The World and Everything in It: July 15, 2024

PREROLL: The World and Everything in It is made possible by listeners like me. I'm Bobby Pancake, and I am speaking to you from the farm that I grew up on in New Creek, West Virginia. I am a husband, a father, grandfather, and rancher. I hope you enjoy today's program.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Good morning! Former President Trump survives an assassination attempt.

AUDIO: Hold! Hold! When you’re ready! On you! (shouting) Move! Move! Go!

We have a report from Butler, Pennsylvania.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And political analyst Erick Erickson is standing by. We will talk about the polarized atmosphere that led to the attack and whether the Secret Service might be facing some accountability.

Also today, the Monday Moneybeat, and later, the WORLD History Book. This week, the anniversary of a moment that defined another presidency.

PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER: The threat is nearly invisible … . It is a crisis of confidence.

REICHARD: It’s Monday, July 15th. This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Mary Reichard.

EICHER: And I’m Nick Eicher. Good morning!

REICHARD: Now time for news with Kent Covington

SOUND: [National anthem]

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR: RNC kickoff » The Republican National Convention will begin this morning just as it did 8 years ago when Donald Trump was first nominated for president with the singing of our national anthem.

But this year’s convention in Milwaukee will be unlike any other, kicking off just hours after a would-be assassin’s bullet pierced the right ear of the former president.

SOUND: [Shooting]

Secret Service investigation » We’ll have more on the Republican convention shortly. But many unanswered questions remain about that shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania. And President Biden said after the incident …

BIDEN:  I've directed an independent review of the national security at yesterday's rally to assess exactly what happened. And we'll share the results of that independent review with the American people as well.

The FBI is leading that investigation.

One of those unanswered questions is how the shooter was able to take position on a nearby rooftop with a clear line of sight to President Trump, aim his rifle and fire several times before the Secret Service could respond.

FBI special agent Kevin Rojek told reporters:

ROJEK: It is surprising, but again, all the details of that will come out later in investigation.

Congress also wants answers. House Speaker Mike Johnson told NBC’s Today Show:

JOHNSON: We need to know, how could an individual be at that elevation that was seen by apparently bystanders on the ground? How could that not be noticed by Secret Service? Lots more questions than answers this morning.

Questions about the shooter » Questions also remain about the shooter.

What we do know right now is that he was a 20-year-old Pennsylvania man. He drove nearly an hour from his home to the Trump event.

And FBI special agent Kevin Rojek said the shooter was armed with a high-powered rifle, which was purchased legally.

ROJEK: We located the weapon at the scene, located directly adjacent to the shooter at the scene.

Secret Service counter-snipers shot and killed him on the rooftop of a warehouse.

But authorities said they still don’t know why he did it, and that they’ve not yet been able to determine any clear ideology that might have motivated him to kill.

Shooting victims » While former President Trump was not seriously wounded, three others at the rally were, at least one, fatally. The bystander killed instantly in the bleachers behind Trump was 50-year-old former fire chief named Corey Comperatore, a husband and father of two girls.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro told reporters:

SHAPIRO:  I asked Cory's wife if it would be okay for me to share that we spoke. She said, yes. She also asked that I share with all of you that Cory died a hero. Cory dove on his family to protect them.

Multiple nearby physicians tried to render aid, but were unable to save him.

Two other people were shot and listed Sunday in critical condition.

Condemnation of shooting » The attempt on Donald Trump’s life drew swift condemnation from both sides of the aisle in Washington and from President Biden:

BIDEN:  The idea, the idea that there's political violence or violence in America like this is just unheard of. It's just not appropriate. And we, everybody, everybody must condemn it. 

FBI Director Christopher Wray said, “an attempt to assassinate a presidential candidate can only be described as absolutely despicable and will not be tolerated in this country.”

And Attorney General Merrick Garland added:

GARLAND:  Justice Department has no tolerance for such violence. And as Americans, we must have no tolerance for it. The violence that we saw yesterday is an attack on our democracy itself.

Rhetoric » But Republicans note that many Democrats, including President Biden have repeatedly declared that Donald Trump is a threat to democracy itself.

And that has sparked a conversation about overheated rhetoric in modern politics.

