https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2024/11/fight_fight_fight_vs_fake_fake_fake.html
The most iconic image of the 2024 campaign came from the Butler Farm Show Grounds in Pennsylvania on July 13. An assassin had just fired multiple shots at President Trump, wounding him in the ear. Secret Service agents scrambled to shield the president, while counter-snipers neutralized the shooter. As members of his security detail began to briskly move him from the stage where he was speaking, President Trump asked them to stop so that he could reassure supporters he was alive and well. With blood streaked across his face and pooling near one side of his mouth, he stretched a closed fist toward a blue sky with an American flag waving just behind his head and shouted to all who could hear, “Fight! Fight! Fight!”
Arguably, it was not just the most iconic visual of the campaign, but also one of the most iconic images in American history. The picture of a bloodied but defiant American president reaching toward the heavens and expressing a sense of resolute calm in a moment of chaos will remain in many people’s minds for the rest of their lives. President Trump’s bravery is seared in their memories.
In any other election cycle, the contest would have ended on July 13. On a sunny day during a festive campaign rally, a shooter murdered a husband and father protecting his family, injured two other attendees critically, and nearly assassinated a former president. Such outrageous political violence should have sufficiently shifted public sentiment toward Trump’s favor to make his victory a foregone conclusion. (For what it’s worth, President Biden dropped out of the race eight days later.) Fearing that possibility, the propaganda press immediately worked to erase the incident from the public’s thoughts.
After becoming one of the most famous photographs in the world, the image of President Trump’s raw courage disappeared from publications and websites. Reporters barely talked about the murder of local Pennsylvanian Corey Comperatore or the serious injuries to other rallygoers. Anonymous FBI sources initially downplayed the attempted assassination by speculating that Trump had not actually been shot but had instead been cut by flying pieces of broken glass. Cable news pundits openly mocked the bandaging around Trump’s ear and acted as if being shot in the face is no big deal. To this day, FBI investigators preposterously claim that they are unable to ascertain the shooter’s motive.