I recall commenting to my husband at the time of the Butler shooting that the Secret Service did not protect Trump’s full body as they hustled him off the stage. If you know anything at all about the Secret Service, you know they protect their assets. They DO NOT leave the head and upper body exposed so the asset can raise his fist and yell instructions to their audience (“Fight! Fight!”). The entire scenario was bad Hollywood.
What is truly tragic is that a citizen was killed for this farce, as was the perpetrator. I have no info on the perpetrator. But whatever con was used on him was also tragic. I agree … there’s more to this than a simple misguided citizen.
The visuals that everyone saw are the key. That silly little square "bandage" that suggested a rabbit for days afterward, followed in a few days with closeups of a pristine ear - not the slightest bit of damage. In a way, the most damning thing that followed was the immediate execution of Thomas Crooks, the shooter himself. Dead men tell no tales and he seemed to be a very malleable young man. His immediate and deliberate termination was necessary to keep it all quiet. Compatore's death was the result of bad aim - or maybe Trump just didn't care about the bystanders.
Butler, Charlie Kirk, The Pope’s Brother, Jeffrey Epstein, Nancy Guthrie, Jon Luc Brunel, Ivanna Trump, girls at Zoros Ranch. If we can ever open this can of worms, it will be very ugly.
Good piece Jack. I focused on your comment regarding Vance's consolidation. If the collapse of the mythology mortally wounds Trump's schtick, does that not take a bite out of Vance? If the premise is that much of Vance's power derives from the MAGA base, does the mythology morph to enable him?
Andrew...the question is the right one...and...the honest answer is that Vance inherits ONLY if the mythology morphs...rather than collapses...and morphing is genuinely harder than inheriting a static coalition.
The base Vance draws from...is not attached to Trump...the man...in the same way the Butler-era mythology suggests.
It is attached to a set of cultural...economic...and civilizational grievances Trump articulated.
If Vance can successfully transfer those grievances to himself...without needing the Trump-specific providential frame...he inherits.
Tom...the transparency question is the legitimate one...and...it is the one that is fueling Greene's post...more than any specific theory about what happened.
When investigations of high-profile events do NOT produce public forensic analysis at the level the public expects...the vacuum gets filled with speculation...EVERY TIME...without exception.
That is not a flaw of the public. It is a predictable INSTITUTIONAL failure.
Whatever actually happened at Butler...the absence of a thorough...publicly-released ballistics analysis...is what has made the current moment possible!
Great take, Jack. Calling it myth is overly generous. MAGA doesn’t build myths so much as it speed‑runs half‑constructed, self‑sealing storylines in an echo chamber and calls it theology. Your point about Butler as the load‑bearing miracle tracks with that perfectly.
What keeps nagging at me are the basic, non‑myth questions that never seem to get clear, public answers: Who exactly was killed in the crowd, and what do we know about him beyond a name and a headline? Was there a published medical examiner’s report on the fatal round — wound path, caliber confirmation, all the boring forensic detail that should exist by default? Was there a full ballistics work‑up that tied that bullet (and the others) to Crooks’ rifle, and has any of that been released in a way the public can actually inspect?
When you think of the endless plowing and replowing of the Kennedy assassination, the Reagan attempt, shit, even Squeaky pointing a 1911 at Ford and not knowing about the grip safety, this seems really under-investigated.
Since Butler is the foundational miracle of Trump’s second rise, the least a functioning democracy should get is a transparent, documented, and public investigation.
The bullet that killed Kirk has been a sticky wicket for the prosecution. It was reported it has not been able to be clearly identified as coming from the rifle left behind. Because, they said, it fragmented from hitting bone - a rather fragile neck vertebra.
Another Patel fuck-up on an epic scale. Jury trials depend on chain of custody, and this was so bungled that it's likely he (and also Luigi Mangione) will at the very least get reduced sentences, if they don't walk altogether.
As for Fascist Charlie media tool's death, a 30-06 bullet is is a high‑energy rifle hit that can either punch straight through or dump a lot of energy and stay in‑body This depends on bullet type, impact velocity, and what it hits on the way through.
Both “small entrance, ragged exit” and “no exit, massive internal disruption” are physically plausible outcomes.
Compared to Butler, PA, the Kirk case actually offers more public detail about the rifle and ballistics, underscoring how little transparent, ME‑style documentation has been released around the Butler fatal shot.
Ballistic testing on the fatal bullet is formally “inconclusive." The fragmented round has rifling characteristics compatible with the rifle, but lacks enough intact detail for a definitive match or exclusion. Most of ballistics is junk science and is way less reliable than TV would make it out (ditto confessions obtained through torture).
