On Saturday, July 13, early in the evening, I tune into CNN to see what is happening with Biden. Breaking News! We are shown footage of what just happened, at a Donald Trump rally, in a field in Butler, Pennsylvania. Trump is speaking to the crowd, suddenly there is a gunshot, he touches his ear, then lies down behind the lectern. The Secret Service agents come to surround him. They pick him up. And instead of being dragged out by his bodyguards, well covered, as quickly as possible, Trump stops, stands up and shouts: “Fight! Fight! Fight!” Google translation: “Fight! Fight! Fight!”
Trump is a wrestler.
A wrestler never leaves the ring a victim. A wrestler always leaves the ring a winner.
Except that the fight is arranged, while life is not. Neither is death.
What instinct could have driven him to act like that? To expose himself, at the risk of receiving another bullet from another shooter.
Trump is not afraid of anything. It’s frightening.
The photo just popped up on my phone. It hasn’t been a quarter of an hour since the assassination attempt happened and it’s already become history.
Artificial intelligence would never have been able to produce such a powerful image. Only reality can make everything fall into place in this way.
The former president-candidate-for-president, his face bloodied, carried by men and a woman in black, his fist raised, roaring, the American flag flying behind him, as if he had just taken possession of the earth and the sky, as if he had just conquered destiny. This portrait is a museum piece.
PHOTO EVAN VUCCI, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
Donald Trump escorted by Secret Service agents on July 13
Even people who don’t like Trump are drawn to this photo. Despite his dark past, despite his terrible ideas, in a Pennsylvania field, Donald Trump has become a superhero. Whether we like it or not.
I’m in shock. I’m glued to the news. I forget about the Canada-Uruguay game at the Copa América. Tonight is the Tragedia América.
Imagine if Donald Trump had not turned his head to the right (the right has always been good for Trump). Imagine if the bullet had blown his brain out. In front of the crowd. In front of the cameras. The vision of horror. The global trauma. The apocalypse unleashed.
I have the feelings upside down. Trump, we always see him as an aggressor. And now, right now, there is no one more attacked than him. To be the target of a shooter. To be so vulnerable to murderous madness. We must never let hatred enter us. For anyone.
My heart breaks so much for Corey Comperatore, the firefighter who was shot and killed trying to protect his family. The hero we will never know.
Two days later, Trump’s first public appearance, at the Republican convention in Milwaukee. We see him walking, his gaze almost soft, his smile almost tender, a white bandage on his ear, like a little peace flag. We say to ourselves that he may have changed. That the event may have served as an epiphany. That Trump the divider will become Trump the unifier.
We can dream.
In the first part of Trump’s speech last Thursday night, WWE legend Hulk Hogan ripped his straitjacket, Kid Rock sang the glory of the former president and UFC boss Dana White sang the praises of his friend. This is a far cry from André Malraux introducing Charles de Gaulle.
PHOTO J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Hulk Hogan at the Republican National Convention on Thursday
It wasn’t a unicorn show, it was a big horns show.
A show of force.
American politics has become a Royal Rumble. That’s scary, too.
There are good guys and bad guys, depending on which side you’re on. The Democrats realize that their fighter is no longer strong enough to go between the cables, whose hand will he slap? We’ll see.
Whoever his opponent is, one thing is certain, Donald is waiting for him with bated breath. His supporters believe in him, more than ever. Their attitude was impressive during the attack. No panic. They stayed there. Behind and in front of their leader. A solidarity towards the leader, difficult to match among the opposing clan.
Hopefully, in all this history, the most violent event took place last week.
Politics is the art of directing, with a view to the common good, all the activities of a society.
The common good does not belong to either side.
The common good is the good of both sides.
Destiny is hard enough, why do human beings spend their time fighting among themselves? Why is this how they have organized the way of being governed?
Have a nice Sunday anyway!