In an Oval Office address last night, the president told the American people:

BIDEN:  I want to speak to you tonight about the need for us to lower the temperature in our politics, and to remember, while we may disagree, we are not enemies. We're neighbors, we're friends, co workers, citizens, and most importantly, we're our fellow Americans.

However, in a recent post to social media, he said “Donald Trump is a genuine threat to this nation” to our freedom, and to our democracy. And “He's literally a threat to everything America stands for.”

And he previously told Americans:

BIDEN: Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic, a clear and present danger to our democracy.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham reacted Sunday to the assassination attempt:

GRAHAM:  I wish I could say I was surprised, but I've been worried about this for a very, very long time. You know, if he wins, democracy's not gonna end. He's not a fascist. He represents a point of view that millions of Americans share.

At the same time, many Republicans agreed that it is time to dial down the rhetoric, but called on the president to lead by example.

RNC preview » Despite the Pennsylvania shooting, the Republican National Convention is largely unaffected.

Chairman of the Republican Party of Wisconsin Brian Schimming:

SCHIMMING: Everything for the convention is going on as planned. There are no major changes.

No major changes, but there is at least one noteworthy change. Politico’s Alex Isenstadt told C-SPAN:

ISENSTADT: The only change in the schedule that we know of is that Nikki Haley, who was Trump’s main opponent in the Republican primary has been added to the schedule. That’s actually quite notable because one of the themes here is going to be unification around Trump.

And Donald Trump announced on Sunday that he was traveling to Milwaukee on schedule that very afternoon.

I’m Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: eye-witnesses in Butler, Pennsylvania. Plus, the Monday Moneybeat.

This is The World and Everything in It.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: It’s The World and Everything in It for this 15th day of July, 2024. So glad you’ve joined us today. Good morning! I’m Mary Reichard.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher.

AUDIO: Okay, we are watching live. We do not know what is happening. We see Secret Service agents there with former President Donald Trump. This is live video from Butler, Pennsylvania.

That was CNN Live coverage trying to make sense of the first few seconds of the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.

REICHARD: Trump grimaced and grabbed at his right ear, hit by an attempted assassin’s bullet. He knelt down and within seconds was covered with Secret Service agents.

AUDIO: Hold, hold! Are you ready? Move! Move!

EICHER: He rose briefly before his security detail could rush him off the stage. Blood was visible on his ear and the right side of his face. Trump turned the terrified crowd back to cheers when raised his fist to indicate he was okay.

REICHARD: Unknown to Trump at the time was that a man was dead and two others critically injured. The gunman had taken a position on a roof outside the security perimeter, but still close enough for an AR-style rifle.

EICHER: It was just a few minutes into the speech. Trump referring to a large display of statistics on immigration.

AUDIO: You know that’s a little bit old, that chart’s a couple of months old … and if you really want to see something that’s sad, take a look at what happened, ohh …

Three shots audible, then pandemonium. An attempted assassination of a presidential candidate for the first time in more than half a century.

REICHARD: WORLD Radio Reporter Emma Perley traveled to Butler, Pennsylvania where she spoke with young Trump supporters about a day they’ll likely never forget.

EMMA PERLEY: Sunday afternoon in Butler you find many downtown businesses closed for the day.

DAVID PHILLIPS: Saxophone anthem to run under narration.

But the red doors of St. Mark’s Evangelical Lutheran Church are open. David Phillips has pastored this church for the last 4 years. Before then, he had no idea where Butler was.

PHILLIPS: I know where Butler is now. So does everyone in our country, people around the world, know where Butler Pennsylvania is now, and for all the wrong reasons.

A campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show Fairgrounds that went from joyous to panicked in just a matter of seconds. Elli Fry attended the Trump rally with nine friends.

ELLI FRY: I grew up in a rural area, and I've been around a lot of guns, and it didn't sound like a gun to me.

At first, she thought it was firecrackers. Then security guards yelled, get down. Fry and her friends did, some of them on top of each other. They were about 50 feet behind the former president.

FRY: The shooter was shooting, like over my head, like he was behind me. So while we were down, we waited till they told us to get back up, and we had to move because there was so much blood from the person that was hit.

