Following the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump, the overwhelming majority of Americans have been left in a state of shock, anger, and fear for the future. At the same time, however, a small but vocal segment of the progressive left has descended into a cesspool of deranged conspiracy.
Rather than expressing compassion and concern for Trump in the wake of the first presidential assassination attempt in nearly half a century, some leftists have instead resorted to baselessly insisting that the shooting was cynically staged by the Trump campaign, or even that Trump was never shot at all. The left’s sudden embrace of far-reaching conspiracy theories demonstrates just how blinded they are by their unmitigated hatred of the former president—and why the American people cannot trust them.
In the most recent unhinged rant, MSNBC’s Joy Reid implied the entire thing was a setup during the network’s coverage of the RNC Convention on Wednesday. Trump “is an elderly man,” she claimed, “who, for whatever reason, was given nine seconds to take an iconic photo op during an active shooter situation. Weird situation, we’ll figure that out one day.” Later on in the same broadcast, Reid stated that President Joe Biden overcoming his case of COVID-19 would be “the exact same thing” as Trump surviving the assassination attempt.
But in spreading this baseless conspiracy theory, Reid may have just been picking up where Dmitri Mehlhorn—a top advisor to major Democrat donor Reid Hoffman – left off. In an email sent just hours after the attempted assassination, Mehlhorn remarked that one “possibility” is that that “this ‘shooting’ was encouraged and maybe even staged so Trump could get the photos and benefit from the backlash.”
“This is a classic Russian tactic, such as when Putin killed 300 civilians in 1999 and blamed it on terrorists to ride the backlash to winning power,” the email continued. “Others who have embraced this tactic of committing raw evil and then benefitting from the backlash include Hamas on October 7. If any Trump officials encouraged or knew of this attack, that is morally horrific, and Republicans of decency must demand that Trump step down as unfit.”
He added in all-caps: “NOT ONE NEWSPAPER OR OPINION LEADER IN AMERICA IS WILLING TO OPENLY CONSIDER THE POSSIBILITY THAT TRUMP AND PUTIN STAGED THIS ON PURPOSE. Ask the question, people.”
Although Mehlhorn later apologized for his comments, he was far from the only leftist figure to publicly make these extraordinary claims. According to a recent report in The Wall Street Journal, there were more than 300,000 mentions of the word “staged” on X (formerly Twitter) in the hours following the shooting. Meanwhile, there were 80,000 mentions of the term “inside job” in the same timespan—and according to PeakMetrics, 12 percent of posts on X and the Telegram platform discussing the event were conspiratorial in nature.
One Democrat also referred to the shooting as “choreographed.” Another insisted it looked “like a photo op.” Others theorized that the blood coming from Trump’s ear was really from a theatrical gel pack. Another X user went so far as to outrageously proclaim that Trump personally approved the tragic death of Corey Comperatore, who was fatally shot during the attempted assassination.
“I can totally see Trump ‘sacrificing’ one of his cult followers to make his ‘assassination attempt’ look more realistic and believable,” a Democrat influencer posited in a since-deleted post. “Fake blood. An upside [down] American flag. I ain’t buying it. Too perfect,” he wrote in a later post.
But the proposition that Trump (or anyone in his orbit) would take the extraordinary step of coordinating a fake assassination attempt—actively killing one person and critically injuring two others in the process—is not only patently absurd, but also morally repugnant.
Digital illustrations of the shooting show that Trump was mere inches and split seconds away from death—and that he can credit his survival to a series of last-minute head turns (he was gesturing towards a graphic on a jumbotron). Why would Trump—or anyone else for that matter—risk coming so close to dying (not to mention jeopardizing the lives of others) simply for a polling boost in an election that he was already winning handily?
Moreover, why would a candidate who already had a healthy lead in every swing state take such an extraordinary and unnecessary risk?
Regardless of the grave moral evils that would accompany staging an assassination attempt, any Trump campaign-led attempt to coordinate a faux assassination with U.S. Secret Service (a federal agency currently operating under the leadership of Joe Biden) would certainly have been immediately leaked and swiftly rebuffed.
For what reason, then, why are some segments of the left so eager to insist that the shooting was “staged”?
In the end, the left’s descent into unhinged conspiracy has been nothing more than the latest display of “Trump Derangement Syndrome,” in which truth, facts, and reality fall by the wayside in favor of seething anti-Trump hatred—a far cry from the “character,” “decency,” and compassion” to which the Biden campaign and broader progressive movement have for so long disingenuously appealed.
