Badlands News Brief

The Shot Heard Around the World

The News Cycle is almost impossible to track these days. At least, to do so fully.

That’s where we come in.

In the Badlands News Brief, the Badlands Media team hand pick news items of interest from the previous days to give you an overview of the biggest goings-on relevant to the Truth Community with some Badlands flavoring to help wash it down.

This week’s items are brought to you by our friends at A Bit of Whimsy Boutique. Please support the America First sponsors who make this work possible.

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Now, onto the news from the Weekend that Was …

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Trump injured but ‘fine’ after attempted assassination at rally, shooter and one attendee are dead

Former President Donald Trump was the target of an apparent assassination attempt Saturday at a Pennsylvania rally, days before he was to accept the Republican nomination for a third time. A barrage of gunfire set off panic, and a bloodied Trump, who said he was shot in the ear, was surrounded by Secret Service and hurried to his SUV as he pumped his fist in a show of defiance.

Trump’s campaign said the presumptive GOP nominee was doing “fine” after the shooting, which he said pierced the upper part of his right ear.

“I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin. Much bleeding took place,” he wrote on his social media site.

The FBI early Sunday identified the shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. The agency said the investigation remains active and ongoing.

Secret Service agents fatally shot Crooks, who attacked from an elevated position outside the rally venue at a farm show in Butler, Pennsylvania, the agency said.

One attendee was killed and two spectators were critically injured, authorities said. All were identified as men. — AP News

And …

Donald Trump's Chances of Winning Election Soar After Shooting

Donald Trump is significantly more likely to win the 2024 presidential election after an apparent attempt to assassinate him on Saturday left him injured, according to a leading bookmaker.

A gunman opened fire on a Trump rally near Butler, in Pennsylvania, on Saturday, killing one attendee and leaving two others seriously wounded, according to a Secret Service spokesperson.

Broadcast footage from the event showed Trump was struck on his right ear, leaving it bleeding, before he was surrounded by Secret Service agents and led from the stage after defiantly raising his hand in a clenched fist. The suspected attacker, who the FBI identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was shot and killed by return fire.

On Saturday, prior to the assassination attempt, Trump's odds of winning the 2024 presidential election were 8/15 (65.2 percent) according to William Hill, a U.K. based betting company. However, after the shooting, this was slashed to a 4/11 (73.3 percent) chance of Trump achieving victory. — Newsweek

Our Take: There are only two ways to look at the assassination attempt against Trump:

Either the event was "staged"—somehow controlled by white hats—or...

... it was real, and God intervened to protect Donald Trump.

I saw a meme yesterday that was made in jest, that made me simultaneously happy and sad.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was perhaps President Trump's original geopolitical sidekick. He was assassinated by a gunman on July 8, 2022, almost two years to the day before the attempt on Trump's life this past weekend. Abe was the world leader who always had Trump's back, and the two appeared to have a genuine friendship that transcended their roles as the leaders of their respective countries. So the idea of Abe's spirit somehow saving Trump's life made me smile, while the memory of his murder made me sad.

(Love these guys. Bad boys for life.)

Who could forget these epic memetic moments from the G7 Summit on June 9, 2018, when Trump, Abe, and the bros stared down Angela Merkel (Germany), Theresa May (Britain), and Emmanuel Macron (France), as Trump demanded that Europe pay their fair share into NATO—in which they were very delinquent—or he would withdraw the United States from the organization.

But there was more context to this photo than just the NATO payments. According to Politico, Trump was demanding that the G7 allow Russia to rejoin the organization, after it was ousted in 2014, following its lawful annexation of Crimea.

President Trump is always looking out for the bros.

Now he is calling for unity, and the time feels right to revisit my Horseshoe Theory article from last summer, and perhaps write a follow-up.

There are deeper, darker implications of the assassination attempt being real— that it was likely an inside job—but we will examine those developments another day. For now, let us thank God that Donald Trump is alive, and recognize the very real impact this event is having on the world.

