Donald Trump Shooting Was Staged Conspiracy Theory

About

The Donald Trump Shooting Was Staged Conspiracy Theory is a conspiracy theory that the 2024 Donald Trump Rally Shooting was somehow fake and staged or was a "false flag" operation. The theory suggested that the reported assassination attempt was orchestrated to aid Donald Trump's 2024 Presidential Campaign to garner him favor and approval. Many highlighted the photographic nature of the shooting, exemplified by the viral Donald Trump Raised Fist Photograph. Others centered on the Secret Service's apparent ineptitude during the incident. The shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was also featured in a 2022 BlackRock commercial, raising concerns related to the conspiracy theory. Many aimed to debunk the theory as it spread in mid-July 2024, centering on discourse about New York Times photographer Doug Mills' photo of the bullet grazing Trump's ear or the death and injuries of attendees.

Origin

Posts and comments theorizing that the 2024 Donald Trump Rally Shooting was somehow staged began spreading on social media almost immediately after the news broke online. The first known viral post to suggest that the attempted assassination might have been staged was shared by X^[1] user @THISisLULE at approximately 6:15 p.m. EST on July 13th, 2024, reading, "Sorry but I wouldn’t be surprised if Trump staged an attempted assassination as a campaign stunt," gaining over 22,000 likes in two days (shown below).

Spread

Similar viral posts suggesting that the 2024 Donald Trump Rally Shooting might have been staged were shared in the following hours on July 13th, 2024, across numerous platforms, particularly on X / Twitter.

For instance, at 6:24 p.m. EST on the day of the event, X^[2] user @ReggiSaxx quoted a video of Trump fist-pumping to the crowd after being shot, claiming that it was staged. The quote amassed over 115,000 likes in two days (shown below, left). Minutes later on July 13th, X^[3] user @bloutgoggles shared the Trump Raised Fist Photograph, captioned, "Staged ass shooting😭😭😭🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️," receiving over 63,000 likes in two days (shown below, right).

Minutes later on July 13th, 2024, X^[4] user @kangminjlee aimed to debunk the growing theory by posting an interview with a doctor who was present at the shooting and tried saving a man who was shot, seen with blood on his clothes. @kangminjlee wrote, "Do some of you still think this is 'staged'?" gaining over 15,000 likes in two days (shown below).

It was later confirmed that one person died and two more were seriously injured due to the would-be assassin's gunfire at the event.^[10]

Conspiracy theory discourse also surfaced on Reddit's /r/conspiracy sub in the following days. For instance, on July 14th, 2024, Redditor^[5] LurkerFromTheVoid shared a photo from the Washington Post of the Secret Service sniper positioned behind Trump's stage, asking, "Why didn't they shoot before the gunman?" (shown below).

Another post on /r/conspiracy^[6] added to the question, showing an aerial view of the Trump shooting where the shooter was located compared to the Secret Service sniper, gaining over 1,100 upvotes in a day (shown below). The post was labeled "Innacurate" by the subreddit's mods due to reports that the Secret Service sniper's view of the shooter's position was blocked by a tree.^[7]

Another point levied by the conspiracy theorists also centered on the Secret Service's handling of Donald Trump after the shooting in which they let him raise his fist for the audience. Reports also said that Trump insisted on getting his shoes immediately after his ear was struck.^[8]

For instance, on July 13th, 2024, X^[9] user @Drea_got_banned noted the Secret Service's actions, asking if it was insane, gaining over 94,000 likes in two days (shown below).

New York Times' "Bullet Grazing Donald Trump" Photograph

On July 13th, 2024, New York Times^[11] photographer Doug Mills took a photograph of the bullet grazing Donald Trump's ear (shown below, top). The NYT editorial team also included a red circled version, highlighting the bullet mid-flight (shown below, bottom).

The photograph debunked many claims that Trump could have faked being shot, exemplified in viral tweets^[12] that praised the photo.

Thomas Matthew Crooks BlackRock Commercial

The shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, had appeared in a 2022 commercial for the multinational investment company BlackRock that spread on X^[13] in the days following the shooting. Users joked about the coincidence in conspiratory posts, such as X^[14] user @adamjohnsonCHI on July 15th, 2024, who said, "love the idea that BlackRock uses their MKUltra sleeper cell deep state assassins in their promotional videos as a cost saving measure…" gaining over 18,000 likes in less than a day (shown below).

Various Examples

Search Interest

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External References