The Would-Be Massacre That Was a Wake-Up Call for the Press

Summary

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Episode Overview

Title: The Would-Be Massacre That Was a Wake-Up Call for the Press
Podcast: Free Thinking Through the Fourth Turning with Sasha Stone
Host: Sasha Stone
Date: May 1, 2026

Sasha Stone, a former Democrat who now critically examines the left from an outsider's perspective, tackles the recent attempted mass shooting incident at a high-profile political event. This episode explores how hyperbolic media narratives about Donald Trump may be radicalizing individuals, fostering hysteria, and potentially inspiring real-world violence. Stone argues that the media, rather than Trump himself, plays a crucial role in creating the conditions for political extremism and violence by incessantly pushing a doomsday narrative.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Media's Fear Narrative and Public Perception ([00:00]–[02:53])

• Chuck Todd's Fear and Reaction:
  Chuck Todd declares he will no longer attend events with Trump, citing personal safety concerns and painting Trump as a chaos agent indifferent to others' safety.
  • "Wherever Donald Trump is, chaos follows him. Chaos follows him. And you are less safe. Right. If you decide to go into his orbit, you have become less safe." – Chuck Todd [00:32]
• Sasha's Reflection:
  Stone reflects on how media-driven fear about Trump has overtaken the mental health of many—including her mother—resulting in "ten years of worry, fear, hysteria and hatred."
  • "I used to exist inside that insulated doomsday culture and most of the people I know in real life still do. I can see what it's done to them." – Sasha Stone [01:30]

2. "Trump as Fascist" – Hysteria and Historical Analogies ([02:53]–[06:02])

• Media and Academic Alarmism:
  Compilation of headlines, New York Times video clips, and commentary from historians drawing parallels between Trump and fascism, often in dramatic terms.
  • "If you use history and philosophy as a guide, it's easy to see parallels between Trump's words and those of the most reviled fascists in history. That scares me. And it should scare you, too." – Historian of Totalitarianism [02:53]
• Stone’s Counter:
  Observes there's a lack of reality-check from the legacy press and highlights the immense pressure media narratives have put on ordinary people's perceptions.
  • "It's just that it wasn't true. And it was easy to figure it out. All it took was watching Trump's rallies, listening to him talk, getting to know his supporters, seeing things from their point of view and humanizing them." – Sasha Stone [06:02]

3. The Left’s Apocalyptic Messaging and Press Induced Radicalization ([06:02]–[13:18])

• Media Reaction to Violent Events:
  Stone criticizes the press for immediately pivoting debate toward gun control after violent incidents, rather than examining their own role in stoking tension.
  • "At best, the Democrats came out of the potential massacre screaming about gun control, as though they've done anything to protect students or the schools in 20 years. But all that does is change the channel away from common sense and empathy back to where they want it." – Sasha Stone [07:27]
• Tweets & Public Commentary:
  Quotes from Twitter and headlines are used to illustrate the echo chamber and entrenched partisan divisions.
• Caroline Levitt and Right-Wing Perspective:
  Conservative commentator highlights the volume and extremity of anti-Trump rhetoric from Democratic politicians, arguing it inspires unstable individuals to commit violence.
  • "These are Democrat elected officials calling for war against the president of the United States and his supporters...You are inspiring violence by people who are already mentally ill." – Caroline Levitt [09:21]

4. The “Both Sides” Argument and Persistent Divisions ([13:18]–[16:42])

• Lopsided Coverage:
  Stone points out media's tendency to focus only on right-wing violence and completely downplay the left’s culpability, effectively radicalizing audiences.
  • "The media focuses intensely on acts of violence by the right and has for 10 years while ignoring violence from the left. They do this without even thinking about it, which is why Americans conclude the right is more violent. The media told them so. Why wouldn't it be true?" – Sasha Stone [13:18]
• Montage of Violent Rhetoric:
  Audio montage presents incendiary statements from both left and right, but especially left-wing public figures and celebrities, highlighting the escalation of political rhetoric.
  • "You cannot be civil with a political party that wants to destroy what you stand for, what you care about." – Media Critic/Commentator [14:47]
  • "They're still gonna have to go out and put a bullet in Donald Trump." – Progressive Commentator [15:27]
  • "Yes, I have thought an awful lot about blowing up the White House." – Progressive Commentator [15:30]
• Stone’s Lament:
  The lack of honesty and courage from the media to calm the public instead of continually raising the temperature.
  • "Why doesn't just once, Joy Behar or Whoopi Goldberg say, oh, we didn't really mean he's a fascist. We just say that because we want to win elections, but it isn't really true...What has this done to the soul of our nation?" – Sasha Stone [15:47]

