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.
Excellent piece, Jack, gives us hope. I would like to understand how we can best help the mythology to collapse. Is our best approach to just wonder aloud? Or straight-up point to the many anomalies? Which approach is more effective, more “sticky?” Can we make the White House containment effort more likely to fail?
A little visual evidence from the Butler event that completely contradicts their story shows a different angle, focused on Trump’s aides at ground-level. Clearly NOT scared, and busily moving photographers into just the right position for great shots. Moving quickly but without any signs of fear. (To view it, you need a Bluesky account.) https://bsky.app/profile/the-goddess-speaks.bsky.social/post/3lu2tonr65k2q
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.
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!
My belief, theory, whatever you want to call it, is that it was not people who had never believed in Jesus, but disenchanted followers who crucified him. trump might just have that in common with him.
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.
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.
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.
I'm going to go out on a limb here, but have you noticed the very few people who have lasted through both administration's so far? There aren't many, but one in particular has seemed to stay on despite having some faux pas and not a lot of experience in the areas she's assigned. That person is Linda McMahon, the wife of Vince McMahon, the former SBA Administrator and current Secretary of Education. Before her foray into government, she and Vince built the WWF. The WWF later became the WWE after one of the wrestlers fell from the ceiling of the building in Canada, and they were sued by the wrestlers' survivors.
I grew up in a family that loved watching wrestling, and went to events as a kid. Wrestling was (and still is) popular in Wisconsin. One thing you would see is the "blood" all over the place. All the wrestlers are trained how to use it to add more excitement into the matches. It was fake blood, and you can tell by the color. Real blood is generally a dark red color. The blood on Trump in Butler was lighter. Plus, Trump had been trained in how to use the fake blood. He had done matches with Vince McMahon that had both of them "bloody". That "blood" in Butler? Not only was the color off, but it landed perfectly on the side of his face, as well as his shirt and jacket for the perfect strongman photo op.
When Trump was taken to the hospital to get checked out, he was bandaged up and sent on his way. I don't think that any doctor would release a president right away when the ear and head were supposedly involved. So instead of going back to the WH for his own docs to check him out, he went to Milwaukee to make an early surprise appearance at the RNC. What a shock. 🙄
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 accumulated contradictions stop being fuel…and start being weight. The coalition does not break down one piece at a time.”
This made the biggest impact on me. A profound statement that condenses so much of what’s been missing from the public discourse. Trump’s statements regarding Iran, the war, and the failed negotiations show that there are massive problems that will lead to significant changes for the better. Changes in the Republican Party, the WH, Congress, the Fox and adjacent networks, and international politics. Pictures of the bombings are pictures of the whole Trump fiasco collapsing, fast and furious.
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
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.
Those of us old enough to remember Reagan being dog piled know that that training hasn't changed.
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).
Excellent piece, Jack, gives us hope. I would like to understand how we can best help the mythology to collapse. Is our best approach to just wonder aloud? Or straight-up point to the many anomalies? Which approach is more effective, more “sticky?” Can we make the White House containment effort more likely to fail?
A little visual evidence from the Butler event that completely contradicts their story shows a different angle, focused on Trump’s aides at ground-level. Clearly NOT scared, and busily moving photographers into just the right position for great shots. Moving quickly but without any signs of fear. (To view it, you need a Bluesky account.) https://bsky.app/profile/the-goddess-speaks.bsky.social/post/3lu2tonr65k2q
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
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 💣🤯
My belief, theory, whatever you want to call it, is that it was not people who had never believed in Jesus, but disenchanted followers who crucified him. trump might just have that in common with him.
Interesting…I have to think about that, Sue.
I would settle for the blood testing on the stage - human or otherwise.
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
Imagine. MTG taking it all down. The weirdness just never stops coming
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.
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?
I'm going to go out on a limb here, but have you noticed the very few people who have lasted through both administration's so far? There aren't many, but one in particular has seemed to stay on despite having some faux pas and not a lot of experience in the areas she's assigned. That person is Linda McMahon, the wife of Vince McMahon, the former SBA Administrator and current Secretary of Education. Before her foray into government, she and Vince built the WWF. The WWF later became the WWE after one of the wrestlers fell from the ceiling of the building in Canada, and they were sued by the wrestlers' survivors.
I grew up in a family that loved watching wrestling, and went to events as a kid. Wrestling was (and still is) popular in Wisconsin. One thing you would see is the "blood" all over the place. All the wrestlers are trained how to use it to add more excitement into the matches. It was fake blood, and you can tell by the color. Real blood is generally a dark red color. The blood on Trump in Butler was lighter. Plus, Trump had been trained in how to use the fake blood. He had done matches with Vince McMahon that had both of them "bloody". That "blood" in Butler? Not only was the color off, but it landed perfectly on the side of his face, as well as his shirt and jacket for the perfect strongman photo op.
When Trump was taken to the hospital to get checked out, he was bandaged up and sent on his way. I don't think that any doctor would release a president right away when the ear and head were supposedly involved. So instead of going back to the WH for his own docs to check him out, he went to Milwaukee to make an early surprise appearance at the RNC. What a shock. 🙄
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.
Who'd have thunk it that MTG would be the one to question? Hell hath no fury?? #HoldingFast
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.
“The accumulated contradictions stop being fuel…and start being weight. The coalition does not break down one piece at a time.”
This made the biggest impact on me. A profound statement that condenses so much of what’s been missing from the public discourse. Trump’s statements regarding Iran, the war, and the failed negotiations show that there are massive problems that will lead to significant changes for the better. Changes in the Republican Party, the WH, Congress, the Fox and adjacent networks, and international politics. Pictures of the bombings are pictures of the whole Trump fiasco collapsing, fast and furious.