According to geopolitical journalist Pepe Escobar, the assassination attempt has made Trump a viral sensation on Chinese social media.

Over there, Trump is known as Comrade Jianguo (建国同志) which means "Comrade Build-Country." Escobar says that the nickname has been in effect for years. Another common saying is Chuān Jiànguó (川建国) which literally means “Build the Country Trump,” but usually translates to "Making China Great Again," because the Chinese people see everything that Donald Trump does as ultimately benefitting the Chinese working class. (The background text in the image above reads, "Workers of the world, unite!")

Escobar says that everybody on Chinese social media is wishing Comrade Jianguo a speedy recovery, and praying for his safety. The memetic nature of Trump's return to power is nothing short of legendary.

Much like the truth, President Trump has become a force of nature, and Nothing Can Stop What Is Coming. Nothing. — GhostofBasedPatrickHenry

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Another Take: In the immediate aftermath of the attempt, I said the following:

Somewhat lost in the engineered noise here is the welcome fact that the Overton Window has shifted so far that virtually nobody is questioning the fact that Trump was targeted due to the ideological, political and existential threat he poses to the System.

Except, of course, for the MSM charlatans who tried to discredit the significance of the event as it was happening.

The story in the lead-up to this attempt has been too linear to imply anything other than coordination and control, from the Trump Mug shot to the ongoing Witch Hunt to Convictions galore ... capped off by the very public, very obvious Deep State Panic Pattern in the wake of the Biden Debate and NATO address disasters.

The establishment is caught in a series of lose-lose propositions and narrative implications. Either they radicalized their base, or they're complicit in a direct cover-up.

Questions surrounding a cascade of security "failures" are answers to those paying attention.

And EVERYONE is paying attention.

One of the oldest truisms in the movement is the refrain that they're not after him, they're after you ... he's just in the way.

After this inflection point, that's been inverted.

The machine blinked, because the machine is afraid.

They're don't fear Trump. They fear you. — Burning Bright

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Musk Donates to Trump, Tapping Fortune to Swing 2024 Race

Billionaire Elon Musk has donated to a super political action committee working to elect Donald Trump to the White House, a major gambit by the world’s richest person to make his imprint on the US political landscape.

Musk has contributed to a low-profile group called America PAC, according to people familiar with the matter, who requested anonymity to detail his plans. It’s unclear how much Musk has given, but the people characterized the figure as a sizable amount. The PAC is next required to disclose its list of donors on July 15.

The move highlights the growing influence of a technology mogul who tops the Bloomberg Billionaires Index with a net worth of $263.6 billion and his shift from a self-described political independent — who said he preferred to stay out of politics — into a figure who regularly uses his X social-media platform to espouse right-leaning views and assail Democrats.

Separately, Ken Griffin and Paul Singer, Republican billionaires who have criticized Trump, met with the former president to discuss donating to his campaign, according to people familiar with the discussions. — Bloomberg

(Editor’s Note: He also did this in the aftermath of the attempt …)

Our Take: The mainstream angle on this weekend story is that Elon Musk donated a ‘sizable’ amount to Donald Trump. Per FEC rules, we should know the amount today.

While the left rages about billionaires and dark money, the donation is actually to a political action committee and, according to reporting, will be used for get out the vote efforts.

This makes the reaction of blue anons confounding. Election access — turning out as many voters as possible in an election — is the number one metric of ‘our democracy.’ Musk’s donation ensures that more people will vote.

Isn’t that a good thing?

Of course, it’s possible that all this talk about every vote mattering is merely a Democrat talking point. And since they aren’t cheering for MAGA get out the vote efforts to ensure that every (lawful) vote does, indeed, matter, it’s possible that the talking points evolve into leftists calling to suppress votes for President Trump.

It might even be likely. — Ashe in America

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Biden Advisors Threaten To "Beat The Shit Out Of" Staffers Who Don't Keep Quiet

It’s weird seeing the media pile on with the ‘scoops’ about what exactly is going on behind the scenes with Biden’s panicking entourage, but this one takes it to another level.

