(continued from /1)

"the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol and the killings of the former Minnesota house speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband and the rightwing activist Charlie Kirk. Political violence is rampant and on Saturday, in a fancy Washington ballroom, Trump and the media glimpsed the edge of the abyss."

#Trump #WHCD #shooting #violence #media
/2

"My first thought wasn’t shock.

It was recognition.

Because I had spent the better part of this Saturday documenting exactly how we arrived at a place where something like this could feel — in the most sick and twisted way imaginable — not just possible but almost inevitable."

~ Kristoffer Ealy

#Trump #WHCD #shooting #violence #media
/3

lincolnsquare.media/p/corporat…

Corporate Media Chaos: Trump, the WHCD Shooting, and the Future of the Free Press

“Don’t trust empty promises from billionaires driven by greed and corrosive ideology.”

^{Kristoffer Ealy (Lincoln Square)}

"I fear violence will become a defining characteristic of the next few months, leading up to the midterms. It is the lexicon of what now passes for debate in the Trump era."

~ Gene Weingarten

#Trump #WHCD #shooting #violence #media
/4

geneweingarten.substack.com/p/…

I Blame Trump

Just a few non-random thoughts:

^{gene weingarten (The Gene Pool)}

"There is a close relationship between Trump and violence — not just the attempts on his life but also the violence he’s unleashed on the world, the violence his ICE and Border Patrol agents have caused inside America, the violence he has incited among his followers."

~ Robert Reich

#Trump #WHCD #shooting #violence #media
/5

robertreich.substack.com/p/sun…

Sunday thought: Last Night's Correspondents Dinner

Fear and Loathing in Trump's Washington

^{Robert Reich}

"When the president was asked at a press briefing late Saturday why he’s been targeted by several attempted gunmen now, Trump said he’s 'studied assassinations,' and they often target 'the most impactful people' and 'the big names.'

'I hate to say I’m honored by that, but I’ve done a lot,' he said. 'We’ve changed this country, and there are a lot of people that are not happy about that.'”

~ Andrew Perez and Asawin Suebsaeng

#Trump #WHCD #shooting #violence #media
/6

zeteo.com/p/trump-evacuated-wh…

Trump Evacuated From White House Correspondents Dinner

Secret Service reportedly apprehended a gunman at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner Saturday evening.

^{Andrew Perez (Zeteo)}

"He also used the shooting to promote his ballroom (bunker) and MAGA, of course, blamed 'the left' and said this is why Congress should fund DHS, and by extention secret service.

Unfortunately, STAGED was already trending on Twitter before we received all of these details."

~ Wajahat Ali

#Trump #WHCD #shooting #violence #media #staged
/7

thelefthook.substack.com/p/beh…

Behold The Ridiculous, Unbearable, God-Awful Trauma Theater in the Aftermath of The WHCD Shooting

A nation must prepare itself for a nauseous, self-congratulatory display of awfulness & gaslighting that will emanate from the corporate press class & Trump Administration following the WHCD shooting.

^{THE LEFT HOOK with Wajahat Ali (The Left Hook with Wajahat Ali)}

"The problem with having a criminal President who promotes conspiracy theories, incites an insurrection, & lies habitually about everything and is enabled by an entire political and media movement that does the same is that after a while, people don’t believe him and create their own narratives."

#Trump #WHCD #shooting #violence #media #staged
/8

"Trump took to the podium a little after 10:30. Referring to the threat of a shooting at the White House Correspondents Dinner—which has never happened before—he said: 'I will say, you know, it’s not a particularly secure building, and, uh, I didn’t want to say this, but this is why we have to have all of the attributes of what we’re planning at the White House.'"

~ Heather Cox Richardson

#Trump #WHCD #shooting #violence #media
/9

heathercoxrichardson.substack.…

April 25, 2026

Tonight the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) held its annual black-tie dinner, which is designed both to raise money for the institution and to provide a glitzy night out for journalists.

^{Heather Cox Richardson (Letters from an American)}

"'It’s actually a larger room, and it’s much more secure. It’s got— It’s drone proof. It’s bulletproof glass. We need the ballroom. That’s why Secret Service, that’s why the military are demanding it. They’ve wanted the ballroom for 150 years for lots of different reasons, but today’s, uh, a little bit different, because today, we need levels of security that probably nobody’s ever seen before.'”