5. The Supreme Court and Gerrymandering Debate ([16:42]–[22:30])

• Ben Shapiro on Trump’s Legacy:
  Credits Trump with appointing a Supreme Court he describes as "constitutionally protective," defending their recent decisions.
  • "So President Trump's greatest legacy will be the Supreme Court. Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. This Supreme Court is the most constitutionally protective Supreme Court in modern American history, by far." – Ben Shapiro [16:42]
• Progressive Backlash:
  Left-wing commentators decry the "Trump Court" and its rulings, linking them to structural racism and efforts to suppress votes.
  • "What we would expect from the Trump Court is an effort to continue their scheme to suppress the vote and rig the midterm elections and beyond." – Progressive Commentator [17:46]
• Debate on Race, Gerrymandering, and Intention:
  Shapiro ridicules the idea that race-based redistricting is necessary and deconstructs claims of widespread voter suppression.

6. The Press as the Real Arbiters of Hysteria ([22:30]–[24:37])

• Stone’s MK Ultra Analogy:
  Draws a parallel between historic government mind control efforts and the modern media's capacity to radicalize via social media hysteria.
  • "Cole Allen, Tyler Robinson and Thomas Matthew Crooks are playing out a mainstream in the light of day version of the CIA's MK Ultra." – Sasha Stone [22:30]
  • "They didn't need a secret lab. They didn't even need drugs. They just needed the Internet, social media algorithms, and our inability to maintain our sanity while doom scrolling." – Sasha Stone [24:37]
• Lack of Comedy, Monoculture:
  Laments the loss of counter-narratives and comedic relief, replaced by a “monoculture on the left.”

7. Media Distortions, Public Frenzy, and Missed Lessons ([24:37]–[29:00])

• The "Bulletproof Vest" Joke and Media Spin:
  Highlights how even offhand jokes by Trump are recontextualized by media into narratives about vanity or callousness, fueling outrage online.
  • "'President Trump said he has resisted wearing a bulletproof vest, saying it would make him look 20 pounds heavier.' The first paragraph of the story once again does not say it was a joke." – Sasha Stone [27:25]
• Ominous Warning:
  Stone argues that despite how close the press came to being victims, they learned nothing—still failing to self-reflect or change course.
  • "Cole Allen was an incompetent assassin, as it would turn out, but it should serve as a warning, one that they should not ignore. This is not a both sides issue. Only one side is growing political assassins who echo the exact same messaging of the legacy media and the Democrats." – Sasha Stone [29:00]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Chuck Todd’s Impassioned Plea:
  "I'm not going to any more events where Trump's at him. I don't feel safe... He only cares when the violence is committed against him." – Chuck Todd [00:32–01:12]

• Sasha Stone on Media-Driven Delusion:
  "Ten years of worry, fear, hysteria and hatred have consumed them." [01:30] "You watch them flip out. I've always known all it would take is a little bit of courage from the legacy press to help people like my mom and millions of Americans who believe the lies..." [06:02]

• Caroline Levitt's Rhetorical Inventory:
  "These are Democrat elected officials calling for war against the president of the United States and his supporters...You are inspiring violence by people who are already mentally ill." [09:21–11:33]

• Media Critic on Rhetoric:
  "There is no one in this country that is more responsible for violent, hateful rhetoric than the president himself...nobody's words matter more than the President of the United States." [11:36]

• Montage of Escalation:
  "You cannot be civil with a political party that wants to destroy what you stand for, what you care about."
  "They're still gonna have to go out and put a bullet in Donald Trump."
  "Yes, I have thought an awful lot about blowing up the White House." [14:47–15:30]

• Sasha on Monoculture and Social Control:
  "Instead we have a monoculture on the left all pushing the exact same message. We're helpless, we're occupied. Please, someone just do it." [24:37]

• Closing Warning:
  "Sooner or later they will have to reckon with having lied for so many years, especially if they plan on toasting a glass of champagne, let alone sitting in the same room with an existential threat like Donald Trump. Who knows who else might be out there who takes them at their word?" [29:00]

