Ridiculous Comment

On Tuesday, September 16, the two US senators from Pennsylvania, Republican Dave McCormick and Democrat John Fetterman appeared on a Special Report segment Common Ground with Brett Baier on Fox News. Referring to Donald Trump, the Democrat stated in part

Don't compare  him to anyone. And if you do, then you will incite somebody to say, well, now I feel like I have to, to, stop that and take them out. People have seemed to have forgotten that the President took a shot to the head. And can you imagine if that shot would have gone the way Charlie Kirk's went? And what kind of condition our nation would be in?

This such a dangerous time right now. And no why you don't need this- an opportunity to share your opinions on it. Just again, it's appalling and allow folks enough space to grieve. The man hasn't even been buried et. And it's like that's why we wanted to have a conversation that we have to find a way to work together.

“People have forgotten that the president was shot in the head. Can you imagine if that shot would have gone the way Charlie Kirk’s went?” - John Fetterman

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— Lucas Sanders 💙🗳️🌊💪🌈🚺🟧 (@LucasSa56947288) September 17, 2025

The "him" in the first paragraph evidently referred to President Trump because in its piece on the segment, The Philadelphia Inquirer has reported

Pennsylvania Sens. John Fetterman and Dave McCormick denounced the use of terms like “fascism” and “Nazism,” which have been deployed by some in the Democratic Party to criticize President Donald Trump and his allies.

If we're to have that "conversation" Fetterman advocates, we first need to be accurate. The attempt on Donald Trump's life took place on July 13, 2024. Note to the Pennsylvania senator: Trump was not elected until almost four months later, on November 5, 2024.

This is not inconsequential because 

The 20-year-old Pennsylvania man who tried to assassinate Donald Trump had photos on his phone of the former Republican president, President Joe Biden and other officials, including Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Chris Wray, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Investigators searching Thomas Matthew Crooks’ devices have also found that the shooter looked up the dates for the Democratic National Convention as well as Trump’s appearances, according to the people who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition on anonymity to discuss details of the ongoing probe.

Crooks was not dead-set (no pun intended, really) on killing Donald Trump. There were other targets- Democratic targets- he had in mind. The motive(s) of an individual planning to murder several persons or one of any group of people differs from someone intent on killing one specific individual.

But it's consequential for another reason. Fetterman argues "and can you imagine if that shot would have gone the way Charlie Kirk's went? And what kind of condition our nation  would be in?"

One need not be a mind reader to know that the Senator was horrified of the possibility that a President of the United States and Commander in Chief of the Armed Services (when the latter called into service) would be assassinated and leave the nation leaderless. However, that would not have happened; Joe Biden was, and would have continued to be, President until the following January 20.

That's not to suggest that a successful attack upon candidate Trump would have been less serious or significant than a successful attack upon a President. If a President is assassinated, the 25th Amendment is invoked. The Vice President (who is of the same political party as the president and was chosen by him) becomes President and after a period of mourning, life goes on. Assassination of the presidential nominee of one of the two major political parties, of an individual with roughly a 50% chance of being elected President, goes to the heart of our democratic republic. It eliminates the major challenger to the incumbent Party and can dramatically change the course of the nation.

Either scenario is tragic and potentially devastating. However, there is a difference and a United States Senator, the victim of a stroke, either a) forgot that Donald Trump wasn't yet President; b) thinks thee is no difference between a presidential candidate and a President; or c)intentionally spoke of Donald as a President who suffered an assassination attempt.

That's a consequential error or something worse. The Senator is either mentally impaired (a); ignorant of our constitutional system (b); or (c) is beguiled by Donald Trump. 

Fetterman claims additionally "people have seemed to have forgotten that the President took a shot to the head."  Virtually no one denies that Trump came within a whisker of being killed, and the incident was not staged. 

Nonetheless, Donald Trump either was hit by a bullet fragment- not by a bullet itself- or sustained his injuries in some other manner during the incident. This 79-year-old man takes a blood thinner- a.k.a., aspirin- takes "a shot to the head," is released from the hospital a few hours later, and is left with no scar. That strains credulity for anyone who thinks. Embracing the "shot to the head" story is assuming facts not in evidence.

Donald Trump wasn't President when he did not take a shot to the head, a violent crime people have not forgotten.  Aside from those things, Senator Fetterman is thinking clearly.

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