(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Just like clockwork, opponents of President Donald Trump began spreading conspiracy theories following what the FBI called a second attempt on the GOP nominee’s life on Sunday.
Some users on X claimed, without evidence, that the attempt was a campaign ploy, while others dismissed the danger or blamed Trump’s rhetoric for the incident.
Anti-Trump defense attorney Janet Johnson took the prize for the most disturbing comment, writing in a now-deleted post, “I don’t mean to be skeptical but are they going to keep doing this every time he tanks in the polls.”
But Johnson wasn’t the only one peddling conspiracies. Leftist activist Ed Krassenstein, recently accused of owning domains with references to “teen” porn, claimed that MAGA supporters had fabricated the assassination attempt.
“Fact is Trump was never in any danger and after two people exchanged gunfire outside his Florida golf course. They just keep pushing more and more lies,” Krassenstein falsely wrote.
In reality, the two people involved in the gunfire were Secret Service agents responding to the would-be assassin, Ryan Routh.
Liberal disinfo influencer and grifter Ed Krassenstein lies about the suspected assassination attempt of Donald Trump in Palm Beach. CNN reports that the shooter had a GoPro, suggesting a desire to film the shooting. https://t.co/SKxN64AW2U pic.twitter.com/FgBgF8svM5
— Andy Ngo 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) September 15, 2024
Rachel Vindman, wife of Alexander Vindman—who instigated Trump’s first impeachment—dismissed the threat by suggesting people move on since Trump wasn’t harmed. “No ears were harmed. Carry on with your Sunday afternoon,” she wrote on X.
Once the facts dispelled claims that the shooting was random and not a threat to Trump, NBC News’s Lester Holt suggested the incident was inspired by Trump’s past rhetoric.
“Today’s apparent assassination attempt comes amid increasingly fierce rhetoric on the campaign trail itself,” Lester claimed in a video shared by the Media Research Center.
“Mr. Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, continues to make baseless claims about Haitian immigrants in Ohio. This weekend there were new bomb threats in that town,” Lester added.
NBC's Lester Holt: "Today's apparent assassination attempt comes amid increasingly fierce rhetoric on the campaign trail. Mr. Trump, his running mate JD Vance continue to make baseless claims about Haitian immigrants" in Springfield, Ohio, resulting in bomb threats. pic.twitter.com/apw9WQ1liR
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) September 15, 2024
This leftist rhetoric was unsurprising. Just days before the recent assassination attempt, the Washington Post suggested Trump was fabricating threats, in a report headlined, “Trump stokes suspicions about assassination attempt, raising fears of more violence.”
Washington Post never disappoints. pic.twitter.com/4S2HDPOCkt
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) September 15, 2024
The piece by self-described “reporter” Isaac Arnsdorf accused Trump of inciting violence by questioning the release of information about his would-be assassin, Thomas Matthews Crooks.
“Investigators have yet to identify a motive for the shooter,” Arnsdorf wrote. “Instead, the available evidence points to Crooks as a troubled young man like many of those behind past assassination attempts or, more often, school shootings.”