This is being misrepresented in some commentary as “the bullet did not match,” which is not consistent with how the labs explain their result.
Thanks for all you do, Jack. The Butler thing looked so staged, but I kept telling myself that even Trump wouldn't allow collateral damage. I now realize that was a mistake on my part.
The actual visuals were quite obviously staged. His hand was full of blood, with little on or around the head or ear. The SS did not immediately take him down, remove. Instead they let him stand fist pump and yell fight. The feminine pad ears were over the top, especially trump's. Then the complete healing less than two weeks later. No scar. No scratch. No red mark. No divot. Sadly two men lost their lives in the stunt as well as the lady's arm.
“For nine years, the rule inside MAGA was absolute: you do not question the mythology. You can question anything else. You can question strategy…personnel… policy…even specific decisions.
But you do not question the mythology. The mythology was the red line…and everyone on the inside understood where it was.”
The Butler incident was almost two years ago. What was the initial mythological happening? His coming down the golden escalator?
I recall commenting to my husband at the time of the Butler shooting that the Secret Service did not protect Trump’s full body as they hustled him off the stage. If you know anything at all about the Secret Service, you know they protect their assets. They DO NOT leave the head and upper body exposed so the asset can raise his fist and yell instructions to their audience (“Fight! Fight!”). The entire scenario was bad Hollywood.
KaF...you are noticing a real procedural anomaly...and...you are not alone.
Former Secret Service professionals...have publicly observed the same thing.
The anomaly is part of the pressure feeding the current moment. Without question.
There's is a LOT more here than what we know. There can't NOT be.
-Jack
Those of us old enough to remember Reagan being dog piled know that that training hasn't changed.
What is truly tragic is that a citizen was killed for this farce, as was the perpetrator. I have no info on the perpetrator. But whatever con was used on him was also tragic. I agree … there’s more to this than a simple misguided citizen.
The authenticity of theentire event is questionable.
The visuals that everyone saw are the key. That silly little square "bandage" that suggested a rabbit for days afterward, followed in a few days with closeups of a pristine ear - not the slightest bit of damage. In a way, the most damning thing that followed was the immediate execution of Thomas Crooks, the shooter himself. Dead men tell no tales and he seemed to be a very malleable young man. His immediate and deliberate termination was necessary to keep it all quiet. Compatore's death was the result of bad aim - or maybe Trump just didn't care about the bystanders.
Buell...the visual questions you are raising are part of what makes this story structurally important!
What I can analyze...with confidence is the coalition event.
A top MAGA voice PUBLICLY questioned the narrative. The enforcement response...failed to contain her.
That STRUCTURAL reality is the story I can write about responsibly.
And as you know...the structural reality looks REALLY bad.
#HoldFast
-Jack
The first sign of a tidal wave is the water receding way, way back just before it delivers a haymaker to the land (if I am allowed to mix metaphors).
Butler, Charlie Kirk, The Pope’s Brother, Jeffrey Epstein, Nancy Guthrie, Jon Luc Brunel, Ivanna Trump, girls at Zoros Ranch. If we can ever open this can of worms, it will be very ugly.
Charli...and UGLY experience...indeed. You are correct!
-Jack
Good piece Jack. I focused on your comment regarding Vance's consolidation. If the collapse of the mythology mortally wounds Trump's schtick, does that not take a bite out of Vance? If the premise is that much of Vance's power derives from the MAGA base, does the mythology morph to enable him?
Andrew...the question is the right one...and...the honest answer is that Vance inherits ONLY if the mythology morphs...rather than collapses...and morphing is genuinely harder than inheriting a static coalition.
The base Vance draws from...is not attached to Trump...the man...in the same way the Butler-era mythology suggests.
It is attached to a set of cultural...economic...and civilizational grievances Trump articulated.
If Vance can successfully transfer those grievances to himself...without needing the Trump-specific providential frame...he inherits.
If...he cannot...the fragmentation scenario becomes live.
The Butler crack does NOT settle the question...either way. It raises the stakes of whether Vance can perform the transfer fast enough.
-Jack
I still want to see the full ballistics analysis- if a legitimate one was ever done. ✅
Tom...the transparency question is the legitimate one...and...it is the one that is fueling Greene's post...more than any specific theory about what happened.
When investigations of high-profile events do NOT produce public forensic analysis at the level the public expects...the vacuum gets filled with speculation...EVERY TIME...without exception.
That is not a flaw of the public. It is a predictable INSTITUTIONAL failure.
