News & Brews July 15, 2024
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Trump target of assassination attempt
In news that brought much of everything else to a standstill, a would-be assassin fired shots at former President Trump at a Butler County rally on Saturday. While a bullet only grazed Trump’s ear and he is fine, one rally attendee—Corey Comperatore—was tragically killed while shielding his family. Two others were critically injured. The shooting “was the most serious attempt to assassinate a president or presidential candidate since Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981.” The AP has the main story.
Watch Gov. Shapiro’s remarks after shooting
At a news conference following the assassination attempt, Gov. Shapiro called the shooting “absolutely unacceptable and tragic.” He denounced violence and said that while “political disagreements are ok … we need to use a peaceful political process to settle those differences.” Watch his full remarks here.
Biden: ‘It’s time to cool it down’
PennLive reports on President Biden’s address to the nation yesterday, where he said “we must never descend into violence.” The story notes, “Biden, who has set out to brand Trump as a dire threat to democracy and the nation’s very founding principles, put a temporary pause on such political messaging. Shortly after Saturday night’s attack, Biden’s reelection campaign froze ‘all outbound communications’ and was working to pull down its television ads.”
WSJ: How should we respond?
The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board writes, “The near assassination of Donald Trump could be a moment that catalyzes more hatred and an even worse cycle of violence…. Or it could be a redemptive moment that leads to introspection and political debate that is fierce but not cast as Armageddon.” The Ed Board adds that this moment “is a chance to pull out of a partisan death spiral. That is the leadership Americans are desperate to see.”
Pa. 2024-2025 state budget analysis
Given the news of the weekend, it seems odd that there would be “other” news. But last week, Gov. Shapiro signed a $47.6 billion Fiscal Year 2024-25 state budget, On Friday, the Commonwealth Foundation published its analysis of the budget, which “creates a $3.6 billion structural deficit” and “represents a $2.7 billion spending increase (counting $500 million in borrowing) versus $0.2 billion in tax reductions.”
More headlines from the weekend’s tragic events:
- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: “Boundless questions” over Trump shooting
- WSJ: America was an inch from catastrophe, & I was there (Dave McCormick)
- Inquirer: What we know about the attempted assassination at Trump rally
- PennLive: Man killed while shielding family “died a hero”
- DVJournal: State pols react to assassination attempt