Okay, so let’s take a stroll down memory lane—July 13, 2024—a date that will forever be branded into America’s political consciousness. It was the day a sitting U.S. president was nearly assassinated.
Not just any president, mind you, but Donald J. Trump, the lightning rod of American politics who, love him or hate him, is always surrounded by controversy, headlines, and, apparently, bullet fire. Yet, one year later, we’re all still playing a bizarre game of Clue: the shooter is known, the weapon was recovered, the plan was executed… but the motive? That’s still locked in some FBI filing cabinet under “Unsolved Mysteries – Please Don’t Ask.”
Enter Thomas Matthew Crooks. Twenty years old, from a sleepy Pennsylvania suburb, no major online rants, no radical manifestos, no obvious affiliations, and—here’s the kicker—he was the son of two certified counselors. And yes, let’s just sit with that for a second. Two people professionally trained to recognize warning signs apparently missed the neon lights blinking “Danger: Your Kid Might Climb a Water Tower With a Rifle.”
1 year ago today, a 20 year old named Thomas Crooks somehow evaded local law enforcement and Secret Service and nearly blew off President Trump’s head on live TV.
Crooks’ body was quietly released shortly after the incident by the FBI and cremated.
We have no clue what… pic.twitter.com/1tn88VSwXc
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) July 13, 2025
Now, according to former FBI agent John Nantz, Crooks didn’t fit the profile of a political extremist. No surprise there—the narrative just wouldn’t be complete without the FBI downplaying the potential for ideological motives. He was, they say, more of a socially isolated young man with mental health issues. Right. Because clearly that explains how he traveled across the state, got access to a weapon, timed his attack perfectly, and found himself with a sniper’s view of a U.S. president. Totally casual.
Former Secret Service agent Charles Marino didn’t mince words either. He essentially said the whole thing was a breakdown. A failure. A system that didn’t just crack—it crumbled. And not just on the outer edge. From the top levels of the Secret Service all the way down to local law enforcement, everyone apparently looked the other way while a 20-year-old sociopath scaled a tower and almost changed the course of American history.
Let’s be honest here. If this had happened to Joe Biden or any Democrat within a mile of office, we would have had candlelight vigils, emergency legislation, primetime hearings, and MSNBC anchors hyperventilating for weeks. But since it was Trump? Suddenly it’s all brushed under the rug. “Oh, he was a lone wolf.” “He had personal grievances.” “Let’s not politicize the event.” Funny how selective the outrage can be depending on the party letter next to the victim’s name.
And speaking of selective effort, let’s talk about the Secret Service’s response. Or lack thereof. Why on Earth did Trump not have a full sniper and counter-assault team on the ground that day? A former president, the presumptive GOP nominee, standing in the open at a campaign rally—and you’re telling us there wasn’t adequate tech, manpower, or even a basic rooftop sweep? It wasn’t just a lapse; it was borderline negligence.
This wasn’t just some random psycho in the crowd. Crooks had a plan, and he had the means to carry it out. There were warning signs. There were missed opportunities. There was a deadly breach that cost firefighter Corey Comperatore his life and left two others wounded. And yet the best we’ve gotten so far from officials is a vague acknowledgment that “mistakes were made.” No kidding.
Now, a year later, we have a new Secret Service director, Sean Curran—a guy who actually protected Trump on that very day. If anyone understands the stakes, it’s him. Maybe now we’ll get some competence back in the ranks. But let’s not kid ourselves—the damage has been done. The American public watched a former president nearly assassinated on camera, and instead of a firestorm of accountability, we got a press release, a reshuffling of leadership, and a yawn from half the media.
WHO WAS THOMAS CROOKS?@willcain offers context on @realDonaldTrump‘s would-be assassin. pic.twitter.com/Egd8mbTcUN
— The Will Cain Show (@WillCainShow_) July 14, 2025
The sad reality is, if the political tables were turned, this story would still be dominating the headlines. But because it happened to Donald Trump—America’s political pariah to the left—it gets swept into the drawer of uncomfortable truths that no one in power wants to talk about. And that, folks, might be the most dangerous breakdown of all.