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Important Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:32] Chuck Todd explains personal safety concerns related to Trump events.
• [02:53] NYT video: "Is Trump a fascist?" – academic arguments, emotional appeals.
• [06:02] Stone deconstructs media narratives by observing Trump supporters firsthand.
• [09:21] Caroline Levitt: rundown of violent rhetoric from Democratic politicians.
• [11:36] Media Critic: recounts Trump’s own harsh rhetoric and its consequences.
• [14:31–15:41] Montage of violent statements from both political camps.
• [16:42] Ben Shapiro on Trump’s Supreme Court legacy.
• [22:30] Stone’s "MK Ultra" media analogy.
• [27:25] The Trump "bulletproof vest" joke and media spin.
• [29:00] Host’s closing caution and reflection on the near-miss for the press.

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Conclusion

Sasha Stone’s episode serves as a stark critique of mainstream media's role in escalating public hysteria and polarization regarding Donald Trump and contemporary American politics. By weaving together media commentary, political rhetoric, personal anecdotes, and cultural references, Stone contends that the legacy media—partnered with the Democratic Party—has cultivated an always-on state of alarmism and paranoia. The warning is clear: continuous, unchecked rhetorical escalation creates real-world consequences, radicalizing not just the fringe but shaping the very culture of American public life. Stone calls for honesty, perspective, and the courage to break the “doomsday” cycle before an avoidable tragedy occurs.

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Transcript

[Sasha Stone]

Hi, this is Free Thinking through the fourth turning. I'm Sasha Stone. The would be massacre. That was a wake up call for the press, but as usual, they hit the snooze button. Chuck Todd is terrified for his life. He announced he won't attend any events with Donald Trump anymore. He doesn't feel safe. It's too dangerous. Trump, he insists, will throw everyone else under the bus to protect himself.

[Chuck Todd]

I'm not going to any more events where Trump's at him. I don't feel safe. Wherever Donald Trump is, chaos follows him. Chaos follows him. And you are less safe. Right. If you decide to go into his orbit, you have become less safe. If you. He's just, he does not care about your safety. He's not going to protect you if you go into his orbit because he's always going to protect himself first. He's more likely to throw you under the bus. He's more likely to have you be the target of Iranian assassins if you're John Bolton or Mike Pompeo. And he's going to pull any sort of federal support. Right. You know, I think about when somebody using Donald Trump's words and actions targeted me and a bunch of other members of the press. You know who I didn't hear from?

[Ben Shapiro]

Donald Trump.

[Chuck Todd]

Right. So the guy doesn't care when people commit violence in his name. He only cares when the violence is committed against him. And he does not see that he is a contributor to the atmospherics of the world we're living in right now.

[Sasha Stone]

That's awfully convenient considering the media is largely responsible for the collective mental health crisis in this country regarding Donald Trump. How do I know? I used to exist inside that insulated doomsday culture and most of the people I know in real life still do. I can see what it's done to them. Ten years of worry, fear, hysteria and hatred have consumed them. When I talk to my mother, I know she exists in that world defined by hate, as she spends the last few years of what's left of her life as part of this all of society effort to bring down the enemy of the Democrats, of Barack Obama. That's all it is. But she has no idea because she takes them at their word and her perception of reality is limited to the confines of the doomsday cult. My mother is like I used to be a committed soldier to believing everything that was pumped into my nervous system, from my social media feed to the headlines at the New York Times, to the opening monologues on Morning Joe, the Daily show and Ms. Now like her, I trusted them. Like her, I couldn't believe they would lie about something so serious. It had to be true. All of it. For podcast listeners, a video from the New York Times. Is President Trump a fascist?

[Historian of Totalitarianism]

Fascist. People like to use the word to describe any politician they don't like on both sides of the aisle. Now, it might seem like an exaggeration to call Trump a fascist. I mean, he's not calling for a genocide or imprisoning his own people without due process. But I want you to reflect for a moment on his words, on his political tactics, on his rhetoric, if you will. I've devoted the last decade of my life to studying fascist propaganda. If you use history and philosophy as a guide, it's easy to see parallels between Trump's words and those of the most reviled fascists in history. That scares me. And it should scare you, too.

[Sasha Stone]

A headline from the New York Times by Michelle Goldberg, the resistance libs were right. And a headline from the New Yorker. What does it mean? That Donald Trump is a fascist? And a video from the New York Times where experts in fascism were leaving the U.S.