Another great irony in the “staged” narrative is that Democrat officials and left-wing activists have relentlessly sought to dismiss basic facts touted by conservatives—from the Hunter Biden laptop, to the origins of coronavirus, to skepticism over the efficacy of COVID vaccines, to the circumstances surrounding Trump’s June 2020 appearance at Lafayette Square—as “conspiracy theories.” However, in this case, the same voices that denounce conservatives as lunatics and conspiracists every chance they get have remained conspicuously silent.
While there are still many questions surrounding the July 13 shooting that demand speedy answers, the utter lack of concern among some leftists regarding an assassination attempt against the presidential frontrunner—regardless of how much they may hate him—is deeply disconcerting.
If Democrats truly seek to “lower the temperature,” as Biden has repeatedly called for, they should forcefully disavow these repulsive conspiracies.
Aaron Flanigan is the pen name of a writer in Washington, D.C.
The reason the left can conceive of such a convoluted plot because it would be something they would themselves do.
Gee. I wonder how many times they had to rehearse the assassination attempt to get it just right to avoid actually killing Trump. How much more stupid can the statement be that it was “choreographed” and the fireman was “sacrificed” to make it look realistic? Some people are just too ignorant to be alive. How in hell do they function everyday?
There is no doubt in my mind this was in fact a conspiracy. Contrived and carried out by a democrat deep state in utter panic because they know exactly what little chance they have of defeating Trump at the ballot box.
I’m not a conspiracy guy but… how do you explain the horrible lack of reaction by the Secret Service. They were warned by local police and attendants 20 minutes before Trump took the stage. Why did they even allow him to take the stage until they found the kid? Why were there no personnel on the roof of that building? How did a 20 yr old kid know there would be no personnel on that one roof?
Too many questions and the head of Homeland Security goes into hiding along with the head of the Secret Service. Sickening. We are a 3rd world country.
Since 80% of the world’s population thinks the Obiden crime syndicate has been the worst in history, would any one believe that President Trump would take a chance on a 20 some year old kid pretending to assassinate him?
I don’t know what the democrats are drinking but it has made every one of them nuttier than a fruitcake.
Has the Secret Service explained yet how they missed the guy on the roof (yes, the one that was too dangerously steep for them to even check)? The Secret Service snipers were higher than the roof of the assassin. How could they miss that?
I’m pretty sure everyone knows that this was a set up by the rabid democrats as a last resort attempt, since all the other crap they have thrown at him failed. Notice how all the charges against President Trump are being dismissed or dropped. They simply could not find that he was guilty of anything other than loving his country and wanting to bring back American standards.
I sincerely pray that when Trump is elected, he puts every one of the deep state scum bags in prison for treason. And treason has always been a death penalty. Amen.
The Nazicrats in true communist form as past history proves accuse others of doing what they actually do regularly or what they would do. One of the basic communist tactics is to divert attention from themselves by accusing others of doing what they do.
To ignore the fact that a man was killed and two others wounded is demonic in its tone while spewing forth a lie that Pres. Trump staged the incident. Just like dems whose AI brains are blinking red and need a new chip insert. It shows what robots they are and truly have no human compassion.
Unbelievable what the progressives will stoop to. They are unhinged from reality and perhaps even mentally ill. To say such ugly things about a former President, to call 1/2 the countries citizens a “cult” is just the exact opposite of what THEIR President has asked for – unity. President Trump has asked for unity as well and based on the past, the left will not ever try to unify with Americans who support Trump. We have all endured a horrific destruction of our country including honesty, decency, respect. All erased by the zealots of hate and lust for power. That’s what they care about – to control us all, lock, stock and barrel.
Those on the left are incredibly evil minded, as much as the Demo-rat voters are incredibly ignorant!
We need Trump more than ever!
Many on the left are psychotic. A peer reviewed, published study has proven that. Personally, I think it goes farther than that; many of them are flat-out evil…period.
joy reid…WOW is her first name a misnomer. She doesn’t have an electron of “joy” in her wicked soul; she’s a 100% bigoted hater. Nothing more. She, and the rest of the “msm” have blood on their hands.