A bullet had struck a rally-goer nearby. As Fry got up, she turned to look.

FRY: I saw the blood, like, on the bleachers, and then on someone's shirt. And that was really all I saw. And then when we got up to leave the venue, we were, like, walking to our car, I, like, turned around and I saw someone being carried by police officers.

Another rally-goer was a 28 year-old former Miss Pennsylvania named Tiffany Seitz. She arrived at the fairgrounds about 10:30 a.m. with her father and brother.

TIFFANY SEITZ: I was, you know, really excited and looking forward to the day, just enjoying myself and having fun with my family.

Sitting near the middle of the stage, Seitz noticed Trump’s reaction as a bullet struck him. She saw that a bullet had hit a loudspeaker, too. Her father and others almost immediately pushed her down.

Seitz hopes the violent attack prompts some soul searching and perhaps something even rarer these days: a united country.

For WORLD, I’m Emma Perley in Butler, Pennsylvania.

EICHER: Next on The World and Everything in It: some political analysis.

Joining us now is Erick Erickson. He’s a conservative radio host, lawyer, and former political operative. He’s also a WORLD Opinions contributor and astute observer of the political scene. Erick, thanks for jumping in on short notice.

This is the question everyone will have an answer to: where were you when you heard the news about the assassination attempt on former President Trump? What did you think initially, Erick, and what did you do next?

ERICK ERICKSON: So, I was driving home from a pizza restaurant, and a one of my program directors for one of my affiliates texted me, and it was just a screenshot of a bulletin from CBS News, and I passed it over to my wife and said, could you read this? And she started reading it, and just pauses and says, I think someone tried to assassinate Donald Trump. So I get the kids home and trying to figure out what I need to do, call my radio studio. And next thing I know, I'm doing radio from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday night into Sunday and then on Sunday again, noon to five.

REICHARD: Erick, you’ve kept tabs on irresponsible, overheated political rhetoric that’s been going on for some time. Ultimately the person who pulled the trigger is responsible, obviously, but the cover image in a venerable liberal magazine The New Republic didn’t happen in a vacuum. It depicts Trump as Hitler and uses an old Germanic typeface for the headline “American Fascism.” I don’t want to overheat the rhetoric here in the aftermath of a tragedy that could’ve been even worse. Shouldn’t we at least pause and reflect on our public rhetoric?

ERICKSON: We should, and I have a real problem with this one, because I've experienced, my family has experienced, firsthand Donald Trump's rhetoric. He came after me on Twitter in 2016 when I didn't support him. We had people show up at our home to threaten us. My children were bullied at school. My son beaten up. My daughter given a guide to commit suicide. They were chased through a store. We felt like the school itself wasn't helping. We wound up moving schools. 

And yet, when I hear the overnight rhetoric about this and how well, Donald Trump played a role in this, respectfully to everyone in the media, the bullets have only been flying in one direction, from left to right. Floyd Lee Corkins attempted the mass assassination of the Family Research Council. James Hodgkinson attempted the mass assassination of Republicans in Congress. Nicholas … I forget his last name, attempted the assassination of Brett Kavanaugh. And now this guy, we don't know his motives, but I think we can largely surmise now based on the information we have about him. But I keep hearing both sides need to tone down the rhetoric, and Donald Trump needs to watch what he says. But the political violence in this country is disproportionately coming from the left, and there doesn't seem to be a recognition from the media. And I say that as someone who knows firsthand what Donald Trump can provoke, and yet they're shooting and it just happens to be going left to right.

 EICHER: So on that same score basically, Erick, I mean there’s a certain insincerity to the rhetoric. President Biden and the Democrats constantly stress Trump’s an existential threat to democracy, he’s a threat to our country, and then when this horrible attack comes—you’ve got this, “Hey, I’ve reached out to Donald. I want to talk to Donald and make sure he’s okay.” You don’t express concern for American Hitler, right? It exposes this rhetoric as completely phony.