[Historian of Totalitarianism (colleague)]

i'm a historian of totalitarianism.

[Historian of Totalitarianism]

I look at fascist rhetoric.

[Historian/Political Commentator]

I've been thinking about the sources of the worst kinds of history for a quarter of a century.

[Historian of Totalitarianism]

Experts say the constitutional crisis is here now.

[Sasha Stone]

The Trump administration deporting hundreds of men without a trial.

[Conservative Commentator]

A massive purge at the FBI to make people afraid of speaking out against him.

[Historian of Totalitarianism]

I'm leaving to the University of Toronto because I want to do my work without the fear that I will be punished for my words.

[Historian of Totalitarianism (colleague)]

The lesson of 1933 is you get out sooner rather than later.

[Historian/Political Commentator]

I've spent a lot of time in the last decade trying to prepare people. If Trump were elected once, let alone

[Cole Allen]

twice, look what happened. Is this crazy?

[Historian/Political Commentator]

I have to not flee Trump. But if people are going to leave the United States or leave American universities, there are reasons for that. One thing you can definitely learn from

[Historian of Totalitarianism]

Russians is that it's essential to set up centers of resistance in places of relative safety.

[Historian/Political Commentator]

We want to make sure that if there is a political crisis in the US That Americans are organized.

[Cole Allen]

We've just gotten started. You haven't even seen anything yet. It's all just kicking in.

[Historian of Totalitarianism (colleague)]

My colleagues and friends, they were walking around and saying, we have checks and balances, so let's inhale checks and balances. Exhale checks and balances. And I thought, my God, we're like people on the Titanic saying, our ship can't sink. We've got the best ship we've got, the strongest ship we've got, the biggest ship our ship can't sink. And what you know as a historian is that there is no such thing as a ship that can't sink.

[Cole Allen]

The golden age of America has only just begun.

[Historian of Totalitarianism]

America has long had an exceptionalist narrative. Fascism can happen elsewhere, but not here.

[Sasha Stone]

And a story from the New Yorker, Rachel Maddow on the fascist threat in America, then and now. It's just that it wasn't true. And it was easy to figure it out. All it took was watching Trump's rallies, listening to him talk, getting to know his supporters, seeing things from their point of view and humanizing them, and yet even suggesting such a thing. And you watch them flip out. I've always known all it would take is a little bit of courage from the legacy press to help people like my mom and millions of Americans who believe the lies they pump out every day on behalf of the Democrats. Just a little bit of sanity would go a long way. But instead, they're playing with fire. They are assuming guys like Cole Allen can tell the difference between extreme hyperbole and the truth. And any column about the left's violence begins and ends with Trump. And all that means is they don't get the message. At best, they both sides it they can't see what they've done to whole generations who actually believe they're growing up in a dictatorship, a regime that disappears people off the streets, wants to turn every woman into a birthing slave, and is shooting protesters just for exercising their First Amendment rights who wouldn't pick up a gun. At best, the Democrats came out of the potential massacre screaming about gun control, as though they've done anything to protect students or the schools in 20 years. But all that does is change the channel away from common sense and empathy back to where they want it. Right on target. For podcast listeners, a tweet. I just can't imagine wanting an entire secure ballroom for one man and not wanting gun reform for every child in America. And another tweet. Imagine if Republicans were this upset about school shootings. And another, the height of hypocrisy is Donald Trump demanding metal detectors, armed guards, and lockdown ballrooms for his own safety, while refusing even the most basic gun control for classrooms full of vulnerable kids. Cole Allen took the press at their word, which is why he couldn't understand how they could have dinner with a rapist, traitor and pedophile. He has a point, after all. Why would they, if they really meant everything they've been telling us for 10 years, had he been better at breaching security, if he'd had a better weapon that could fire multiple rounds, there's a good chance members of the press could have been mowed down, too. Along with the very pregnant Caroline Levitt, who thankfully just welcomed her baby into this world. It feels like a miracle for anyone paying attention, podcast listeners, a tweet, congratulations to Caroline and her hubby, and a picture of her baby. The press didn't seem to get it. None of them even took a pause except to blame Trump, to say he was nice for a second there, but then turned hostile at Norah O' Donnell on 60 Minutes. Here is Caroline Levitt.

