Things are weird. 

Like, super weird. Super duper weird that could not be scripted by a 2nd-rate writer-type weird. 

I turned 60 today, and my first awareness of politics was in 1972, during the Nixon-McGovern campaign. My parents were supporters of McGovern, and I collected donations (very little) and passed out bumper stickers for the Democrat. 

So, in a sense, I have followed politics now for 52 years and studied politics in college and grad school. My educational focus wasn't contemporary American politics--I studied political philosophy--but I certainly have been an avid follower of our current political scene. 

I have never lived through a weirder political month than July 2024. And the month still has a week to go. 

We began the month with the smoke still clearing from Biden's disastrous debate performance, Trump's brilliant exit from the political scene for 2 weeks--how weird is radio silence from Trump?--and just as Trump gets back out on the hustings, he gets shot. 

Weird. Really weird. Horrible, yes, but also weird. 

In the 10 days since that fateful event, the Secret Service, Homeland Security, the FBI, and the White House have been eerily quiet about what happened. Not just unusually quiet, but actually stonewalling. They won't answer basic questions. The Secret Service Director was initially backed by both Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas and implicitly the president despite her obvious failures and inability to answer the most basic questions. 

Don't forget the "sloped roof."

She stonewalls Congress, uniting Democrats and Republicans, and even the Socialist AOC, in calling for her resignation, which she finally gives. 

And the president praises her for doing a great job! She failed spectacularly, and Joe will miss her. 

Jill and I are grateful to Director Cheatle for her decades of public service.

We especially thank her for answering the call to lead the Secret Service during my Administration and are grateful for her service to our family.

— President Biden (@POTUS) July 23, 2024

Most of this happens while Joe Biden is rushed from the campaign trail with, we are told, COVID. There is a lot of dispute about the details because apparently Biden was being rushed to the hospital before diverting to Air Force One. 

My colleague at RedState Jennifer Van Laar has an article about an undisclosed "neurological event" occurring in Las Vegas before Biden zipped away from Nevada.

EXCLUSIVE: Sources Say Joe Biden Suffered Neurological Event Before Suddenly Leaving Las Vegas https://t.co/BuJNRL2OFX

— Jennifer Van Laar (@jenvanlaar) July 23, 2024

Then comes Sunday. After weeks of insisting that he was staying in the race, Biden drops out with...a letter on X. No pictures, no audio. just an announcement that nobody--including his campaign workers, Cabinet Members, and White House staff--knew was coming. Biden's Chief of Staff took on the task of informing everyone. 

Unbelievable. Really really weird. 

On Monday, while the Biden dropping out drama played out, Kamala Harris was getting coronated by the big donors and the Democrat National Committee, the Director of the Secret Service was self-immolating on Capitol Hill. 

Then Kamala announces she has the delegates to be the nominee. The media declares her Obama 2.0, complete with thrills down their legs. 

"I got the chills"
"I fell in love with her"
"A twinkle in her eyes"
"Jumping out of my seat"

This was the media reaction to Kamala's first speech since the coup: pic.twitter.com/dwlz3f44KU

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) July 23, 2024

Not everybody was so in love. When Chuck Schumer came out to announce his support--from the grassroots up!--nobody seemed happy about it. 

Schumer: We are here today to throw our support behind VP Kamala Harris! pic.twitter.com/yzvCBJB5n9

— Acyn (@Acyn) July 23, 2024

Please clap. 

Please. 

So here we are, just weeks since all this weirdness started, and we have a completely reshaped presidential campaign, a Secret Service that refuses to answer why they allowed a president to get shot, a semi-sentient President of the United States, rumors that go undenied that the current president was threatened with removal from office if he stayed in the presidential race, and a totally new candidate for president who has received precisely ZERO votes to be the candidate ever. 

If I were inclined to believe conspiracy theories I would be connecting dots on a corkboard, and I am using my peripheral vision to see what the conspiracy theorists are saying. 

We are in what Scott Adams calls a "Zero Trust" environment. We have no reason to believe anybody because they have all proven to be liars. Everybody. 

We are in an episode of Dark Mirror or The X Files. You don't know what to believe, who to trust, or what "normality" is because nothing is normal. 

Nothing.