ERICKSON: Yeah, that's the problem too. So, Ezra Klein, who is the noted progressive columnist, did an interview with the Bulwark, an anti-Trump site that sprung up at the fall of The Weekly Standard, and admitted in the interview that Democratic politicians don't actually believe Donald Trump is a threat to democracy. They just say that to fire up the crowd. The problem here is the rhetoric is irresponsible. For example, Donald Trump, after he said the media is the enemy of the people, there was a man in Florida who had a hit list of reporters in Washington he felt were attacking Donald Trump. So yes, we can both sides this. But again, in this instance, it's not just Donald Trump. You have the actual reporters and anchors of CNN, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, NBC, PBS, the New York Times, The Washington Post, they call him a threat to democracy, the rise of American fascism. He's been compared to Hitler in The Washington Post, The Atlantic, the New Republic, the President just eight, seven days ago, said that Donald Trump needed to be in the bull's eye. He's a threat to democracy. He needs to be stopped. What did they think was going to happen? It's the Democrats who tend to say words matter. Their words do matter. In addition to the blatant mischaracterization of the Supreme Court immunity decision, claiming that if Donald Trump got elected, he'd have the power to assassinate his political rivals. It's not true. It was never true, and yet they've been running this in national news outlets.

EICHER: Okay. So, already we’re hearing serious concern over security failures and assurances that the FBI is going to get to the bottom of everything. And there’s deep distrust there.

I’m sure you saw the story that the Secret Service tried knocking down yesterday that it refused additional protection for Trump ahead of the fateful rally. A spokesman for the Secret Service called the story “absolutely false.” We do know it’s not absolutely false that RFK Junior has been refused protection, which seems crazy in an environment like this. But Erick, there are numerous stories in the media saying there’s a reckoning coming for the Secret Service. What do you think would be the best outcome here?

ERICKSON: There's got to be reform of the agencies. So I've done two events with Republican presidential candidates and with then-sitting Vice President Pence. I'm very familiar with the Secret Service’s protocols, and they tend to be very thorough. However, one of their chief operating principles is that all lines of sight must be covered. And in this instance, there was a line of sight that they did not cover. And eyewitnesses have now come forward who said they told the police there was a man with a gun. I presume, my presumption is the police thought, oh, they're probably they saw the Secret Service and thought it was an assassin. Turns out, they were right. If they saw them, why didn't someone from the Secret Service see this person in a clear line of sight that should have been protected. There should have been someone on the roof, just based on what I, an outsider who's dealt regularly with the Secret Service, knows about their protocols. Why wasn't that covered? We do need that answer.

REICHARD: We are already seeing some in the mainstream media blaming Trump for this, calling up January 6 as particularly incendiary. And there was a lengthy piece in the New York Times about a month ago about “Resistance: Act 2,” resistance inside and outside government for what seems to them inevitable as another Trump presidency. Erick, are you seeing this and what’s to be done?

ERICKSON: Yes. Look, I don't think we're going to have a change in tone when the media's first reaction is to lecture the right about their rhetoric. I'm struck by Jamie Gagnell, who is the CNN national security reporter, who sees the video of Donald Trump 30 seconds after he’s shot, stands up, raises fist in the air, says, fight, fight, fight. And her gut reaction is, it's "unfortunate he didn't try to tell the crowd to tone down the rhetoric." He'd been shot 30 seconds before. Or Margaret Brennan from CBS News, who reads Donald Trump’s statement he put on social media thanking the doctors, mourning the loss of the dead, and says it was unfortunate he didn't try to tone down the right or call people for calm. I just, I don't know if that's the media's first reaction, that the media can be responsible in dealing with this.

EICHER: Erick, I didn’t go to TV on this, I went online, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, looked for some reporters that I believe on X and the first image I saw was the one that’ll be in the history books looking up at Trump surrounded by Secret Service, the blood-streaked face and ear against the clear blue sky and the enormous American flag. And forgive me, as a political matter, pure politics, it seemed almost unbelievable. I was very skeptical it was real, at first.