For anyone to say this was a faux assassination to gain points in a poll shows how desperate and idiotic these idiots are, President Trump is leading in the polls, has a great following and would never endanger anyone. Some people open their mouths and speak before the brain engages-out come BS. Two people died, three wounded. Some people just want to get their name mentioned. CBS needs to shut the commentators’ mics off during the convention coverage. They talked more and over the convention acts so much I moved to NBC to hear what was presented.
What else but “deranged” opinions can come from deranged people? Oh, Joyless, I’m sure that guy volunteered to have his head blown off by the sniper! And, Trump volunteered to be shot less than an inch from his brain. Yes, Joyless, that makes sense!
The democrats will say anything and do anything to advance their evil agenda.
This oddball perspective, just like all else the left says (even statements of their policies) is purely a product of someone’s imagination.
They could have, at least, added some sort of entertainment, like an alien kidnapping…
I’ve never heard of such a bunch of unadulterated B.S.in my born days, Joy Reid has got a screw loose and has for a long, long, time !!!!!
Very sick people, these Marxist Democrats
The Leftists are godless individuals who worship Satan and hate America, in my humble opinion. Joy Reid is a daughter of Satan, in my opinion. I never watch the Pravda State Run Media channels because they are of Satan also, in my opinion. They only speak lies which is the MO of Satan. God will deal with Evil as He has in the past in His Time.
Pray that you learn from God and leave the rest up to God. God Bless America.
The left is sad that the shooter did not succeed. And are keeping their steadfast hatred for Trump on the forefront. They worked hard the past 16 years to make the GOP into Nazis. Like Trump always says they are after us he is just in the way. If we didn’t support him who would we support,. Obiden of course, total power achieved. Obiden keeps saying the same lies over and over again and many people like Reid and Maddox and Morning Joe believe it. They have years of ranting pro Joe lies behind them, they cannot tell the truth now. Consider the source and ignore it. I am just worried about those fanatics like the assassin in PA follow the orders of Obiden to eliminate Trump and his supporters. I also can see in these stories what these people and others have been dreaming about that Trump would do this. That is how deep the hatred has gotten into their soul. If they even have one. We saw it in 2016 with their concerted effort to connect Trump to Putin. That is why we now are so deeply involved in the Ukraine war. Obiden thought he could defeat Putin in no time only he miscalculated. He didn’t want peace with Russia he still doesn’t. The Ukrainians are dying for this demented man’s honor. Not for Ukraine.
The Dems hate for President Trump never ends with stupid remarks fro these Trump haters would any one want to have someone with a rifle sit on a roof and shoot at President Trump and just for the heck of it have the bullet hit his ear very stupid people.
The left is so quick to blame Trump, for what they are capable of doing this whole business was replacing Biden the running November. It’s been in the works, probably since before he was elected. They come up with all these conspiracy theories, but unfortunately they’re only being carried out by the left
Thanks, all of you! Well said!
Conspiracy? I couldn’t agree more. The Dem’s have nothing else, so why not eliminate the competition, it’s worked for them before.
None of the Republican’s want to come right out and say it, but you can read between the lines. They believe the looney toon, deep state Communist that have been running this country for the past four years were the ones responsible for assassination attempt…can’t prove it, but believe it in their heart’s that it so. As for myself and many other red blooded Americans, we believe that’s exactly what happened. There’s too many unanswered questions, and how can we believe anything that comes out of their mouths anymore, especially after Russia, Russia, Russia.
Where it goes from here, who’s to say. Nothing is as it should be, and I doubt it ever will be again unless these Communist traitors are rounded up and do serious prison time…or worse.
Trump, Vance 2024!
God save the Republic.
Not too many people know yet but MSNBC will break the news but Bigfoot said the Loch Ness Monster told him 911 was all done on CGI and never really happened… like the moon landing.
Sure. President Trump was shot with barely millimeters and Divine Intervention saving him from mortal catastrophe, and two other lives (including an innocent husband and father) were snuffed out, two others wounded and permanently scarred, four + families devastated. So to the MSM Marxist ideologues (degusting filth they are), it was “staged.”
What further proof does America need that these media scumbags’ brains are truly rotted by demonic possession, and that they are absolute amateurs, the very weaklings Marxism Leninism targets as their useful idiotic expendable minions. And they control the information stream.
The Left is very skilled at accusing their “enemies” of the very crimes they themselves are guilty of. History proves this time and again. President Trump has proved this, time and again.
…but Americans won’t wake the heck up.