[Conservative Commentator]

Whether you're on television, a podcast host, you know, people listen. And when you have mentally disturbed individuals across the country who are listening to this crazed rhetoric about the president and day after day after day, it inspires them to do crazy things. And unfortunately, it's not just the media. It is the entire Democrat Party has made their pitch to voters across the country that Donald Trump poses an existential threat to democracy, that he is a fascist and that they compare him to Hitler. I mean, these are despicable statements that the American people have been consuming for years. And so many mentally perturbed individuals are led to believe these words are truth and and then are inspired to act on it. I have a whole host of examples that we can share with you after. It is pages and pages of major Democrat Party elected officials saying, such as Rep. Hakeem Jeffries just this April, this month said, we are in an era of maximum warfare everywhere, all the time. Governor Josh Shapiro said heads need to roll within the administration. Senator Alex Padilla said people are, quote, dying because of fear and terror caused by the Trump administration. Senator Elizabeth Warren, President Trump is making the country look like a, quote, fascist state. Senator Adam Schiff saying President Trump using a dictator playbook. Senator Ed Markey calling President Trump a dictator, saying that this administration's actions are authoritarianism on steroids. Governor J.B. pritzker, never before in my life have I called for mass protest disruptions. These Republicans cannot know a moment of peace. You have Rep. Pressley saying we'll see you in the streets. Monica McIver, a Democrat representative on Capitol Hill, we will not take this from Donald Trump. He thinks he's a dictator. We are at war. These are Democrat elected officials calling for war against the president of the United States and his supporters. I could go on and on, but again, when you have people in positions of power that are saying things like this every single day for years. You are inspiring violence by people who are already mentally ill. And that's what we've seen against this president for far too long.

[Sasha Stone]

And here is a panel from Ms. Now.

[Media Critic/Commentator]

It was really interesting watching Caroline Levitt go out to the podium today in the briefing room and give a lecture to Democrats in the media on how they need to be the ones to tone down the rhetoric. Meanwhile, there is no one in this country that is more responsible for violent, hateful rhetoric than the president himself. And nobody's words matter more than the President of the United States. And so then to watch immediately him just not even take a full 24 hours to call for civility and unity in this country after a very scary, traumatic event that affected people on both sides of the aisle, folks in the media, he chooses to immediately go after the CBS reporter for just simply citing the words of the manifesto. And then on top of that, him and his wife decide to go after a comedian for a joke that was told days prior to the dinner. And so whether you like Jimmy Kimmel or not, we have a First Amendment in this country, and it protects speech that you dislike just as much as it protects speech that you agree with. And so I think that it's not surprising at all to see how the White House responded to this incident, because this really could have been a moment for them to actually want to bring down the temperature if they cared about that. But they obviously don't, as evidenced by how Trump talked about, talks about Democrats and the left and the media. I have a list here, actually, of some of the words he's used to describe the left. He has called them scum, vermin, terrorists, radical, lunatics, demonic, evil, garbage. I'm not done yet. The enemy of the people, enemy within, treasonous, low lives, fascists, Marxists, communists, and I could keep going.

[Sasha Stone]

The media focuses intensely on acts of violence by the right and has for 10 years while ignoring violence from the left. They do this without even thinking about it, which is why Americans conclude the right is more violent. The media told them so. Why wouldn't it be true? Alex Preddy and Renee Goode shouldn't have been shot, but they were attacking federal officers. They aren't the violent ones. To the media, it's ice, the Gestapo. And if you aren't aware that there are two sides to every story in America now, what in the world would you think? You wouldn't just be terrified, you'd be radicalized. You would think violence is the only answer because everything else has failed. The press however, should have better discernment. If they could just tell the truth for once, or at least try to correct the record, maybe we wouldn't be here now, where yet another assassin felt he had no other choice but to do the world a favor by killing Hitler. Here is a video Trump put together two years ago called the Party of Violence. Press always asks me, don't I wish

[Cole Allen]

I were debating him?

[Sasha Stone]

No, I wish you were in high school.

[Cole Allen]

I could take him behind the gym. That's what I wish. I said.

[Sasha Stone]

No, I said, if we were in

[Cole Allen]

high school, I'd take him behind the gym and beat the hell out of him.

[Progressive Commentator]

I just don't even know why there aren't uprisings all over the country.

[Sasha Stone]

Maybe there will be that.

[Media Critic/Commentator]

You cannot be civil with a political party that wants to destroy what you stand for, what you care about.

