CNN political commentator Paul Begala acknowledged that he detests former President Donald Trump but that he can become “sympathetic” after the attempt on his life.
A man attempted to assassinate Trump during a Saturday rally in Pennsylvania, with a bullet grazing the former president’s ear and drawing blood. “CNN News Central” host Kate Bolduan asked Begala how difficult it would be for Trump to remake his image to woo voters after the shooting, with the commentator acknowledging that it’s possible for the former president to now appear more sympathetic because of the nation’s open-mindedness. (RELATED: ‘The Luckiest Motherf*cker’: Bill Maher Says ‘It Doesn’t Matter’ Who Dems Run After Trump Assassination Attempt)
WATCH:
Paul Begala Says He ‘Can’t Stand’ Trump But He Has ‘Opportunity’ To Be ‘Sympathetic’ Following Assassination Attempt pic.twitter.com/xT62ZNi5l6
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) July 15, 2024
“It’s almost impossible to answer your question, Kate, that someone this well-defined can be redefined, but this country is always open to it. You know, we are a really big-minded country,” Begala said. “Mr. Trump has the opportunity now to be both strong and sympathetic … The latter half of that is not Trump’s brand. He’s never been brand unity. Joe Biden is, but he is brand strength. So if he can combine those, that would be really formidable.”
“And I do think even I, as a Democrat, I can’t stand him. Okay, but I wish him well, and I would love to see him try to redefine himself because there’s so much division in this country, and a whole lot of it is fostered by Donald Trump,” he continued. “So if he can change that, that would be a wonderful thing for our country. And frankly, for Mr. Trump politically.”
Dr. Marc Siegel asserted on Monday that the way Trump has handled the assassination attempt is a “great sign of recovery” and is representative of what “we need in a leader.”
“He goes home, gets out of the hospital incredibly quickly. Then he’s busy reaching out to people who were injured there, the poor Corey who was killed, to his family,” Siegel said. “He’s worried about his own children. All of that is a sign of great recovery, health and most of all, courage. You got a choice, Ainsley, it’s fear or courage. He shows courage.”
The gunman shot and killed a 50-year-old rally attendee named Corey Comperatore in his assassination attempt on Trump, according to his sister, wife and daughters, who posted tributes to the former volunteer fire chief of Buffalo Township on social media. Comperatore saved his two daughters by blocking them from gunfire from 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks.
“I want to thank The United States Secret Service, and all of Law Enforcement, for their rapid response on the shooting that just took place in Butler, Pennsylvania,” Trump posted. “Most importantly, I want to extend my condolences to the family of the person at the Rally who was killed, and also to the family of another person that was badly injured.”
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