Executive Disorder: San Diego Mosque Shooting, Trump Settles Lawsuit with Trump

The May 22, 2026 episode of *It Could Happen Here* delivers a harrowing, satirical deep dive into the San Diego mosque shooting, exposing how systemic failures and online radicalization converged in a tragedy that defies simple ideological framing. The episode dissects the attack by 17- and 18-year-old shooters Cain Clark and Caleb Vazquez—motivated by a chaotic blend of neo-Nazi accelerationism, anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, incel ideology, and a deep mimicry of mass shooters like the Christchurch attacker—while revealing that their manifesto was less a coherent ideology than a 'slop' of recycled internet extremism. Crucially, the hosts argue that the shooters were not driven by pure ideology but by a performative desire to join an online 'fandom' of violence, using livestreaming, meme culture, and unplayed video games as status symbols. The episode also condemns the San Diego Police Department’s failure to act on a 2-hour warning call, despite having surveillance tools, and highlights the community’s trauma and resilience. Beyond the shooting, the episode condemns the Trump administration’s $1.8 billion 'weaponization' fund settlement—where Trump sued and settled with his own government—granting himself and his sons lifelong immunity from IRS audits, a move described as a 'heinous' power grab.