The attempted mass-shooting event aimed at Trump and officials of his administration is already fueling some disturbing, and downright weird, conspiracy mongering on the portside of the body politic. One image, of two men protecting their wives, has become a Rorschach test of the effectiveness of decades of anti-male indoctrination in American society.
You can tell a lot about a man about how they instinctively respond when it hits the fan.
In this photo, Stephen Miller moves on top of his pregnant wife to protect her.
Pete Hegseth stands over his wife, surveying the scene while leaning over, protecting her. pic.twitter.com/kEvHgg56bo
— Bethany S. Mandel (@bethanyshondark) April 26, 2026
As I was born, raised and live in Normal America among many Normal Americans, I don’t find the image particularly surprising. I have been blessed my whole life by being surrounded by many good men who wear their masculinity comfortably. Men whose almost instinctive reaction to danger, to themselves or loved ones, is to act in a protective manner. That can mean everything from confronting the danger directly to neutralize it or shielding others from the danger.
Some men go professional with their protective natures. It can be the fireman who goes that extra mile in risking his life to save a child from a burning building or a LEO reaching out and snagging a suicidal jumper. Other men rise to the occasion when it presents itself …
As bullets rained down on a San Bernardino, California, conference room Wednesday, Denise Peraza huddled underneath an overturned chair, fearing for her life.
Squished next to her was a colleague, Shannon Johnson, who Peraza says gave his own life to protect hers. His body served as a shield, and he comforted her during this final heroic act.
“Amidst all the chaos, I’ll always remember him saying these three words, ‘I got you,'” Peraza, who was shot and is recovering in the hospital, wrote in a statement posted on Facebook.
Hegseth and Miller come from a shared, Biblical culture that provides the foundational values of this nation. It isn’t surprising to see them both immediately move to protect their wives.
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” – Joshua 1:9
But for the illiberal Left, to whom any visible amount of testosterone is toxic, the normal reaction of these men isn’t due to masculinity but to … wait for it … cONspIRaCy! You know, both men were calm because they knew it was staged … or Hegseth is just “leaning” … and Miller is really using his pregnant wife as a shield and … well, the whole thing is just “staged” just like Butler. You know that “fake” assassination attempt that killed Fire Chief Corey Comperatore after he threw his body over his wife and daughter to shield them from danger?
Rolling Stone gives a rockstar cover to Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, Leftwing young women have a fan club for Luigi Mangione, and Democrats actively cheer on Iran to slaughter the American military, but yeah, the women and children first actions of Hegseth, Miller are the real problem.
It isn’t that these people are profoundly unserious, it’s that they are dangerous. Assassination pr0n from the party of death is ratcheting up.
Disgusting. No words for this. God Bless President Trump. 🇺🇸 https://t.co/XRfssaUlZn
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) April 26, 2026
God bless and keep the President, First Lady and all the members of the administration.
UPDATE: Welcome Instapundit readers!
featured image, cropped, Adobe Stock standard license
Lloyd says: I’m 82 years old. All of my male friends would do whatever necessary to protect their wives and children. Yes, most of my friends are on the right side of the equation!
[…] MOST NORMAL OR WHOLESOME THINGS TRIGGER THEM: WHCD: Displays of Normal American Masculinity Triggers The Left. […]
Mike H says: The United States was formed using secular priciples of plurality and commity including deists and pantheiats and anti-theists. Just the same as men were formed by evolution to be protective of mother and (unborn) child in order to save their genetic lineage. No need to bring any Christian Nationalist nonsense into it. Just historical facts and scientific evidence. Otherwise agreed, the left has lost its humanity and it shows.
Darleen Click says: I’m sorry that you’re so invested in the “Christian Nationalist” woo-woo you have convinced yourself that the Founding Fathers rejected religion. Even a cursory reading of their papers, letters and speeches show the depth of their belief that God and the Bible (both OT and NT) *must* inform the principals of individual rights and limited government. Here’s just two of John Adams’ quotes:
“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
“The Hebrews have done more to civilize men than any other nation. If I were an atheist, and believed in blind eternal fate, I should still believe that fate had ordained the Jews to be the most essential instrument for civilizing the nations. They are the most glorious nation that ever inhabited this Earth. The Romans and their empire were but a bubble in comparison to the Jews. They have given religion to three-quarters of the globe and have influenced the affairs of mankind more and more happily than any other nation, ancient or modern.”
You can believe in God or not. But you should be eternally thankful that this nation WAS founded on Judeo-Christian values because you benefit from them. Even a rational and honest atheist knows that even the concept of “good” and “evil” goes by the wayside without a “higher power”. Morality no longer contains universal truths, but everything is just opinion.
And while there is a “nature” aspect to males protecting “their” females, it isn’t reinforced by any means across all cultures. You need to understand what a historical revolutionary change in the status of women was with the rise of Judaism. We are heirs of it. It’s demise is our demise.
GWB says: Thank you, Darleen. Very well put.
Chivalry doesn’t teach most men to protect women. It reinforces something that is already there, and teaches them that instinct is right. Yes, for those who might have a broken instinct, it teaches it, as well. But chivalry is about how to express that instinct and how to use it to honor women.
It also teaches that, at some point, the nice bits of chivalry disappear, and the fangs and claws come out and danger is revealed – the danger of masculinity unmasked, responding to a threat.
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