[Sasha Stone]

If you see anybody from that cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store,

[Conservative Commentator]

at a gasoline station, you get out

[Narrator/Singer]

and you create a crowd and you push back on them and you tell them they're not welcome.

[Conservative Commentator]

You know there needs to be unrest in the streets for as long as there is unrest in our lives.

[Historian of Totalitarianism (colleague)]

Enemies of the state.

[Sasha Stone]

Show me where it says that protests are supposed to be polite and peaceful person Walker, how do you resist the temptation to run up and wring her neck when they go low?

[Ben Shapiro]

We kick them.

[Progressive Commentator]

They're still gonna have to go out and put a bullet in Donald Trump.

[Sasha Stone]

Yes, I have thought an awful lot about blowing up the White House.

[Progressive Commentator]

Please get up in the face of some Congress people.

[Cole Allen]

What a stupid sound.

[Sasha Stone]

It was the job of the media to push back on the hyperbole and hysteria. But instead, they became the delivery device, injecting irrational fear and rage into the veins of this country every second of every day in airports, gyms, gas stations, and in the living rooms of people who still watch the news, like my mom. Why don't they think of us? Why doesn't just once, Joy Behar or Whoopi Goldberg say, oh, we didn't really mean he's a fascist. We just say that because we want to win elections, but it isn't really true. They always think of the next round of elections. Keep the people afraid, keep them engaged, then we can win. But what has this done to the soul of our nation? And no, they can't keep blaming Donald Trump, because look at where that has gotten us. Semi fascists, ultra maga, racist, rapists, Nazis. Here is Ben Shapiro.

[Ben Shapiro]

So President Trump's greatest legacy will be the Supreme Court. Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. This Supreme Court is the most constitutionally protective Supreme Court in modern American history, by far. And they showed it this week when they ruled that courts can't force states to draw racist congressional districts. So Hakeem Jeffries, the House Minority Leader, finally got it right for once, by accident. He says, this is the Trump court. It's not the Roberts court. Which is true, because when Justice Roberts was appointed, three of these justices were not on the court. Here was Hakeem Jeffries giving full credit to President. He means to blame President Trump, but he is right. This is President Trump's court. He. He's the one who created it. And this court is great. That doesn't mean they always rule for President Trump. They don't. But it does mean he gets credit for the fact that this court is fabulous.

[Progressive Commentator]

Now, when this decision came out earlier today, it's an unacceptable decision, but not an unexpected decision, because this isn't even really the Roberts court. It's the Trump Court.

[Sasha Stone]

Yes.

[Progressive Commentator]

And what we would expect from the Trump Court is an effort to continue their scheme to suppress the vote and rig the midterm elections and beyond.

[Ben Shapiro]

Okay, this is ridiculous. And Democrats are going nuts. See, here's the thing. Democrats think that Americans, by and large, are racist, that white Americans are racist. So the government must force white Americans not to be racist by creating racist districts. Get it? I didn't think so. Basically, they are arguing that if you don't want the government discriminating on the basis of race, you are the real racist. In fact, you must draw congressional districts that are majority minority. You have to do it, or you're doing Jim Crow 2.0. This is what Chuck Schumer, the Senate Minority Leader, was saying just yesterday. This is somehow a return to Jim Crow. Again, they are saying that if you don't create a congressional district based on race, that's Jim Crow. If you don't create a segregated district, that's Jim Crow. And today, we're ramping up our efforts. We see the need for it just today in today's Supreme Court decision, which was a despicable decision. That is a return to Jim Crow, taking decades of hard work, sweat, blood, and tears, and even people dying for the right to vote, to prevent racial discrimination in the right to vote. We see what they're doing in the SAVE act, which would disenfranchise 20 million people, and we are fighting that every

[Historian of Totalitarianism]

step of the way.

