journal of Medicine found guns
became the leading cause of death for children starting in 2017�motor
vehicle-related deaths held the number one spot for 60 years prior.
Surprising Fact

The JAMA Surgery study also found that gun suicides are more common than
gun homicides, with gun suicides accounting for a large increase in gun
deaths in recent years. Big Number

45,222. That�s how many people died in the U.S. due to gun-related
injuries in 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. Of that number, gun suicides account for 54%. Crucial Quote

�Despite the pervasive nature of gun violence, high rates of gun homicide
in urban centers have been the sole focus of many policymakers and used
as
justification to loosen gun laws, when in fact gun violence is an issue
in
counties of all sizes,� the researchers of the JAMA Surgery study said.
States With The Highest Gun Death Rates

According to data from the CDC, these are the states with the highest
firearm mortality rates per 100,000 in 2021:

??Mississippi had a firearm mortality rate of 33.9, making it the
state with the highest rate in 2021. The state also used its
electoral
votes to vote for then President Trump in the 2020 election.
??Louisiana had a firearm mortality rate of 29.1 and voted for Trump.
??New Mexico had a firearm mortality rate of 27.8 and voted for
President Biden. ??Alabama had a firearm mortality rate of 26.4 and
voted for Trump. ??Wyoming had a firearm mortality rate of 26.1 and
voted for Trump. ??Alaska had a firearm mortality rate of 25.2 and
voted for Trump. ??Montana had a firearm mortality rate of 25.1 and
voted for Trump. ??Arkansas had a firearm mortality rate of 23.3 and
voted for Trump. ??Missouri had a firearm mortality rate of 23.2 and
voted for Trump. ??Tennessee had a firearm mortality rate of 22.8 and
voted for Trump. ??South Carolina had a firearm mortality rate of
22.4
and voted for Trump. ??Oklahoma had a firearm mortality rate of 21.2
and voted for Trump. ??Georgia had a firearm mortality rate of 20.3
and voted for Biden. ??Nevada had a firearm mortality rate of 19.8
and
voted for Biden. ??Indiana had a firearm mortality rate of 18.4 and
voted for Trump.

States With The Lowest Gun Death Rates

??Massachusetts has a firearm mortality rate of 3.4 and voted for
Biden. ??Hawaii has a firearm mortality rate of 4.8 and voted for
Biden. ??New Jersey has a firearm mortality rate of 5.2 and voted for
Biden. ??New York has a firearm mortality rate of 5.4 and voted for
Biden. ??Rhode Island has a firearm mortality rate of 5.6 and voted
for Biden. ??Connecticut has a firearm mortality rate of 6.7 and
voted
for Biden. ??New Hampshire has a firearm mortality rate of 8.3 and
voted for Biden. ??California has a firearm mortality rate of 9.0 and
voted for Biden. ??Minnesota has a firearm mortality rate of 10.0 and
voted for Biden. ??Nebraska has a firearm mortality rate of 10.3 and
voted for Trump. ??Iowa has a firearm mortality rate of 11.2 and
voted
for Trump. ??Washington has a firearm mortality rate of 11.2 and
voted
for Biden. ??Vermont has a firearm mortality rate of 11.9 and voted
for Biden. ??Maine has a firearm mortality rate of 12.6 and voted for
Biden. ??Wisconsin has a firearm mortality rate of 13.5 and voted for
Biden.

Contrary to popular belief, the South is the geographical region with the
highest gun-related crime rates, and these states largely have been
Republican-run for years. Fifteen of the 20 states with the highest
firearm mortality rates are led by Republicans. However, Republican
lawmakers have historically used gun-related crime rates against
Democrats. After the May 2, 2022, Robb Elementary school shooting in
Uvalde, Texas, that left 21 people dead, Gov. Greg Abbott dismissed
suggestions that the state could save lives by implementing stricter gun
laws by saying, �Chicago and L.A. and New York disprove that thesis.� In
July 2022, Trump called the U.S. a �cesspool� since he left office,
pinpointing New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, and explaining these were
places �where the middle class used to flock to live the American dream
(but) are now war zones, literal war zones.� Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis
criticized New York for allowing �criminals to run wild,� while praising
Florida for having a stricter crime policy. Contra

Data suggests New York saw significant drops in homicides between 2021
and
2022, while Florida saw significant increases. According to Third Way,
some Republicans argue crime rates in their states are only high because
of the blue cities within them. But murder rates have increased in rural,
urban and suburban locales.