Trump assassination attempt, Secret Service failure, Inside the RNC, VC liquidity problem
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§01Opening banter from the RNC floor
The hosts open by joking that David Sacks, broadcasting from the Republican convention in Milwaukee, is the secret architect of the ticket, citing news stories that credit him. Sacks pushes back: the president makes his own decisions, and he was one of hundreds of people offering opinions, though he is a fan of J.D. Vance.
§02What was known five days after Butler
Recorded on July 18, the segment recaps the shooting as then reported. A 20-year-old, Thomas Matthew Crooks, fired eight rounds from an AR-15 at a Pennsylvania rally. One bullet nicked Trump's right ear. Spectator Corey Comparatory was killed, two others were critically injured, and counter-snipers killed Crooks 26 seconds after the first shot.
Crooks had no criminal record and was unknown to the FBI and Secret Service. He was a registered Republican who also gave $15 to a progressive PAC, and his motive was still unknown. The host relays leaks from a Senate briefing: a second phone, a detonation device, and an explosive device in his car.
July 13 will be my premiere. Watch as it unfolds.
The reported Steam post above is followed by an ABC timeline: person of interest at 5:10 p.m., rangefinder sighted at 5:30, spotted on a roof at 5:52, Trump on stage at 6:02, first shot at 6:12. The closest rooftop, 130 yards away, was unsecured, and the Secret Service head said nobody was posted there because of its sloped surface.
§03Reactions: negligence, courage and a crowd's response
Chamath says his respect for the Secret Service made the event seem impossible, and he wants investigators to establish where incompetence ended and negligence began, and whether anyone else helped the shooter. Friedberg first thought of a joke, then concluded the image of a bloodied Trump with a raised fist meant the election was effectively decided. He also worried about violent counter-reactions and says conflicting polling remains.
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