Whatever actually happened at Butler...the absence of a thorough...publicly-released ballistics analysis...is what has made the current moment possible!
-Jack
trump's dear buddy, elon musk, loudly brought up that trump IS in the epstein files and it NEVER died down!!
trump's biggest sychopant, mtg, brings up trump fake assassination attempt and it won't die down now either!!
Because as with the MOB;
It is ALWAYS someone CLOSEST to the BETRAYED (trump) who is the BETRAYER (maga).
It is only a matter of time now...
Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock 💣🤯
I would settle for the blood testing on the stage - human or otherwise.
Best news I’ve read in quite awhile.
Thank you 🙏
Ellen...a good start to the day:)
You're welcome.
-Jack
Great take, Jack. Calling it myth is overly generous. MAGA doesn’t build myths so much as it speed‑runs half‑constructed, self‑sealing storylines in an echo chamber and calls it theology. Your point about Butler as the load‑bearing miracle tracks with that perfectly.
What keeps nagging at me are the basic, non‑myth questions that never seem to get clear, public answers: Who exactly was killed in the crowd, and what do we know about him beyond a name and a headline? Was there a published medical examiner’s report on the fatal round — wound path, caliber confirmation, all the boring forensic detail that should exist by default? Was there a full ballistics work‑up that tied that bullet (and the others) to Crooks’ rifle, and has any of that been released in a way the public can actually inspect?
When you think of the endless plowing and replowing of the Kennedy assassination, the Reagan attempt, shit, even Squeaky pointing a 1911 at Ford and not knowing about the grip safety, this seems really under-investigated.
Since Butler is the foundational miracle of Trump’s second rise, the least a functioning democracy should get is a transparent, documented, and public investigation.
Not that we will.
The bullet that killed Kirk has been a sticky wicket for the prosecution. It was reported it has not been able to be clearly identified as coming from the rifle left behind. Because, they said, it fragmented from hitting bone - a rather fragile neck vertebra.
Another Patel fuck-up on an epic scale. Jury trials depend on chain of custody, and this was so bungled that it's likely he (and also Luigi Mangione) will at the very least get reduced sentences, if they don't walk altogether.
As for Fascist Charlie media tool's death, a 30-06 bullet is is a high‑energy rifle hit that can either punch straight through or dump a lot of energy and stay in‑body This depends on bullet type, impact velocity, and what it hits on the way through.
Both “small entrance, ragged exit” and “no exit, massive internal disruption” are physically plausible outcomes.
Compared to Butler, PA, the Kirk case actually offers more public detail about the rifle and ballistics, underscoring how little transparent, ME‑style documentation has been released around the Butler fatal shot.
Ballistic testing on the fatal bullet is formally “inconclusive." The fragmented round has rifling characteristics compatible with the rifle, but lacks enough intact detail for a definitive match or exclusion. Most of ballistics is junk science and is way less reliable than TV would make it out (ditto confessions obtained through torture).
This is being misrepresented in some commentary as “the bullet did not match,” which is not consistent with how the labs explain their result.
Imagine. MTG taking it all down. The weirdness just never stops coming
Who'd have thunk it that MTG would be the one to question? Hell hath no fury?? #HoldingFast
Brilliant insight. Dang Jack, that brain of yours is completely next, next, next level!
This piece exemplifies the WHY I subscribe. Tune in for the next episode of The Emperor Wears No Clothes!
Thanks for all you do, Jack. The Butler thing looked so staged, but I kept telling myself that even Trump wouldn't allow collateral damage. I now realize that was a mistake on my part.
The actual visuals were quite obviously staged. His hand was full of blood, with little on or around the head or ear. The SS did not immediately take him down, remove. Instead they let him stand fist pump and yell fight. The feminine pad ears were over the top, especially trump's. Then the complete healing less than two weeks later. No scar. No scratch. No red mark. No divot. Sadly two men lost their lives in the stunt as well as the lady's arm.
#HoldFast
AND trump has NO SCAR on that same ear!!!
How come???
I did note that. Maybe, super glue?
You’ve got me feeling a sense of hope that maybe the country makes it out the other side of this thing.
I’m very much looking forward to the follow up article.
I am looking forward to the publication promised later today! This really gives me hope!!
“For nine years, the rule inside MAGA was absolute: you do not question the mythology. You can question anything else. You can question strategy…personnel… policy…even specific decisions.
But you do not question the mythology. The mythology was the red line…and everyone on the inside understood where it was.”
The Butler incident was almost two years ago. What was the initial mythological happening? His coming down the golden escalator?