ERICKSON: People on the left, their immediate reaction was, “Oh, this is just Donald Trump trying to boost his poll numbers. This is the politics of this helps Donald Trump too much, it can't be real.” And we are in an age where everyone thinks about the politics of these sorts of situations. You know, I interviewed last night the CBS reporter who was at the scene—and he's Scott McFarland is his name—and he said, everyone reacted at first like it was fireworks, which is understandable just after the fourth of July. Says only when Donald Trump went on the ground did people realize he's been shot, and people started ducking. The people in the front rows of the crowd, interestingly enough, rushed forward to try to help the Secret Service. That's a very interesting reaction that tells you about the emotional connection they have with Donald Trump. But he said afterwards, what struck him is that at least one member of the crowd was there tweeting on his laptop sitting on the ground. The Secret Service is trying to clear the area, and this individual refuses to leave until the Secret Service pull their guns and point at him. This the world we live in now, where people want to capture these things real time and they view everything through politics.

EICHER: Speaking of, though, I’m reminded of the famous line of Britain’s prime minister Harold MacMillan. Asked what was most likely to change the course of governments? And his answer was “events, dear boy, events.” Attempted assassinations certainly qualify, but is it too early to discuss the political ramifications?

ERICKSON: I look, I mean, people are going to. Honestly I think this makes it less likely that Joe Biden gets out of the race. He gets to look leaderly. It changes the conversation from the last two weeks to something about Donald Trump. We're moving into the Republican National Convention today. He'll have the nomination speech on Thursday night. This drags things out for Democrats, but also, I do think there's a distinct segment of independent voters who don't like either side, but are deeply concerned about the growing antagonism of the left. And this may lock them in for Donald Trump.

REICHARD: Wouldn’t this be a great opportunity for Biden and Trump to stand together before the country to say calm down the rhetoric, cool things down, point us to higher angels?

ERICKSON: I would like to think so. I think it should happen. The hatred between these two is something I do wonder if the president, after two weeks of very, very hyperbolic rhetoric against Donald Trump, might realize, “Hey, maybe I should tone down my own rhetoric.” And yeah, if they could do an event together like that, it would be great. I won't hold my breath. They genuinely do not like each other, but he, President Biden, did try to reach out to Donald Trump last night. They did finally speak, and apparently had a pleasant conversation. So maybe this can be the beginning of something.

REICHARD: Erick Erickson is a conservative radio host, lawyer, and former political operative. He’s also a WORLD Opinions contributor. Erick, thank you.

ERICKSON: Thank you.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Next up on The World and Everything in It: the Monday Moneybeat.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Time now to talk business, markets and the economy with financial analyst and advisor David Bahnsen. David's head of the wealth management firm The Bahnsen Group, and he is here now. David, good morning.

DAVID BAHNSEN: Good morning, Nick. Good to be with you.

EICHER: Wow, David! What a weekend. Just a fraction of an inch and history changes. I mean, this is a tragedy for the family of the man murdered in this assassination attempt on former President Trump. But before we get into the regular economic news of the week, it does seem relevant, I think, to talk about how markets tend to respond to big events like these, whether they shake confidence or increase it. Any idea how this might go?

BAHNSEN: I think that when you look at this from the lens of financial markets—which really would kind of be a reference to both stock and bond markets—there's always a possibility that you get a little short term volatility, but generally, Nick is not very long lived.

You know, the story is, as you say, a news story for the ages that could have forever changed history in a profound way. And yet, what markets, you know, you look at, what will happen with the presidential election, what happens with the overall psyche of the country. It's very difficult for markets to price those things in, Financial markets are used to pricing in earnings, pricing in interest rates, pricing and economic confidence, and this stuff gets into kind of a non-quantifiable dimension that, I think, is very difficult to digest. If we were talking about a civil war, if we were talking about an attack on the country, something that had an immediate, measurable economic impact, that's a little different. 

In this case, though, I don't expect a huge response to financial markets. I think a lot of people are of the opinion that President Trump was in a very good position for this election before this event, and certainly his just almost mythical standing and screaming in defiance will probably help. I mean, it was really a shaking moment to observe him stand in that moment and and cheer on with the crowd after having a bullet come that close to his head. Markets may very well price in a greater likelihood of his success in November, but I can't say that for sure yet. It's a little premature.

We'll get more polling and other things in the days to come. But candidly, markets already, I think, we're expecting him to at least be in a somewhat advantageous position. There's still months to go, but like you, like me, like I'm sure our listeners, most of us, are just so focused right now on the gratitude that that bullet missed.