CNN reports that a prominent Democrat has claimed Biden’s advisors have threatened White House staffers, saying they will “beat the shit out” of anyone who says anything about Biden’s health that runs contrary to their narrative.

CNN anchor Jake Tapper spoke with reporter MJ Lee in a bizarre segment in which she revealed the claims.

Lee noted “You know, we talked to a lot of folks who said, ‘Of course we know that he has aged. Of course, we had seen some signs, especially over the last year, of his decline in terms of his physical stamina, his mental clarity.’ But that version of the president that we saw on the debate stage, they said was basically unrecognizable.”

She continued, “what my colleagues and I have really reported on is there is a lot of anger and the blame that is being placed on the inner circle of advisers and family members around the president and what these people say is this really painstakingly choreographed and stage managed daily operations at the White House around the president that is set up, specifically designed to prevent the public from often seeing the president in these extended unscripted settings.”

“And one thing that many of the folks that we spoke with that they are so furious about is this idea that when people have gone to these inner circle of advisers around the president to express some of these concerns, that they were not taken seriously or really brushed aside,” Lee added.

Then came the kicker.

“This is what one top Democrat told me, they said, “Everyone who expresses any level of suspicion or contrary views, they call everyone, and they beat the shit out of them and say stay on message,” Lee asserted. — Modernity News

Our Take: I feel like part of what I try to do here is bring a little levity to the news cycle, which can often be depressing and, at times, even scary.

Sometimes I feel like the Biden regime—or maybe Ghosts in the Machine?—are trying to one-up me.

Here I am trying my best to be funny while writing about something that is already laugh-out-loud hilarious. How could I possibly make it any funnier?

“This is what one top Democrat told me, they said, “Everyone who expresses any level of suspicion or contrary views, they call everyone, and they beat the shit out of them and say stay on message,” Lee asserted.

Are they being literal? Are they being facetious? Is Biden the one doing the beatings? Or does he outsource that to the third world? Is it just the white males being beaten? Or the women and the blacks, as well? So many questions.

I mean, one could argue if Biden is only beating the white males, that could be both racist and misogynistic, if you consider that the "beatings" may be intended to be motivational. So if Biden isn't also beating the black and female aids, perhaps it is because he doesn't believe in them as much? But then again, the optics of a white geriatric—who in 2010 eulogized the Grand Cyclops of the Ku Klux Klan at his funeral (Senator Richard Byrd—the longest-serving Senator in US history)—beating his black and female staffers is not great. (Though it is on brand.)

All jokes aside, the sociopaths in the media are turning on one another, as they turn on Biden, and it is delicious. Excuse me while I go pop some more popcorn.— GhostofBasedPatrickHenry

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Dad of convicted ‘Rust’ armorer reacts to Alec Baldwin’s manslaughter case being dismissed

“Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s father said his daughter’s involuntary manslaughter conviction should be overturned after Alec Baldwin’s case — on the same charge — was tossed by a judge Friday.

“Well, I think that’s good,” Thell Reed, 81, told the DailyMail of the stunning end to Baldwin’s case, which was thrown out when a New Mexico justice ruled prosecutors had withheld evidence from the defense.

“I think Hannah’s case should also be dismissed,” the legendary Hollywood armorer told the outlet.

Reed’s daughter was sentenced in April to 18 months behind bars for bringing to set the bullets that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

“There’s a lot of evidence that hasn’t been heard at all. They suppressed all the important evidence and I guess [Baldwin’s] attorneys brought it out,” said Reed. — NY Post

Our Take: Well that was anticlimactic.

On the one hand, we want the rules of evidence to matter. The rules exist to protect the rights of the accused and govern a free and fair justice system.

On the other, as Jon said on X, ‘Some people have all the luck.’ Hannah Gutierrez-Reed is serving 18 months in New Mexico at the Western New Mexico Correctional Facility for involuntary manslaughter.

