ElizabethEisenstadtEvans

What happened last night might have seemed extraordinary because President Trump and so many people in the presidential line of succession were in the ballroom when shots were fired outside. But we need to say out loud that it was actually all too ordinary. In America, this is all too common: a shots-fired moment, a chaotic lockdown, a spasm of violence interrupting a peaceful gathering. Thousands of media and political elites have now gone through what countless millions of other Americans have experienced in their schools, offices, malls and churches. And on most of those occasions, there were no Secret Service agents. As I crouched underneath a table in the ballroom, I didn’t know much, but I knew that help was on the way. Waves of law enforcement officials were pouring into the room, leaping from chair to chair, securing the scene. A man near me seemed hurt, or at least dazed, and a police officer helped him limp away. Everyone in the room gave thanks to the agents, bodyguards and officers who responded. But I couldn’t help but think that most of the Americans who have found themselves in the middle of a shots-fired emergency feel much more exposed, much more vulnerable. And I think we should keep acknowledging that during the follow-up news coverage of this incident. cnn.com/2026/04/26/med…

Despite President Trump’s anger toward him, Tucker Carlson says he was planning to fly to D.C. this week to try to convince the president to back off the continued war in Iran. But Tucker tells @esaagar that someone close to the president told him not to bother, because the president is being shown polls claiming the war has a 90–10 approval rating. I’ve seen some polling showing support that high — but only among hardcore MAGA supporters. If you think the president is guaranteed the support of the coalition that got him elected, you are living in a state of delusion. Think all those MAHA moms are going to vote for the president’s picks again? Nope. Think Nick Fuentes and his fans are part of that coalition now? Nope. Hell, Nick didn’t even vote for him last time. Think all those podcast bros are going with the president’s picks this time? It’ll be hard enough to get many of them to show up to vote, regardless of where they stand — much less vote for the president’s picks after feeling let down by him on several fronts. And whenever this issue comes up, people love to poo-poo Nick’s influence or Candace Owens’s influence — and dismiss how large their audiences actually are. First, many of their followers are far more likely to vote conservative than for Democrats. Second, if you think that doesn’t matter in a midterm, remember this: the ten tightest congressional races in 2022 were decided by margins ranging from just over 500 votes to just over 3,000 votes.