Saturday marked at least the third attempt on the life of President Donald Trump, and it also illustrated why long-standing Democrats are leaving the party — because the Democratic Party has become too toxic and unrecognizable.
The annual White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner (often referred to as “Nerd Prom”) was just getting underway when an alleged would-be assassin later identified as Cole Tomas Allen attempted to shoot his way into the Washington Hilton ballroom. U.S. President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance and others were rushed out of the room by Secret Service officers as other attendees sought cover underneath tables.
That evening at 9:07 p.m., Senate Minority Leader Chick Schumer released a statement. “I am closely monitoring the unfolding situation at the White House Correspondents Dinner,” the New York Democrat said. “I’m grateful for the quick response of law enforcement and am praying everyone remains safe.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, another New York Democrat, released his own statement 50 minutes later. “Thankful for the swift law enforcement action to protect everyone from gunfire at the White House Correspondents Dinner,” Jeffries said. “Praying for the safety of those who may remain in harm’s way. The violence and chaos in America must end.”
Some of that rhetoric has lately accused Trump of being a pedophile and an associate of the late Jeffrey Epstein — a claim that wasn’t lost on the alleged shooter, who included it in his manifesto.
But in truth, it’s on record that Trump reported Epstein to the police and banned him from his Palm Beach Mar-a-Lago club.
As a Twitchy writer who goes by the handle “Just Mindy” observed, “Accusing political opponents of being pedophiles or Epstein accomplices isn’t just reckless rhetoric — it’s the kind of inflammatory claim that can incite real-world violence, erode trust in institutions, and backfire spectacularly when the facts don’t hold up.”
Meanwhile, some media figures made the shooting all about themselves. CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter announced that “CNN CEO Mark Thompson sent a memo to all of the staffers who attended tonight’s WHCA dinner to ‘acknowledge what we all experienced together tonight.'”
They couldn’t have been too traumatized, however. Video recorded showed women stuffing unopened bottles of wine into their purses before leaving.
John F. Kennedy referred to himself as a “proud liberal” when he accepted the nomination for president in 1960, but his politics would align more closely with a mainstream Republican today.
The Kennedy name was always synonymous with the Democratic Party until JFK’s nephew, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., announced he’d had enough and declared himself an Independent. He now serves as Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Former Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona were two other high-profile names to leave the Democratic Party, also calling themselves Independents during their final days in office.
Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, a Hawaii Democrat and a 2020 Democratic presidential nominee hopeful, made the split complete by declaring herself a Republican, before President Trump appointed her as his Director of National Intelligence.
Harvard Law Professor Emeritus Alan Dershowitz, a lifetime Democrat, told Newsmax host Greta Van Susteren last week that he’s also done with the Democratic Party. “I will work as hard as I can to make sure that the Democrats do not get control of the House, do not get control of the Senate, or the presidency,” he said.
And just as Ronald Reagan announced more than 60 years ago, Dershowitz repeated to Van Susteren: “I didn’t leave the Democratic Party; the Democratic Party left me.”
Keep it up, Democrats, and some fine day a museum will display a mummified member of your party right next to another long-extinct creature.