EICHER: All right. David, new inflation figures are out by way of the Consumer Price Index for June, that came last week. Of course, we talked last week about the Central Bank needing the right kind of optics before cutting interest rates,. Finally. the CPI came in a little better than expected, down to 3% even 3.0 not quite into the twos, as the Fed wants. But David, you really do look deeply into these reports. What do you see?

BAHNSEN: Well, certainly the CPI number was that sort of validation that the Fed had been looking for. I've spoken on the podcast several times about wanting the cover to be able to say, "Okay, this is all clearly headed in the right direction," that even with the shelter component of CPI reflecting a 5.2% year over year price growth, where I think the reality is much closer to 3%, you're still seeing inflation number headed down to a point where the Fed can do what they need to do and want to do anyways, which is begin to cut rates before we start seeing a really difficult strain put on the economy, put on credit markets, ultimately put on the jobs market. 

So, it would have been harder for them to do it, Nick, if you were getting CPI prints that looked like a couple we had earlier in the year, even though a .1% higher isn't a huge needle mover. It optically would look bad. But getting a .1% lower, you know, this was the first time that the total blended CPI number showed prices down month over month in over four years; and it's blended prices that are down when 40% of CPI is allegedly up 5.2%. I mean, we're in outright deflation on core goods, which producer prices have been foreshadowing for some time, but this month, without having any of the outliers like we had a couple months ago, where auto insurance shot up 22%, this month, you saw apparel, airfare, hotels, used cars. A lot of these kind of things have negative price movement. Gasoline prices were down as well. That all contributed to the kind of CPI number the Fed wanted to see.

EICHER: David, you follow the prediction markets closely, what's the likelihood of a rate cut when the Fed meets July 30? Or do you think the governors will wait for the September meeting? Or maybe both? 

BAHNSEN: I will be surprised if they cut July, but I was saying on your podcast and on my own Dividend Cafe for the last couple months that I didn't believe they'd cut in September, because I thought they'd want to avoid the optic of cutting before the election. And now, I don't think they have a choice. The futures are pricing in very close to—but not quite—100% chance of a cut in September. So I would not anticipate a cut in July, but the market is pricing in 100% chance now by December, 99% by November, 93% by September, so we're going to see half a point come out of the federal funds rate by the end of the year.

EICHER: Alright, David Bahnsen is founder, managing partner, and chief investment officer of The Bahnsen Group. You can check out David's latest book. It's titled Full-Time: Work and the Meaning of Life. The website, fulltimebook.com. David, I hope you have a great week.

BAHNSEN: Thanks so much, Nick. Appreciate it. See you next week.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Monday, July 15th, 2024. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard. Up next, the WORLD History Book. Today, a young gymnast earns what was once thought an impossible score at the Olympics.

And, President Jimmy Carter makes a rhetorical error that would define his presidency.

EICHER: But first, 75 years ago Israel arranges a cease-fire with Syria. Here’s WORLD’s Kristen Flavin.

KRISTEN FLAVIN: On July 20th, 1949, Israel and Syria reach the final stages of a peace agreement. The 1948 Arab-Israeli war has left both countries war-torn and weary, with an Israeli victory resulting in thousands of casualties. Audio here from C-SPAN’s interview with historian Benny Morris.

AUDIO: The Arab leadership in Palestine, headed by Hajj Amin al-Husayni, the Mufti of Jerusalem, was expulsionist in its policy. It wanted to get rid of the Jewish community in Palestine. It saw it as a cancer; it saw it as a danger, as a threat.

The 1947 United Nations General Assembly partitioned Palestine into Jewish and Arab states. Bands of guerilla militants began fighting to regain control of cities that had been handed over to Israel. In 1948 Israel asserted their independence as a nation and gained a powerful ally. Audio here from the 50 Years War documentary.

AUDIO: The United States recognizes the provisional government as the de facto authority of the new state of Israel.

Other Middle Eastern countries—Egypt, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon—joined the battle to push Israel back. But their disorganized militias and separate goals proved weak against organized Israeli forces.

Within a year Israel reconquered all of the land they had been promised, and then some. In 1949, the nation brokered agreements to establish a demilitarized zone and ensure peace in Palestine. But while Egypt and Jordan eventually reached stable relations with Israel, Syria waged a perpetual war in the decades since.

