In the wake of the news of Saturday’s assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, unfounded conspiracy theories have quickly emerged, suggesting that the shooting was staged.
The incident, which took place during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, has left many shocked and prompted a wave of speculation.
One rally attendee was killed and two others were critically injured, according to the Secret Service, who neutralized and killed the shooter. He has been named by the FBI as Thomas Matthew Crooks.
The attempt occurred as Trump was addressing a large crowd of supporters. A gunman fired shots in the direction of the former president, who was then swiftly removed from the stage by Secret Service agents. Trump appeared injured and was taken to hospital, the suspect was apprehended and killed at the scene.
Almost immediately, social media platforms and various online forums were flooded with posts alleging that the entire incident was a hoax. Proponents of these theories argue that the attack was orchestrated to garner sympathy or admiration for Trump and boost his support ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
Hodgetwins posted a video on X, formerly Twitter, of Trump standing up dazed, bleeding and defiant after the shooting, with the caption: “Trump just got shot in the head and got up like a gangster and fist pumped.”
Reposting the same video and caption, user @jawn commented in all caps: “This is the most staged s*** I’ve ever seen. An active shooter and Secret Service just allows him to stand back up for a fist up?! The crowd just sits back down?? Crowd just smiles and takes pictures??”
Another user responded saying: “I totally agree!! Ten shots were fired and he’s just up like this. What happened to the shooter?”
X user @awsten reposted the same footage on the platform, writing again in all caps: “Nothing has ever been more staged, pushing off Secret Service who are much stronger than him to put a fist in the air for the cameras. This is not a marvel movie, you are not Iron Man.”
In response, another user commented: “At minimum he put the Secret Service at risk to stall and pump his fist in the air.”
“That shooting so staged, they clipped Trump’s ear with a damn rubber bullet,” stated another user Ty-Rin.
Several X users appeared to mock Trump’s reaction. One, SJ, said: “They staged that and he bladed when they jumped on him. I’m familiar with this WWE a** script.”
User @jaybands24 responded: “They tryna get Trump a face redemption ark so everyone roots for him I see thru it.”
In response, several X users debunked the conspiracy theories with @mavsmerle commenting: “Saying this is staged is just weird considering the fact that one of the attendees was just pronounced dead and so was the shooter.”
This comment relates to the confirmed death of one rally attendee and the shooter himself.
