Saturday witnessed a scary moment in American politics, as a deranged mad man was rushed off the stage at a Republican presidential campaign rally in Reno, Nev.
The suspect’s motives and potential co-conspirators remain under investigation. But even at this early stage, his behavior indicates this was in fact an assassination attempt … on the Republican Party itself.
Investigations are underway, but what we’ve learned thus far about the suspect is troubling. Authorities say his Twitter feed reveals a deeply disturbed individual who promotes a toxic blend of conspiracy theories, race-baiting and misogyny. His social media interactions suggest an ego that is both boundless and exceptionally fragile — a man driven to the brink of reality by his desire to mask and project his own shortcomings.
The media organ of a well-known terrorist group has already endorsed the suspect’s actions. Authorities do not believe he has directly coordinated with the terrorists; rather, the group appears to take encouragement from his public statements and his reluctance to disavow one of their former leaders.
Authorities also doubt the suspect is consciously acting on behalf of a foreign power, but view his fragile ego as an easy target for outside actors eager to influence United States domestic affairs. For example, a simple compliment from the Russian president reportedly sent the suspect swooning; he is known to admire the “strength” exhibited by some of the world’s most brutal authoritarians.
The suspect has proven a willingness to mislead and perpetuate blatant falsehoods to further his cause. To date, he has attempted to cast doubt about President Obama’s birthplace, asserted that global warming is a Chinese hoax and blamed a rival’s family for the assassination of President Kennedy.
His followers have embraced such conspiracy theories, as well as the grim, dystopic vision of the U.S. that the suspect propounded last year in a manifesto made available online. The suspect has endeared said followers by alleging that he alone can fix their problems through isolationism and the scapegoating of racial and religious minorities.
A self-promoting philanderer, the suspect has assumed numerous aliases throughout the years (John Miller and John Barron) in order to plant stories in the media detailing his genre-blurring personal love conquests, and has been caught on a hot mic bragging about non-consensual sexual advances he’s made on women.
Until further notice, we recommend women avoid unsupervised interaction with the suspect, including but not limited to private elevators, first-class sections in airplanes and beauty pageant dressing rooms.
When his intentions became clear, authorities in Reno acted heroically, ushering the suspect off stage before any more damage could be done.
Authorities fear it may already be too late.
Peter Horn is a part-time freelance writer from San Francisco covering politics, music and culture. He is originally from Charlotte, N.C. Thinking of submitting an op-ed to the Washington Examiner? Be sure to read our guidelines on submissions.
