A thought experiment

April 30, 2024

A thought experiment

June 1, 2020. Peaceful protesters were assembled in Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C., after the murder of George Floyd. Then-president Trump asked Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, “Can't you just shoot them? Just shoot them in the legs or something?” Trump also demanded that his aids invoke the Insurrection Act. General Milley refused and pointed to a portrait of Abraham Lincoln, saying:

“That guy had an insurrection. What we have, Mr President, is a protest.”

Although Bill Barr ordered National Guard troops in riot gear to clear Lafayette Square with tear gas, no protesters were shot—despite Trump's suggestion.

June 1, 2025. Peaceful protesters in cities across America are criticizing the policies of the second Trump administration. Recently elected President Trump tells Secretary of Defense Michael Flynn, “Shoot them. Just shoot them in the legs or something.” Flynn says, “Mr. President, it’s a crime to use the military against civilians.” Trump responds, “So what? I have immunity for official acts. And I will pardon you. Shoot them in the legs. Do it.”

Today, we learned that Trump's presidential valet, Walt Nauta, was interviewed by the FBI regarding his knowledge of the movement of boxes at Mar-a-Lago that contained national defense secrets. According to a newly released FBI memo, a witness told the FBI that Trump promised to grant Walt Nauta a pardon for lying to the FBI if Trump is elected to a second term. See Trump co-defendant in classified documents case was told he’d be pardoned in a second term, notes in FBI interview say | CNN Politics.

The combination of presidential immunity and the right to grant pardons is a volatile mixture never envisioned by the Framers of the Constitution. We cannot go down that path. We started down that path on June 1, 2020, and were stopped by the fealty of General Milley to the Constitution. In a second Trump administration, there will be no men of the character of General Milley.

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President Biden continues negotiations for ceasefire and release of hostages

On Monday, President Biden spoke with the leaders of Egypt and Qatar in pursuit of a ceasefire and release of all hostages held by Hamas. They also discussed enhancing the delivery of food and supplies to Gaza. See WhiteHouse.gov, Readout of President Biden’s Call with President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi of Egypt and President Biden’s Call with Amir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani of Qatar.

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Antony Blinken is publicly pressuring Hamas to accept the terms of an undisclosed deal that would exchange hostages for a cease fire. See The Guardian, Blinken urges Hamas to accept ‘extraordinarily generous’ Israeli ceasefire deal.

Per the NYTimes, the Biden negotiating team sees “a narrow window” for concluding a deal. Let’s hope that we are on the verge of a breakthrough for peace.

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Vice President Kamala Harris emerging as strong campaign partner for Biden

Vice President Kamala Harris is emerging as an active campaigner for the Biden-Harris ticket. Although President Biden has been actively campaigning, he has a country to run! On Monday, VP Harris traveled to Georgia to highlight the administration’s $7 billion investment in Black-owned small businesses and historically Black colleges and universities. See NYTimes, Kamala Harris Leads Push to Shore Up Democratic Support From Black Voters.

Per the Times, VP Harris

Explain[ed] how government policies have widened the racial wealth gap over the years [and] Ms. Harris pointed to the Biden administration’s attempts to try to narrow it, including small-business grants and efforts to forgive student loans.[¶]

The vice president’s Atlanta visit, her 12th trip to Georgia since taking office, was the first stop in a tour of several battleground states in the coming weeks. Much of the tour will focus on Black small businesses and economic issues that are especially pressing for Black communities. She will visit Detroit next week, aides said.

The good news is that Kamala Harris is proving to be an effective campaign partner for President Biden. The better news is that Trump's “survivor style” vice presidential selection process is highlighting just how bad MAGA candidates are.

While Biden and Harris are tag-teaming their campaign, Trump's leading vice-presidential candidate, Kristi Noem, just shot herself in the foot by describing how she shot and killed her hunting puppy who failed to live up to Kristi’s standards for hunting dogs. See CNN, Opinion: Kristi Noem shot her ‘untrainable’ dog. If she thought we’d be impressed by her toughness, she was wrong | CNN.

