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The Art Of Getting Even
April 27, 2026
Posted 3 hours ago by
Every statement is a Rorschach test Americans of the Trump 2.0 era don’t need guns to have hair triggers. Digby already remarked on Donald Trump’s self-own Sunday night with Nora O’Donnell of “60 Minutes.” She quoted from the “manifesto” of Saturday night’s White House Correspondents’ Association dinner shooting suspect: “I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands in his crimes.” Trump pounced, attacking O’Donnell for reading the line: Trump: “I was waiting for you to read that because I knew you would because you’re horrible peopleI’m not a rapist.
I didn’t rape anybody. O’Donnell: Oh you think he was referring to you? “I’m not a pedophile,” Trump said, ignoring the question. Everyone knows that the alleged attacker meant Trump without naming him. Including Trump. O’Donnell meant to bait him by quoting it. She got her sound bite. But as I mentioned Friday, someone in this heated political environment will read partisan motive into any comment on current events even when no personalities, parties, programs or policies get named. Every statement is a Rorschach test. One person’s “Thank you for seeing me” is another’s thumb in the eye. Of course, that’s exactly what Trump was hoping to give the assembled media on Saturday night before an aborted assassination thwarted his plans. He meant to get even for his roasting at the 2011 WHCA event. Getting even may be one of Trump’s few principles. Even if it takes 15 years. Trump telegraphed his move. John
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