[Ben Shapiro]

Honestly, this is conspiratorial nonsense. The idea that white people are Trying to stop black people from voting in the United States is ridiculous. First of all, take Virginia, for example. The white candidate, Abigail Spanberger, won 90% of the black vote. The black candidate win some. Sears won 90% of the White vote. So it turns out the American people not nearly as racist as Chuck Schumer wishes they were. So he tweeted out, this decision upends half a century of precedent, defies the spirit of the American civil rights movement, and reverses generations of progress toward racial justice. And it shows that Democrats hold 24 seats in a variety of Southern states. And after redistricting, Republicans will gain 12 more seats. And then he added, by some estimates, this decision could lead conservative state legislatures to draw as many as 19 additional seats that favor Republicans in the House. Okay, that is telling on himself. The reason he's upset is not because he believes that black people are discriminated against. It's because black people are disproportionately Democratic voters, and he believes that Democratic seats are going to disappear. That's called normal gerrymandering. Now, again, gerrymandering has been a part of our process since the very beginning. There is truly no great substitute for gerrymandering, political gerrymandering, where the state legislature or state commission or another body draws the district within a state. And there's nothing wrong with that. This is why I wasn't complaining when California decided to redistrict. Texas just did it. Florida's going to redo it or just did. And this is the way that states work. And there's nothing illegal about may be a bad thing, but there is no alternative to it. Every alternative that has been tried is a giant fail. But according to the Democrats, if you are not drawing specific black districts. Right, they're the ones who want to take race into account. If you are not drawing specific black districts, this means you are a racist. And again, Democrats are just telling on themselves they believe that government must discriminate on the basis of race to stop those racist Americans. This is their baseline belief system. Americans are racist, just as racist as they were in 1964. And therefore, we must have government promoted policies that benefit black people at the expense of of other people. This is why Hakeem Jeffries yesterday was suggesting that affirmative action, equity, inclusion, and also racial tolerance are all gone. Those are not the same thing. Racial tolerance is very, very high in the United States, which is why you don't need specific government policy in order to promote black people over the racism of white people. Here's Hakeem Jeffries in the aftermath of

[Progressive Commentator]

the 2008 election, they've tried to do everything that they can to eliminate and erase our journey, our struggle, our march in this country toward a more perfect union. And now we're at a point where affirmative action is gone, diversity is gone, equity gone, inclusion gone, racial tolerance gone. The Voting Rights act largely gone. But guess what, extremists? We're still here and we're not going anywhere.

[Sasha Stone]

Cole Allen's entire adult life has been shaped by Trump Derangement syndrome, due almost entirely to the legacy media's partnership with the Democratic Party and their efforts to run a hearts and minds campaign on the American people since 2016. They took a side, along with our once shared culture, institutions, corporations and universities, with no consideration to what level of sustained hysteria and rage might do to impressionable minds who know no other kind of America. One before the Democrats and the media turned their world into a doomsday culture. I also know that all it would take is a little bit of courage from the media to start calling the Democrats out for what they've done to all of us all of these years. Have they ever even thought about what comes next? After Trump, there will be nothing left of them. Their entire world revolves around ridding the world of this evil force. And they wonder why people are picking up guns. Cole Allen, Tyler Robinson and Thomas Matthew Crooks are playing out a mainstream in the light of day version of the CIA's MK Ultra.

[Documentary Narrator]

What if I told you the CIA once tried to control the human mind? Not in a movie, but in real life. In the 1950s, deep inside secret labs, the CIA launched a program called MKUltra. Its goal? To erase memories, reprogram thoughts, even create assassins who obey without question. They used lsd, hypnosis and psychological torture on soldiers, prisoners, even random citizens. Most of them didn't even know they were test subjects. When journalists began asking questions in the 1970s, the CIA panicked and destroyed nearly all the evidence. Thousands of pages burned in one night. Only fragments survived, enough to prove it was all real. For over 20 years, the US government experimented on its own people, trying to discover if freedom itself could be reprogrammed.

[Sasha Stone]

They didn't need a secret lab. They didn't even need drugs. They just needed the Internet, social media algorithms, and our inability to maintain our sanity while doom scrolling. They knew this long ago, but it was too useful in growing their resistance, shaping public opinion with influencers who mirror the Democrats messaging. And before long, for many of them, there was and is no way out. There used to be Cultural touchstones that would offer us some kind of relief, like comedy movies, like commentary. Instead we have a monoculture on the left all pushing the exact same message. We're helpless, we're occupied. Please, someone just do it. Even now, when we look to them, to the truth, we get cherry picked information stripped of context. Most people only read headlines now. They don't even bother to dive into the story or to see if it's true or not. It's just two minutes of hate. Orwell style podcast listeners, a quote from Orwell. The horrible thing about the two minutes of hate was not that one was obliged to act a part, but that it was impossible to avoid joining in. Like this headline at USA Today. It was obviously a joke. Even the reporter laughed.

