Opponents of Donald Trump have shared their wild conspiracy theories about the attempted assassination of the former president.
The 78-year-old was nearly killed by gunman Thomas Crooks on Saturday afternoon while giving a speech at a campaign rally near Butler, Pennsylvania.
The 20-year-old registered Republican was able to slip onto a roof 450 feet (137 meters) from the stage and began firing an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle his father had purchased, officials said.
A bullet grazed Trump’s ear before the gunman was taken out by a Secret Service sniper. Corey Comperatore, 50, was killed as he tried to protect his family, while David Dutch, 57, and James Copenhaver, 74, were wounded in the shooting.
However, some people claim that the assassination attempt was a false flag and staged based on a series of twisted theories.
Opponents of Donald Trump have shared their wild conspiracy theories about the attempted assassination of the former president
The 78-year-old was nearly killed by gunman Thomas Crooks on Saturday afternoon while speaking at a campaign rally near Butler, Pennsylvania
YouTuber James Klug interviewed the crowd in Huntington Beach, California to ask for their thoughts on the assassination attempt on Trump.
“It was a false flag,” one man told him. He replied, “Someone died and two people were injured, what do you think about that?”
But the man only replied, “False flag.”
Another beachgoer said: ‘I thought it was beautifully staged. It was professionally done. It almost looked real.’
He was asked who staged it and he replied, “By Mr. Trump, of course.”
The man added that the death and injuries were a “small price to pay.” “Trump doesn’t care,” he added. “Do you think he cares if people die so he gets elected?
‘Death means nothing to Trump.
“I think he got away alive, maybe with a scratch on his ear. Behind the scenes, it was all made up.
YouTuber James Klug interviewed the crowd in Huntington Beach, California to ask them for their thoughts on the assassination attempt on Trump
“It was a false flag,” one man told him. He replied, “Someone died and two people were injured, what do you think about that?” But the man only replied, “False flag.”
“They made a little scratch on his ear and threw a little blood on his face.”
Klug asked, “Do you think they were planning to shoot at the corner of his ear from 120 yards away?
The man replied, “They never shot off the corner of his ear. That was all done by the people hanging around him.”
“I think this whole thing was staged,” a third man claimed. “It could be [Trump] or the other side trying to create a scene.
“But the fact that it just caught his attention and he stood up and said, America, come on, this doesn’t feel normal.
“To me it seems like it was planned. Bless that soul that he dies for this cause. I feel so sorry for that person’s family. It’s just a feeling.”
The Secret Service, responsible for protecting presidents and former presidents, went on the defensive Monday after it emerged it had failed to spot the shooter.
A bullet grazed Trump’s ear before the shooter was taken out by a Secret Service sniper
Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old would-be assassin who shot Donald Trump, was once rejected by his high school’s shooting club and was considered dangerous
“Secret Service personnel on the ground responded quickly to the incident. Our anti-sniper team neutralized the shooter and our agents took protective measures to ensure the safety of former President Donald Trump,” Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle said in a statement.
Biden ordered an independent investigation into how the gunman, who was shot dead by officers moments after he opened fire, came so close to killing or seriously injuring Trump despite heavy agency security.
The president has also directed the Secret Service to set up a security detail for independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Trump flew to Milwaukee on Sunday, 24 days after the assassination attempt.
Trump pumped his fist in the air several times and appeared to mutter the words “Fight! Fight! Fight!” as he walked down the steps of his plane.
In an interview during the trip, he said the realization that he had been so close to death was sobering.
“That reality is just now sinking in,” Trump said, according to the Washington Examiner. “I rarely look away from the crowd. If I hadn’t done that at that moment, well, we wouldn’t be having this today, right?”
“I want to try to unite our country,” the New York Post reported Trump as saying during the flight. “But I don’t know if that’s possible. People are very divided.