Today’s Big Story

Will This Change Politics?

Trump recounts surviving assassination attempt and says he’ll now aim to unite the country

By now you’ve heard, a 20-year-old gunman is believed to have fired eight shots at Donald Trump’s campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday, before he was taken down by the Secret Service. One bullet grazed the former president’s ear and he said that the shot would’ve been fatal if he had not turned his head slightly to the right to read a chart on immigration stats.

He marveled at how the agents came flying in like they were “linebackers” as soon as the shooting started and he unbuttoned his white long sleeve shirt to show a New York Post reporter a large bruise on his right forearm. He also cleared up a mystery about his shoes. On the video of the shooting and aftermath, as the burly agents tried to rush him off the stage for safety, he can be heard saying, “Wait, I want to get my shoes.” As he explained in the interview, “The agents hit me so hard that my shoes fell off, and my shoes are tight.”

Of course, conspiracy theories were popping up all over social media over the weekend, but all silliness aside, the real question after such a serious and scary close call is whether or not it will have an effect on the current state of politics. President Biden emphasized the need to “lower the temperature in our politics” during an Oval Office address on Sunday evening, urging Americans to ensure that “no matter how strong our convictions, we must never descend to violence.” Biden and Trump spoke on the phone after the shooting, the White House confirmed.

The shooting has also prompted Trump to rewrite his Republican National Convention speech, where he will formally accept the GOP nomination for president and will unveil his running-mate. He told the Washington Examiner that his speech this Thursday was “going to be a humdinger” mostly targeting Biden’s policies, but it’s “going to be a whole different speech now.” He said he was given a chance, “to bring the whole country, even the whole world, together.”

Trump explained during his interview why he raised his fist as Secret Service agents swarmed him and blood dripped from his ear in the wake of the shooting, telling the Examiner he wanted to show that he was OK and “that America goes on, we go forward, that we are strong.” The photo will, no doubt, be a lasting and historic image … “A lot of people say it’s the most iconic photo they’ve ever seen,” Trump told the Post. “They’re right and I didn’t die. Usually you have to die to have an iconic picture.” He added, “I just wanted to keep speaking, but I just got shot.”

The Olympic Team Without a Country

After fleeing their home countries, they’ll compete on the Refugee Olympic Team

They compete under the same flag, but most speak different languages and come from different parts of the world. After fleeing war and persecution at home, three dozen athletes from 11 countries will compete in the Paris Games as part of the Refugee Olympic Team.

The team, which is represented by the white flag of the International Olympic Committee, was created for the 2016 Games in Rio as a symbol of hope and to call attention to the plight of refugees worldwide. In Paris, the refugee athletes will take the stage at a time of record global migration, with hundreds of millions of people—many of them displaced from their homes—working to reinvent themselves just as these athletes have. “With your participation in the Olympic Games, you will demonstrate the human potential of resilience and excellence,” IOC president Thomas Bach said. “This will send a message of hope to the more than 100 million displaced people around the world.”

That message stands at odds against a rise in far-right populism across much of the world, with officials and parties in many countries promising to clamp down on immigration and asylum. At the Games, athletes will compete in a host country where the anti-immigration far-right party saw a surge of voter support in parliamentary elections, but was beaten back by a coalition of the French left and failed to win a majority.

Carlos Alcaraz Wins Wimbledon

He beat Novak Djokovic and now owns 4 Slam titles at age 21

In the short amount of time he has spent at the top of his sport, Carlos Alcaraz has already enjoyed a career with few comparisons. He has won big titles at a faster rate than all but a couple of 21-year-olds in history and it seems like he’s barely scratched at the surface of his talents.

A year after wresting the Wimbledon title from Novak ­Djokovic’s grasp in five breathless sets, Alcaraz “learned from 2023 and applied those lessons to 2024,” reports the Associated Press, adding up to a 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (4) victory over Djokovic for a second consecutive Wimbledon championship and fourth Grand Slam title in all. Gracious in defeat, Djokovic shared a smile and warm embrace with Alcaraz at the net after his comprehensive loss. For a second straight year, Djokovic was attempting to equal Roger Federer's record of eight Wimbledon men's titles.

Despite this important rematch victory, Alcaraz will not rise above his current ranking of No 3, behind Djokovic and Jannik Sinner. While the Spaniard has regularly shown his brilliance over the past two years, The Guardian says the next steps in his career will be to learn how to do so week after week while also remaining healthy.

It Just Got Easier to Buy on ‘Bring a Trailer’

The site added a ‘Best Offer’ feature for when the auction reserve isn’t met

Readers of Valet., I’m sure, are familiar with Bring a Trailer. The auction site started from humble beginnings and word of mouth to become the end-all be-all of the best cars at auction, online. And it’s gotten even bigger over the past few years—as the “auction voyeurism” trend has interested fans logging on to find their perfect car (that they may never buy), but the auction action brings an excitement and “what if” factor that’s hard to replicate from the comfort of your own home.

And now it’s just gotten easier to buy on the site, since BaT is changing the way it handles things when the highest bid doesn’t meet the reserve price. According to Car and Driver, if the highest bid fails to hit the reserve, that high bidder gets a 24-hour period to send the seller their best possible offer. The seller then has a further 24 hours to respond to this offer. Kind of like eBay, right?

The change is still quite new, but with high-dollar machinery and huge volumes of vehicles overall coming through BaT every day, there should be fewer cases of the one that got away. And since it’s only the highest bidder who gets that one more chance, it’s still a case of the best bid that takes the car home.

Valet.’s Latest: Direct From Tokyo

Bandana highlights fashion, culture and those “only in Japan” moments

We’ve been working on something really cool behind the scenes. As some of you know, I’ve relocated to Tokyo and part of the reason why is to launch Valet.’s latest newsletter. Dubbed Bandana, it will be a window into the stylish world of Tokyo—highlighting fashion, culture and those unique moments that can only be found in Japan. It’s the next best thing to booking a plane ticket.

Above is the mood board from an early planning session. You’ll see some of our favorite Japanese magazines up there. As you know, they’re so damn cool … the only problem? They’re all in Japanese and Google Translate only gets you so far. Bandana is our solution to bridge that language divide. The first edition is dropping this Thursday, so sign up now to get it sent straight to your inbox. It’s not only got interesting stories direct from Tokyo, but there will also be Made-in-Japan products available to buy along with a hefty dose of style inspiration and a few fun surprises, too.

Let it be.