There are many sickening aspects to Noem’s story, so it is difficult to pick one. While shooting a puppy is deplorable (and likely a crime), the fact that Noem believed the story would inspire MAGA extremists to vote for her is chilling. Was she hoping to impress MAGA extremists? See Business Insider, Who's Kristi Noem Trying to Impress by Bragging About Killing Her Dog?

As noted by Business Insider, Mitt Romney never recovered from a story about transporting his dog in a cage tied to the top of the family station wagon. There is no coming back from killing a puppy at point-blank range—even in Trumpworld.

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Opportunities for reader engagement

Join Run for Something with Jessica Craven on May 7!

Indivisible/Swing Left South Bay LA will be hosting a virtual conversation with Amanda Litman, co-founder and co-executive director of Run for Something and special guest, Jessica Craven. May 7 at 6:00 pm Pacific.

How do we get voters excited to show up at the polls in November? Run for Something is training and mentoring young, dynamic candidates who are running for office at the state and local level.  Amanda has spoken for years about the 'reverse coattails' phenomenon; when voters are excited to vote at the bottom of the ticket, they'll likely check the box at the top of the ticket too. We'll also discuss Run for Something's 50 state school board strategy that netted them a 72% win rate in 2023, and beat back candidates from Moms for Liberty. And so much more! Sign up here!

Join a fun fundraiser with music in the Pasadena, California area!

Swing Left San Gabriel Valley (which is in the Pasadena, CA area) is holding a fundraiser for the Swing Left/SL SGV Hold the Senate Fund on Saturday, May 18 starting at 7:00 pm PDT. Stephan Smith Collins — film and TV actor, singer, humanitarian — will talk about (and perform) what he believes are some of the greatest songs that have helped shape the world. In his presentation, Stephan will explore the true power of music: its ability to evoke emotion, create connections and inspire change. Tickets are $50/person. 

All proceeds will go to the Swing Left/SL SGV Hold the Senate Fund. Sign up here, and purchase your ticket by contributing here. We hope you'll join us, invite your community of friends and family . . . and enjoy some desserts as you sing along!

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Concluding Thoughts

Thanks to everyone who donated to Dr. Kristin Hook’s campaign to unseat Rep. Chip Roy in Texas CD 21. Readers of Today’s Edition donated $8,600, which will help Dr. Hook promote her message of hope to Texans in the 21st congressional district.

During our Zoom call on Monday, I was once again humbled by the dedication and sacrifice of citizens rising to meet this moment. Dr. Hook is a thoughtful, sincere, tenacious proponent of liberty and equality in the face of daunting odds.

Running in a deep red district is not an easy task under normal circumstances. Like many young Americans in their 40’s, Dr. Hook is still paying student loans. She quit her job and “downsized” her living arrangements to give Texans the chance to have a constructive voice in Congress—in place of a MAGA representative who sees government as “the enemy.”

Dr. Hook personally canvasses every neighborhood in her district. She could stick to the cities and suburbs close to the university and college campuses, but she is knocking on doors in rural areas that haven’t seen a Democratic candidate in decades. That takes courage.

Dr. Hook’s courage and tenacity are special—but not rare. I see the same spirit in every grassroots group of phone-bankers willing to endure the abuse of MAGA extremists for the chance to convince one Democrat or independent to show up at the polls. I see it in postcard writers who understand that many lovingly crafted cards will be ignored but continue to write on the chance that one postcard may swing an election.

My simple point is this: If you are feeling dejected or dispirited about the state of our nation or the race for 2024, you need only spend time with a candidate or grassroots volunteer to understand that the fighting spirit that delivered us to this moment has not faded or failed. It is in the hands of new champions—young and old, experienced and untested, timid and bold. Americans are answering the call of a nation in distress as never before. And as long as that continues, we have every reason to be hopeful but no reason to be complacent!

Talk to you tomorrow!