Her dad seems optimistic, and I love that for him.

As a reminder, Baldwin had a legal team that rivaled OJ’s — and you get what you pay for — so ‘the luck’ came at a premium.

For me, the question that needs to be answered is:

Do the rules that govern the ‘free and fair process’ apply equally to Reed and Baldwin?

I also want to know who brought the live rounds. — Ashe in America

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Former DEA Agent Who Brought Down El Chapo Discusses 'Plan Of Attack' Against Cartels With Former Trump Official

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are planning serious action to address the fentanyl crisis exacerbated by President Biden's open southern borders. With 80,000–100,000 Americans dying from fentanyl overdoses each year, or about one Vietnam every six months, a comprehensive strategy to target Chinese chemical suppliers, money launderers, Mexican cartels, and banks that facilitate this drug death catastrophe, wiping out America's future generations, nears. Some have referred to this crisis as the 'Reverse Opium War.' 

[…]

Asher has laid out a multi-faceted approach, leveraging legal, financial, military, and media tools to combat the opioid crisis by targeting the foundational support structures of drug trafficking organizations. — ZeroHedge

Our Take: Sometimes, you just need to sit back and let the simulation run.

This weekend, while reading about the emergent plan to take down Mexican drug cartels, foreign funding of them, and the banks that make it all possible, I was struck by the sheer preponderance of strange narrative convergences on display.

To wit, we have current DEA head and supposed bane of "El Chapo," Ray Donovan discussing an in-depth plan to handle the US fentanyl crisis.

The "plan" involves cutting off and prosecuting domestic and foreign banks, and combining terrorist designations with RICO charges, all of which recalls Trump's projected stance of sending Tier 1 "kill teams" south of the border when he retakes the Oval Office, which provides the opportunity to tie the southern border crisis to the larger Deep State cabal in the minds of the public.

It all gets even stranger when you consider that "Ray Donovan" is also the name of a famous TV series about a "fixer" taking on organized crime amidst the Hollywood elite. — Burning Bright

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A Biden Confidant Emerges as a Crucial Mideast Diplomat

A few weeks before Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, a senior White House official visited southern Lebanon for a sightseeing trip that doubled as a dramatic political statement.

The official, Amos Hochstein, one of President Biden’s most trusted national security advisers, toured the ancient ruins of Baalbek in an area well known as a stronghold of Hezbollah, a U.S.-designated terrorist group sponsored by Iran.

Wearing white pants and a golf shirt, and with no security entourage, Mr. Hochstein marveled at the artifacts and snapped photos of the onetime Roman city’s crumbling stone walls and columns. Keeping watch from a distance were several muscular men in black T-shirts — presumed Hezbollah militiamen.

The trip caused a minor sensation in Lebanese news media, which wondered how a top American official — one born in Israel, no less — was able to move so freely on Hezbollah turf. — NY Times

Our Take: On last week's Devolution Power Hour, Just Human shared a fantastic article about an unknown diplomat in the Biden administration named Amos Hochstein, an Israeli-born American citizen and longtime Democrat operative.

Hochstein's history with the Democrat Party is obviously concerning, though to be fair, I could say the same thing about anybody with a comparable history in the Republican Party.

And ultimately, what I am looking for, right now, are not ideologically pure operators—whether we are talking about unknown diplomats, or celebrated world leaders. What I look for in characters in this Information War are people who are trying to prevent World War 3. Those are the "white hats," and I don't have to share their culture or worldview in order to appreciate what it is they are trying to accomplish.

What intrigues me about Hochstein, as the DPH's boys discussed last week, is that he has met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over a dozen times since Biden became the illegitimate president. (Am I jealous? Maybe a little...)

Now we have a story that Hochstein is close to brokering a ceasefire deal between Hezbollah, the Lebanese-based militia, and Israel.

