Celebrating death: We’re a long way from Tip and the Gipper

In Focus delivers deeper coverage of the political, cultural, and ideological issues shaping America. Published daily by senior writers and experts, these in-depth pieces go beyond the headlines to give readers the full picture. You can find our full list of In Focus pieces here.

The date was March 30, 1981. President Ronald Reagan walked out of the Washington Hilton at 2:27 pm EDT when shots rang out. Reagan was hit, along with White House press secretary James Brady, Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy, and Washington, D.C., police officer Thomas Delahanty. All would survive, though Brady was partially paralyzed.

The first nonfamily member to visit Reagan in the hospital was House Speaker Tip O’Neill (D-MA). According to the Reagan library, “O’Neill knelt at the president’s bed before the two political foes recited the 23rd Psalm from the Bible. Before leaving, he kissed Reagan on the forehead.”

Fast forward to July 13, 2024: Former President Donald Trump was polling comfortably ahead of then-President Joe Biden. On a hot afternoon, Trump was holding an outdoor rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Not long into his speech, eight shots were fired, with one grazing Trump in the ear. If that bullet was another centimeter to the right, Trump would have likely been killed.

But unlike O’Neill and Reagan, there would be no impromptu joint prayers being held, nor any kisses on the forehead. Biden, less than a week before, had declared that it “was time to put Trump in a bull’s-eye.” For years, Trump had been equated to the worst leaders in human history, from Hitler to Stalin to Mussolini, by his political foes.

“President Trump and his supporters have contributed to this violent rhetoric as well,” ABC anchor George Stephanopoulos said less than 24 hours after the attempt on Trump’s life.

“We were just looking back at some of the things that former President Trump has said,” correspondent Martha Raddatz responded.

“Trump in January warned of bedlam in the country if the criminal charges against him succeeded. And of course, in March he said, ‘Now, if I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a bloodbath for the whole, that’s going to be the least of it, it’s going to be a bloodbath for the country,’” Raddatz said.

In other words, Trump deserved what he had coming in the eyes of two of the most senior members of ABC News. And Raddatz had to brazenly lie to make her point. Here’s exactly what Trump said about a bloodbath back in early 2024.

“We’re going to put a 100% tariff on every single car that comes across the line, and you’re not going to be able to sell those guys if I get elected,” Trump said during a rally in Ohio at the time. “Now, if I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a bloodbath for the whole, that’s gonna be the least of it. It’s going to be a bloodbath for the country.”

Of course, he was obviously talking about a bloodbath for the auto industry if Biden and Kamala Harris were reelected due to electric vehicle mandates and American cars increasingly being made in other countries. Raddatz made it appear that Trump was calling for violence in the streets if he was defeated. She never apologized.

But back to the main point: What kind of news organization would point the finger of blame at the victim not long after he was shot?

Former President Ronald Reagan, right, talks with House Speaker Thomas “Tip” O’Neill Jr. D-Mass., in the Oval Office of the White House in 1986. (AP/Scott Stewart) | SCOTT STEWART

" data-large-file="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/0b6c6676d7154ce25c4e53b4e52c2cb0-e1784060530325.jpg?w=696" src="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/0b6c6676d7154ce25c4e53b4e52c2cb0.jpg?w=696" alt="Former President Ronald Reagan, right, talks with House Speaker Thomas "Tip" O'Neill Jr. D-Mass., in the Oval Office of the White House in 1986. (AP/Scott Stewart)" class="wp-image-2511849">President Ronald Reagan, right, talks with House Speaker Thomas “Tip” O’Neill (D-MA) in the Oval Office of the White House in 1986. (AP/Scott Stewart) | SCOTT STEWART

Things were no better on MSNBC, where host Ari Melber implied the bandage on Trump’s ear after getting shot was all for show.

“This was also showmanship by a politician known for his mastery of what they call unscripted reality TV,” Melber said. “There is a political quest here to mine and use Donald Trump’s injury, and whether his allies and Republicans, or the candidate himself, do that in a way that overextends their credibility will be decided by the voters.”

In the following days, Democrats went right back to the usual rhetoric about Trump, calling him a fascist and an existential threat to the country.

“No one has ever been more dangerous to this country than Donald Trump, and he is a fascist to his core,” then-vice presidential candidate Tim Walz said. “Let that sink in and don’t be a [bit] afraid of saying it, because that’s exactly who he is.”

Two more assassination attempts were fortunately unsuccessful, including at Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, and at this year’s White House correspondents’ dinner at the Washington Hilton. But the rhetoric only seems to get worse from the Left, as evidenced by the things said following the untimely death of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) early Sunday.

“Lindsey Graham was a terrible man who betrayed whatever values he had to kiss up to Trump just to stay, in his words, ‘relevant,’” former CNN commentator Wajahat Ali posted on X. “He is now dead.”

“Lindsey Graham was a simple, tragic man. He lacked a moral core,” Lincoln Project co-founder and former John McCain campaign manager Steve Schmidt posted. “The great empty spaces of his life were filled with an insatiable need for ‘relevance.’ He found it as a cast member in the most malignant reality show ever made.”

“When you’re talking about a complicated legacy and someone who may have betrayed his country for power, that seems to be, in my view, what his legacy became,” Sunny Hostin said on The View. Again, the funeral hasn’t even happened yet, and here’s Hostin on an ABC News program claiming Graham “betrayed his country for power” because he supported Trump.

These kinds of reactions are no surprise, of course. It was actually worse after the assassination of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University in September of last year. Leading the charge was podcaster Jennifer Welch, a regular guest on CNN and MS NOW. During an October 2025 edition of her show, she implored Democratic leaders to embrace actually celebrating Kirk’s murder.

“So listen up, Democratic establishment. You can either jump on board with this s***, or we’re coming after you the same way we come after MAGA. Period,” she said.

Welch is disgusting, of course. But a 2025 survey by Rutgers University shows 56% of “left-of-center” respondents agreeing that assassinating Trump would be at least “partially justifiable.” So when she uses this kind of rhetoric to a far-left audience, a majority is agreeing with her.

LINDSEY GRAHAM’S FINEST HOUR

Graham, 71, will be laid to rest later this week. Some will celebrate his life while others will celebrate his death.

We’re a long way from Tip and the Gipper praying together next to a hospital bed.