[Conservative Commentator]

Is there talks about you potentially wearing

[Sasha Stone]

a bulletproof vest moving forward, given you have now been shot at.

[Cole Allen]

I don't know if I can handle looking 20 pounds heavier. These guys, they look so good. Some of these guys, some of these guys are physical specimens. Some of these guys. I don't want to be near here. If you want to gain 20 to 25 pounds and live, frankly, the vest did an amazing job because it took a bullet close up. And he didn't even want to go to the hospital. I mean, we sent him to the hospital just in case, but he didn't want, you know, it's still a hit, but he didn't want to go to the hospital. The vest totally protected him. Still a lot of power behind that shot though. That's like getting, getting hit by Mike Tyson. But it, it's amazing. I've been asked about that and I guess it's something you consider in one way you don't like to do it because you're giving into a bad element. And so I don't know, but I have been asked about it.

[Media Critic/Commentator]

How nervous are you about it happening again? Another assassination attempt?

[Cole Allen]

I don't think about it.

[Sasha Stone]

You don't think about it at all?

[Cole Allen]

If I did, I wouldn't be doing a very good job here. I'd be thinking about nothing but that. I don't think about it. I don't think about it. If I did, I wouldn't be effective.

[Sasha Stone]

For podcast listeners, a tweet from USA Today. President Trump said he has resisted wearing a bulletproof vest, saying it would make him look 20 pounds heavier. Amid renewed security concerns. The first paragraph of the story once again does not say it was a joke. Amid renewed scrutiny of his personal security, President Donald Trump said he has resisted the idea of wearing a bulletproof vest, not for safety reasons but because of how it might make him look. And here are the first two comments under the tweet. What an effing stain he is on the seal of that venerated office and an insufferable demented imbecile running your country into the ground. It will take USA decades to clean up his 10 year political shitshow and as long to tear down his self appointed statues in vain glory. And from another with Trump with a helmet Born to kill full mental jacket and from David Democrats need to tone down their rhetoric says the Trump administration. The same administration that labeled Renee Goode and Alex Preddy domestic terrorists and said immigrants are animals. Trump and his sycophants can go F themselves. Does the distortion of reality even bother the press by now? Did they think about that as they entered the correspondence dinner? Did they realize that their messaging had almost caught up with them? Cole Allen was an incompetent assassin, as it would turn out, but it should serve as a warning, one that they should not ignore. This is not a both sides issue. Only one side is growing political assassins who echo the exact same messaging of the legacy media and the Democrats. They can deny it all they want, but on that night it almost caught up with them. Sooner or later they will have to reckon with having lied for so many years, especially if they plan on toasting a glass of champagne, let alone sitting in the same room with an existential threat like Donald Trump. Who knows who else might be out there who takes them at their word? Thank you for listening to my podcast sashastone.com and if you like my work, please consider becoming a paid subscriber supporting my work. Or you can leave a tip. The tip jar is on the main page. I hope you all have a great weekend and remember to thine own self be true.

[Narrator/Singer]

On a small Missouri farm back when the west was young two boys learned to rope and ride and be handy with a gun War broke out between the states and they joined us up the cantrell and it was over in Clay county that Frank and Jesse finally learned to kill Keep on riding, riding, riding Frank and Jesse James Keep on riding, riding, riding Till you clear your names Keep on riding, riding, riding Cross the rivers and the range Keep on riding, riding, riding Frank and Jesse James After Appomattox it was on galoosing side so no amnesty was granted and his outlaws they did right they'd vote against the railroads and they rode against the banks and they rode against the governor Never did they ask for a word of thanks Keep on riding, riding, riding Frank and Jesse James Keep on riding, riding, riding Till you clear your names Keep on riding, riding, riding Cross the prairies in the plains Keep on riding, riding, riding Frank and Jesse James. Robert Ford, a gunman in exchange for his parole Took the life of James the outlaw that she snuck up on and stole no one knows just where they came to be misunderstood but the poor Missouri farmers knew Frank and Jesse do the best they could Keep on riding, riding, riding Frankie and Jesse James Keep on riding, riding, riding Till you clear your names Keep on riding, riding, riding Crossing rivers and the range Keep on riding, riding, riding Keep on riding, riding, riding See the rivers and the range Keep on riding, riding, riding Frank and Jesse James.