As I have already stated, I believe that Hezbollah is trying to prevent a full-blown conflict with Israel, because they have reportedly infiltrated the IDF and would know that there are some real nutjobs around Netanyahu, who maintain a messianic view of both politics and religion, and considering that Hezbollah has spent the past 12 years fighting ISIS, they would know how dangerous those people can be.

The question will be whether these messianic cabinet members—the Kahanists—will allow Netanyahu to make peace with Hezbollah. Smotrich and Ben-Gvir have already stated that they are demanding war with both Hamas and Hezbollah, and if Netanyahu deprives them of those wars, they will dissolve his government and force new elections, hoping to elect more radical Kahanists to Israel's government.

Another interesting element is what happened between Crown Prince MBS and Lebanon on the weekend of November 4th, 2017, when King Salman convened the 57 nations of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Riyadh, so he could inform them that he was effectively abdicating his duties as sovereign of Saudi Arabia, and his son—the Crown Prince—would be assuming that role. That was when MBS announced that he had formed a corruption task force, and immediately began arresting his corrupt cousins.

In addition to the corrupt Saudi cousins, MBS had the Lebanese Prime Minister, Saad al-Harir, detained, and forced him to resign from his position on Saudi television. Al-Harir remained in Riyadh for weeks, and the MSM freaked out over it. But, to MBS's credit, al-Harir developed some sort of Stockholm Syndrome, refusing to denounce or criticize the Crown Prince, even after French President Emmanuel Macron flew to Riyadh in a panic to collect him. (More on that crazy story later.)

The point is that there is something going on between the Saudi Crown Prince and Lebanon, and this Amos Hochstein character may be part of that story. — GhostofBasedPatrickHenry

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BONUS ITEMS

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Democratic Donors Freeze $90 Million In "Coordinated Rebellion" Against Biden

The New York Times is reporting that the largest Democratic super PAC is freezing $90 million in pledged donations for as long as Joe Biden remains the nominee.

“Some major Democratic donors have told the largest pro-Biden super PAC, Future Forward, that roughly $90 million in pledged donations is now on hold if President Biden remains atop the ticket, according to two people who have been briefed on the conversations,” The Times report states.

The moves comes after another car crash appearance where Biden called Kamala Harris ‘Vice President Trump’ and introduced Zelensky as “President Putin.”

The leftist media talking heads are also now bickering among each other about how brain damaged Biden is.

There are some absolutely wild stories being bandied around. — Modernity News

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Orbán Continues Ukraine 'Peace Mission' With Trump Meeting: "He Is The Man Of Peace"

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said in a Reuters interview this week that Hungary believes a second Trump presidency will boost the chances for achieving peace in Ukraine.

Currently, the country's prime minister Viktor Orban is on a global peace mission, also in the capacity of Hungary currently holding the presidency of the EU council. Within the past two weeks he met with Presidents Putin and Xi Jinping, and before that with Zelensky in Kiev.

On Thursday he was in Mar-a-Lago in Florida, where he met with Donald Trump, in the next iteration of the 'peace mission'. Hungary's NATO allies have not been happy, especially over the meeting with Putin, and have declared that Orban is not representing the EU on this mission. The Hungarian leader was already in the US this week attending the annual NATO summit in Washington hosted by Biden.

Orban announced on X of the meeting with Trump: "It was an honor to visit President [Donald Trump] at Mar-a-Lago today. We discussed ways to make peace. The good news of the day: he’s going to solve it!"

He referenced the Florida visit as "Peace mission 5.0" - but this too resulted in consternation from EU leadership. For example, Germany's foreign ministry responded by saying, "We have to see how the Hungarian council presidency continues. We are now on day 12 and it has already caused a lot of damage." — ZeroHedge

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We hope you enjoyed this brief look back at the major news items you might have missed in this ever-escalating and ever-accelerating news cycle as the Information War continues to rage on around us.

As always, if you have any thoughts on these news items or the MANY others swirling in the digital ether, drop into the comments below to share them with your fellow Badlanders.

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