On a day when pipe bombs were sent by an unknown party to Democratic politicians and mainstream media outlets, with the press presuming Trump and his supporters guilty of the crimes by association, thriller author Zoe Sharp proudly tweeted a Trump assassination fantasy short story that’s been published in a special section of the New York Times.
The story is currently posted online and is scheduled to appear in print in the paper’s October 28 Sunday Book Review: “Five Novelists Imagine Trump’s Next Chapter.”
The paper set up the collection: “....one of the biggest stories out there, of course, is the Mueller investigation and the relationship between Trump and Putin. It’s hard not to speculate about what might happen next. To that end, we thought: Who better than some of today’s most talented spy and crime novelists -- Joseph Finder, Laura Lippman, Jason Matthews, Zoë Sharp and Scott Turow -- to conjure possible outcomes?”
And what an outcome: Sharp’s “How It Ends” is a 600-word short story on a Russian plot to assassinate Donald Trump, a botched plan that is fulfilled, in a disgusting “twist,” by a member of the president’s own Secret Service detail.
As Twitchy noted, “Well, the White House didn’t receive a pipe bomb today, but at least there’s an assassination fantasy to tide people over.”
By authorial conceit, Trump isn’t actually named, but it’s clear who the subject is:
“They’re saying the Russkies put him up to it,” the clerk said, handing over his room key. “And I voted for the guy!”
The Russian shrugged. “Fake news. …”
Sharp fantasizes that Vladimir Putin, having handpicked Trump, must now get rid of him before the impeached and disgraced president spills the beans and embarrasses Mother Russia.
The clincher is maximally offensive, with traitorous behavior by a Secret Service agent added to the assassination of an actual living president.
[The Russian assassin] opened his eyes. The Secret Service agent stood before him, presenting his Glock, butt first.
“Here,” the agent said politely. “Use mine. …”
Given the media’s strongly expressed concern for political civility today, it will be interesting to see if Sharp's short story appears in print this Sunday.