Next, on July 18th, Romanian gymnast Nadia Comăneci gets ready to mount the uneven bars at the 1976 Summer Olympics. Comăneci has already been the favorite of junior championships and one international competition. And at 14 years-old, she’s one of the youngest athletes at the Games.

With a determined look on her face, Comăneci approaches the bars. She puts her hands up and out, showing the judges she’s about to start. This first exercise on the uneven bars is “compulsory,” meaning all athletes must perform this specific routine. The crowd watches with bated breath. And she performs, well, perfectly. Audio here from a newscast of the event.

ANNOUNCER: Faultless! Absolutely faultless. Nadia Comăneci … and what are the judges going to say about that?

After a few seconds, the scoreboard flashes a number: 1.0. Comăneci has earned a perfect 10, which is so rare the board wasn’t even designed to display it.

In traditional gymnastics, judges begin with a score of 10 and then deduct points based on the amount of mistakes a gymnast made. The errors range from mistakenly changing the routine, down to tiny details such as bad foot positioning. Comăneci’s performance is flawless, the first perfect score ever awarded at the Olympic Games.

AUDIO: And ten has gone on the board! That’s perfection, and that is Olympic history for Nadia Comăneci!

Comăneci scores 6 more perfect tens in successive rounds of uneven bars, balance beam, and the individual all-around. And she finishes the Games with three gold medals in those categories and a bronze for her floor exercise. Years later, the Olympic Committee raises the age minimum to 16, so Comăneci will remain the youngest athlete ever to win gold in the individual all-around.

AUDIO: Absolutely superb! Got this audience spellbound … confidence, the aplomb, remarkable gymnastics.

Finally, on July 15th, 1979, President Jimmy Carter emerges from a 10-day period of soul searching with a speech intended to rouse the American people. Audio here from C-SPAN.

AUDIO: These ten days confirmed my belief in the decency and the strength and the wisdom of the American people, but it also bore out some of my longstanding concerns about our nation’s underlying problems.

The American economy struggled during the 1970s. High inflation, unemployment, and gasoline shortages were hallmarks of everyday life. Americans experienced the effects of two oil embargos, one in 1973 and another in ‘79.

Audio here from Eyewitness News.

AUDIO: Higher costs for transportation will in turn have a ripple effect throughout the economy, driving prices up in general.

Carter inherited the energy crisis from predecessors Gerald Ford and Richard Nixon, and his domestic policies attempted to ease the strain. He installed solar panels on the White House and asked Americans to turn down their thermostats. But as the crisis lingered—and polls showed public doubt in the government—Carter decided to deliver a speech called, “A Crisis of Confidence.”

AUDIO: The threat is nearly invisible in ordinary ways. It is a crisis of confidence. It is a crisis that strikes at the very heart and soul and spirit of our national will. We can see this crisis in the growing doubt about the meaning of our own lives and in the loss of a unity of purpose for our nation.

Instead of encouragement, Carter criticizes the American way of life. He asks Americans to reevaluate their consumerism and urges them to be optimistic about the future.

At first, many Americans seem to approve as phone calls and letters pour into the White House. But the positivity is short-lived. One year later, the economy is even worse off. And Americans mock Carter’s address as the “malaise” speech, carrying empty promises of change.

The speech haunts Carter throughout the rest of his presidency, and he loses in a landslide to Ronald Reagan in 1980. Audio here from historian Kevin Mattson on NPR.

AUDIO: It’s from then on that I think Carter had a really difficult time at bouncing back and being seen on the part of the American people as a strong and significant leader, especially a leader that could take America through solving the energy crisis.

That’s this week’s WORLD History Book. I’m Kristen Flavin.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Tomorrow: America’s role in international security…we’ll talk about the recent NATO summit with a foreign policy expert. And, population decline has many countries incentivizing the birth of children, but what to do when the incentives don’t work? That and more tomorrow.

I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard

The World and Everything in It comes to you from WORLD Radio. WORLD’s mission is biblically objective journalism that informs, educates, and inspires.

The Bible records Jesus telling his disciples, “‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?’” —Matthew 16:24-26

Go now in grace and peace.

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