We'd hoped to have put this kind of lunacy about the attempted assassination of then presidential candidate Donald Trump behind us, but every now and then the conspiracy theory bubbles back to the surface.
These kinds of claims are still making the rounds.
I’ve never re-watched this clip until now.
— Hannah Cox (@HannahDCox) March 15, 2026
Look at the people behind him and their reactions. No one on earth would sit there like that after a public shooting broke out. Compare this to the crowd and people around Charlie Kirk when he’s shot. https://t.co/0WOJwJOTrk
Really?
Journalist and author Salena Zito was there that day, and very close to the stage.
I was feet away @HannahDCox. A man died there ma'am who was someone's son, husband & father--2 other men were gravely injured all in front of me. I stood there too--It was my job to keep working. Others were in disbelief
— ZitoSalena (@ZitoSalena) March 15, 2026
To suggest or hint that this was staged is unconscionable. https://t.co/SmOBaA9Mzy
Here's another:
calmest crowd ever recorded after shots ring out in a public place , & calmest response by the President's security, ever.
— Joyce Carol Oates (@JoyceCarolOates) March 15, 2026
contrast with the immediate, professional response when Reagan was assaulted.
it does seem to have been rehearsed, however clumsily. high-school amateur… https://t.co/RAqnz4b0HC
Recommended
the thinking about Butler PA among people whom I know is that whatever happened--whether staged, or not-staged, or just partially, clumsily staged--each explanation is equally unlikely.
— Joyce Carol Oates (@JoyceCarolOates) March 15, 2026
as you say, the essence of "bizarre."
also "bizarre"-- no media outlet even the more serious… https://t.co/KzShQlfWyJ
Please stop Joyce. https://t.co/QXDomHnm47
— ZitoSalena (@ZitoSalena) March 16, 2026
We should probably keep something in mind: That's the same Joyce Carol Oates who slammed what she thought was a picture of a poacher that was actually a photo of Steven Spielberg posing with a triceratops from Jurassic Park.
It's clear that TDS sufferers simply live in a world of their own creation. It's like a Minecraft world for the Trump triggered.
Some people do not understand the courage of Trump supporters. For years they have been attacked and even killed, yet they still show up. A week after a supporter was murdered and two wounded at Butler, they lined up in Grand Rapids for President Trump.https://t.co/tu2GsBs7st
— Kristinn Taylor (@KristinnFR) March 15, 2026
This is a very good point. I detailed this day explicitly in the book about how people reacted and it is vulgar to suggest that it was staged. I'm a pretty calm person. I pretty much never get mad but I'm also half Sicilian and half Scottish and 100% American and my blood is…
— ZitoSalena (@ZitoSalena) March 15, 2026
It's amazing that people still believe those claims (or at least pretend to).
Got the engagement she was after.
— Jonathan Rafferty (@jraff24) March 15, 2026
Lost her humanity card in the process. And you don't get it back.
— ZitoSalena (@ZitoSalena) March 15, 2026
Also, it never fails:
Comments off is all you need to know about this unserious person …
— ScyfyLala (@SciFiMom13) March 15, 2026
When in doubt, take the Jim Acosta route!
*****
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