#Trump #WHCD #shooting #violence #media
/10

"In response to a question about why Trump thought attempts on his life happened so frequently—a reminder: there is as yet no information about what the man’s plan or motives were—he responded that assassins come for 'impactful people' and boasted of how much he has done for the country."

#Trump #WHCD #shooting #violence #media
/11

"The old media order dressed up for a banquet and discovered that its own credibility was on the menu. ...

They showed up to preen and party anyway.

They put on gowns and tuxedos, smiled for cameras, and clinked glasses. They feted the president who has made attacking them central to his political identity. They feted the president who has made attacking them central to his political identity."

~ Julie Roginsky

#Trump #WHCD #shooting #violence #media
/12

saltypolitics.substack.com/p/t…

The Media's Gross Performance after the WHCD Shooting

^{Julie Roginsky (Salty Politics with Julie Roginsky)}

"The whole grotesque spectacle was supposed to be a celebration of press freedom. Instead, it became a case study in institutional self-abasement.

Then came the shooting. ...

Both last night and this morning, these journalists congratulated each other all over social media for rushing to the White House to cover their own assassination attempts. They should hang their heads in shame instead, based on what happened inside the briefing room."

#Trump #WHCD #shooting #violence #media
/13

For more commentary on last night's White House Correspondents Dinner, see:

Ben Meiselas:

youtube.com/watch?v=MB8qUmTS5R…

Lucian K. Truscott:

luciantruscott.substack.com/p/…

Norman Eisen and Carlos Eduardo Espina:

contrariannews.org/p/norm-and-…

Aaron Parnas:

aaronparnas.substack.com/p/bre…

Political Humor:

politicalhumor.substack.com/p/…

#Trump #WHCD #shooting #violence #media
/14

Norm & Carlos LIVE after the White House Correspondents Dinner Shooting

Norm Eisen & Carlos Espina update us from the ground after the WHCD shooting

^{Norman Eisen (The Contrarian)}

"We must not allow the corporate media nor even members of the Democratic elite to bully us into not asking questions. While the facts surrounding the shooting are still being gathered as I write this on Sunday morning, there are many questions raised that demand answers.

For starters, we should be suspicious of any and everything involving Trump."

~ Dean Obeidallah

#Trump #WHCD #shooting #violence #media
/15

deanobeidallah.substack.com/p/…

When it comes to the WHCD shooting: Ask questions and demand answers!!

If not, Trump will try worse in November!

^{Dean Obeidallah (The Dean's Report by Dean Obeidallah)}

"At a press conference back at the White House, Trump claimed he felt 'everyone coming together' before the shots were fired and called for unity in response to the gunman’s actions. But Trump has spent a decade exploiting every possible fault line to divide Americans."

~ William J. Barber II and Jonathan Wilson Hartgrove

#Trump #WHCD #shooting #violence #media
/16

ourmoralmoment.substack.com/p/…

Nonviolence or nonexistence

Why this moment requires a moral escalation of our demand for peace

^{William J. Barber, II (Our Moral Moment w/ Bishop William Barber & Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove)}

"He has incited violence against members of the media at rallies, and he kicked off the celebration of the United State’s 250th anniversary in Des Moines, Iowa last July 4th by declaring hatred for Democrats and others who would not support his dramatic cuts to nutrition assistance and healthcare."

#Trump #WHCD #shooting #violence #media
/17

"There can be no denying that violence surrounds this regime. …

We also need to recognize that there was violence in that room last night long before shots were fired. And the reporters who had gathered to mingle with members of the regime, for a night that I suppose, in their view, represented a mix of entertainment and obligation, were, by showing up, helping to normalize trauma, suffering, and death on an epic scale."

~ Elliot Kirschner

#Trump #WHCD #violence
/18

elliotkirschner.substack.com/p…

Violence In Washington

^{Elliot Kirschner (Through the Fog, by Elliot Kirschner)}

Following what happened at last night's White House Correspondents Dinner, Marcy Wheeler points to a valuable "Breaking News Consumer's Handbook" from WNYC's On the Media. The handbook is in the image below.

#Trump #WHCD #shooting #violence #media
/19

emptywheel.net/2026/04/26/dinn…