We are a “curious” bunch, we humans. But, I had a talk w/myself NOT to read nor listen to some of demoncrats words because they originated straight outta pit of hell literally. Ya’ll have great days. God & we will win, you’ll see. 🙂
Remember that Joe Obiden made a statement recently “Trump must be stopped at all costs”.
Another GREAT AMAC Article, and its LAST LINE is COMPELLING! I think it only is lacking a few necessary words in the 2nd paragraph above the last one, ending with ‘…is conspicuously silent’. While we may think ‘it goes without saying’, it doesn’t – it NEEDS to be SAID to be CLEAR. They are the words that are said just above this sentence about ‘Republicans’. Then this next paragraph is making the comparison between ‘Dems’ and ‘Repubs’ – except it leaves OUT the same words that MAKE the comparison clear. They are: “…is conspicuously silent ABOUT (or ‘when it comes to…’) Dem ‘conspiracy theories’.” YOU know it, and some of US know it, but NOT ALL know ‘what you’re talking about! there’, ESPECIALLY if they are ‘new’ to ‘waking up’ to what’s been going on for Decades with Dems! or ‘new’ to Politics, or ‘new’ to Dem tactics and deception and perversion of real truth and real facts. America NEEDS this info in the ‘mainstream news’ that is defunct, devious and corrupt – but is the ‘only news’ a LOT of people GET or HEAR – including even our GOP elected reps in Govt.! It’s only a ‘state- sponsored (fake) media who WOULDN’T SEE the necessity of PROVIDING this SAME comparison to BOTH SIDES in order to be found a ‘credible’ or ‘reliable’ or ‘trustworthy’ Source of Info. But THEY feel they are so ‘entrenched’ in our society they don’t HAVE to be ANY of those things anymore! So WE have to do it FOR THEM! GREAT ARTICLE!!! Luv AMAC!!!
Haters have to hate. Thats why they get up in the morning.
Where do these people come from? Do they have no moral compass or compassion at all? Thank God I don’t know people like this – life would be hell with them in it!
All of this demonstrates just how sick, corrupt and disgusting most of what use to be the media is. 90% of the hosts on CNN, MSNBS, CBS, ABC, and the AP need to be fired. we woudl get more honesty if they were replaced with anyone on the street in Ohio, Oklahoma, Eastern Washington or Utah..
America needs more insane asylums for these crazy demo/communists. When was the last time you heard a “conservative” try to kill a demo/commie. These liberal/progressive/communists are all in need of mental help.
Answer me this: 1. Who on earth would you trust to just nick you with a bullet? 140 yards is not a long shot, but anything, like a gust of wind or a movement by the target would mean certain death. 2. I don’t care how much you pay a sniper to ‘pretend’ to assassinate you, somebody else could pay him even more to shoot you dead.
To paraphrase Robert Spencer from his book: The Sumter Gambit: They are …”accusing your enemy of what you are doing…” This is a Marxist strategy.
Does Joy Reid actually have a following ????? I thought she was fired a long time ago!!!!!!
The Trump Derangement syndrome is clearly getting worse.
But they seeded these day 1
Frankly, if anything conspiratorial was going on, I would call it WEF engineering.
This assassination attempt was controlled by the deep state. Many of the players were betting that Trump would have been killed. This boy was possibly trained and paid by Blackrock. The FBI, DOJ, USSS, we’re all involved including the Clinton’s, obummer, George Bush, biden, etc.They should all be put on trial and be hung for treason. They are all disgusting human beings and one of them is not even an american.
I would like to see one of those bozos stand for a bullet nipping their ear as a “demonstration”.
Staged,…yeah,…..right. So during the “staging” a man volunteered to be killed as part of it?? You watch,…by this time next week, the blubbery left will be back in action pouring all their anti Trump tripe through out the lame stream fake news media.
This just further confirms the insanity of the left. They are all of the devil.
Whereas Biden and the Democrats continue their bashing of Trump and the Republican Party after Trump came within a fraction of an inch of being killed and a patriotic hero was killed protecting his family, Trump has proven to be the essence of what a true patriotic American is who loves and wants the best for his country. His speech at the RNC, which I considered his finest, stressed unity and love for this country, and reliance on God’s guidance, among other things, in light of current events, while many in the Democrat Party continue their hate filled diatribes against Trump, and now Vance.
Listening to any of the MSM propagandists is an EXISTENTIAL THREAT to the continuation of the survival of Common Sense and Sanity in America!