Sure, there was the attempted assassination of Reagan and the fears for Obama as the first black President, but in those cases it was a lone nutter rather than a conspiracy.
How long can Trump crash the market before an angry billionaire decides to take him out? The remaining Koch brother is already pouring money into legal challenges against Trump…
He was using a .223.
The rifle he used was a cheap, bottom of the line AR-15. The AR-15s are so popular and made by so many manufacturers that they have super low end and super high end. He had on the lower end.
I do not know what kind of .223 he was using. But that round has been experimented with for so long that there is a load for every occasion. He probably didn’t use decent ammo. You need something that is specifically designed for longer range, precision shooting. The rounds are much more expensive but you do get what you are paying for.
He also used iron sights. No scope. And he was not known as a particularly good shot. It is actually surprising how close he came.
BTW, the .223 would still have penetrated soft body armor even at that distance. Even military vests designed for combat zones don’t stop rifle rounds until it is fired from a few hundred meters. It would not have stopped a .223 to the chest.
probably whatever the cheapest range grade round was. I doubt he went out and bought ammo specifically for that.