The Shooter’s Manifesto Was Uncomfortably Normal

This week, editors Peter Suderman, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Nick Gillespie, and Matt Welch discuss the attempted shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner and the media coverage that followed. They examine the shooter’s manifesto, why it struck some observers as uncomfortably normal, and what that says about the mainstreaming of extreme political rhetoric. The panel also considers President Donald Trump’s renewed push to build his new White House ballroom in the aftermath of the attack.

Next, the editors turn to New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s plan for city-run grocery stores, whether government-backed supermarkets can fairly compete with private businesses, and why critics may have helped turn a campaign talking point into actual policy. Then, the panel discusses reports that the Trump administration is considering a bailout that could leave the federal government owning most of Spirit Airlines. The panel then turns to Iran, where uncertain diplomacy and mixed signals over the Strait of Hormuz suggest the conflict remains far from resolved. Finally, a listener asks what the libertarian view of redistricting should be and whether fair maps are ever truly possible.

0:00—The White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting

18:49—Mamdani’s city-run grocery store plan

27:42—Spirit Airlines bailout

37:06—Listener question on redistricting

43:23—What is the endgame in Iran?

48:58—Weekly cultural recommendations

Mentioned in the podcast:

“Shots Fired,” by Eric Boehm

“What If We Acted Like Political Violence Was a Problem?” by Matt Welch

“Prediction: 2024 Will See Deadly Political Violence in the Streets,” by Matt Welch

“Charlie Kirk and America’s History With Political Violence,” by Nick Gillespie and Matt Welch

“Politically Motivated Violence Is a Small Threat,” by Alex Nowrasteh

“Hasan Piker and Jia Tolentino: The Leftists Who Think Stealing Is Great,” by Robby Soave

“With His Grandiose White House Ballroom Plan, Trump Again Asserts the Power To Do As He Pleases,” by Jacob Sullum

“Mamdani’s Fix for Food Deserts: Opening a $30 Million City-Owned Grocery Store Near Other Grocery Stores,” by Megan O’Rourke

“Zohran Mamdani’s $70 Million Grocery Gamble,” by C. Jarrett Dieterle

“Biden Killed the Spirit Airlines Merger. Now Trump Wants Taxpayers To Save the Company,” by Joe Lancaster

“Spirit Airlines Didn’t Die Because Biden Blocked the JetBlue Merger,” by Gary Leff

“The Spirit Airline Is a Bad Idea Built on a Worse Precedent,” by Veronique de Rugy and Gary Leff

“Why Redistricting Reform Goes Off the Rails,” by Walter Olson

“A Pointless War,” by Matthew Petti

“Neither War nor Peace With Iran,” by Matthew Petti

“My Books, Essay #5,” by Arnold Kling

“Michael Is a Brutally Dull Biopic With Nothing to Say About Michael Jackson,” by Peter Suderman