A top Democrat donor’s adviser tried to persuade journalists to report Donald Trump’s assassination attempt as deliberately staged. Dmitri Mehlhorn, who works with LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, wrote to several journalists suggesting that Trump staged the shooting to “benefit from the backlash.” He said orchestrating significant events was a “classic Russian tactic” and cited a 1999 tragedy in which 300 Russian civilians died.
Mehlhorn claimed Russian President Vladimir Putin had arranged a series of bomb attacks across the country and blamed it on terrorism. The purpose was to present himself as the antidote and win power on the backs of people’s fears.
Mr. Mehlhorn told the selected reporters that it was “yucky” to entertain the idea that Trump staged the shooting, but “we must ask the question.” He is not alone in his view. Skepticism surrounding the incident has generated millions of views on social media, with hashtags such as “staged” trending on Twitter. Some social media users particularly questioned how a 20-year-old shooter managed to get so close to Trump and find a clear line of sight to his target – several suggested the Secret Service allowed the shooting to occur.
Commentators note that distrust of official reports is prevalent among both Democrats and Republicans, some of whom have even suggested that a bullet did not strike Mr. Trump but that he placed fake blood on his own ear. Others have suggested that the Secret Service would not have allowed the former President to raise his fist to the crowd if there was a genuine threat to his life.
Theories put forward by Republican supporters online place the blame firmly on the White House and believe President Biden arranged the attack, which went wrong and failed to eliminate his GOP rival. Proponents of this theory argue too that the Secret Service facilitated the shooting by allowing 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks a clear view of Donald Trump and permitting him to pull the trigger before intervening.
