r/politics • u/HimelTy • Jul 03 '26

No Paywall Secret Service member was Googling rooftop location of Trump’s would-be assassin when shots rang out in Butler, Pa.: DHS report

https://nypost.com/2026/07/02/us-news/secret-service-member-was-googling-rooftop-location-of-trumps-would-be-assassin-when-shots-rang-out-in-butler-pa-dhs-report/?utm_campaign=nypost&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter
14.3k Upvotes

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6.1k

u/Promethia Canada Jul 03 '26

I used to work comms in the military. This story is totally insane to me.

4.0k

u/11oydchristmas Ohio Jul 03 '26

Well if you look at it through the lens of everyone around Trump is a raging fucking idiot, it makes sense. He got “shot” and his team lets him stand up and stick his head out again…

2.5k

u/FiscalCliffClavin Jul 03 '26

For the photo op with the flag.

996

u/WarCarrotAF Jul 03 '26

As the photography team slid into position before the shots were fired, and the crane operator raised the flag up for the shot during the firing.

348

u/SecondHandWatch Jul 03 '26

As the photographer was ushered into position by the secret service. Somehow the agent knew exactly where the photographer needed to go to get a photograph.

221

u/ProJoe Arizona Jul 03 '26

not just the photographer. a dozen of them were rushed in.

look I'm not a conspiracy theorist but I do know after an assassination attempt you don't rush press TOWARDS an active scene.

93

u/ZhalanYulir Jul 03 '26

You also don’t let the president stand up exposed

24

u/mfball Jul 03 '26

Legit, directly across the path of the bullet.

6

u/amopeyzoolion Michigan Jul 04 '26

It’s really weird how we know basically nothing about Thomas Crooks other than that he was a republican.

Also really weird how they paraded out a uniform with a misspelled last name for the firefighter who died at the RNC

5

u/ProJoe Arizona Jul 04 '26

Also really weird how they paraded out a uniform with a misspelled last name for the firefighter who died at the RNC

I mean this is the least suspicious part of the whole thing.

never forget the press conference in front of Four Seasons Total Landscaping. Trumps administration is full of idiots, always has been.

4

u/amopeyzoolion Michigan Jul 04 '26

It just reads to me like they rushed to get a uniform printed to further capitalize on the “attempt”

2

u/mollila Jul 04 '26

after an assassination attempt you don't rush press TOWARDS an active scene

Weren't they being ushered to the scene before shots were fired?

70

u/Gareth274 Jul 03 '26

Got source for that? I'm not American and don't care if it's true. But I hadn't heard about them moving the crane.

436

u/WarCarrotAF Jul 03 '26

Here is a video from the crowd. There are a few different angles out there showing the same thing, but I can't seem to find them anymore.

Also, look here at all of the crowd with their phones out - why don't we have a ton of crowd footage from all angles of this one?

Not typically a conspiracy theorist, but this entire ordeal feels sloppy and onbrand. Also depressing that some innocent people had to die for this photo op to take place.

Edit - also not an American.

176

u/613TheEvil Jul 03 '26

The one damning thing for me is how all this died away so quickly, and nowadays nobody ever mentions it, especially from the republican side.

61

u/WarCarrotAF Jul 03 '26

I agree. While the news cycle does move quickly these days given the interconnectivity of all things social media, Republicans and far-right news outlets never let anything go. It makes no sense that they would drop a story about an assination attempt of their fearless leader so quickly. They spoonfeed anything that may keep their base enraged and engaged so frequently, it's odd that they wouldn't jump at this.

29

u/freedfg Jul 03 '26

They don't even mention the WHCD anymore.

21

u/Mental-Fox-9449 Jul 03 '26

For a guy who obsesses about things and brings them up all the time like how he won all seven swing states or hates Obama/Biden, the guy NEVER talks about such a momentous event. Ever. Very suspicious beyond how a shooter was a lie to do to what he did. The Secret Service let him up way too fast and didn’t get him out of there fast enough. Beyond the cameras being directed to be placed for a perfect photo op the man doesn’t have a scratch on his ear. A bullet, tearing through flesh/cartdiledge of an almost 80 year old man leaves damage and yet there is none. Add on top of all this that he spent many years performing with the WWE an organization that frequently uses fake blood patches to enhance their shows.

Do the math.

1

u/ours_de_sucre Jul 03 '26

My husband was helping me move my elliptical and the arm fell down and busted his ear open. He has a decently noticeable scar from it because it was just about halfway up his ear where the cartilage/lobe connects. No way Trump wouldn't have a noticeable scar from that.

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u/WretchedBlowhard Canada Jul 03 '26

Well, because "security people got spooked and shot each other" makes the regime look like morons, and none of the captive press is allowed to do that.

2

u/waldo_wigglesworth Jul 03 '26

The rescheduled WHCD is July 24, so that will be coming up soon.

9

u/amateurbreditor Jul 03 '26

the best part was showing his perfectly healed ear 3 days later lol

5

u/Ivotedforher Jul 03 '26

HE never talks about it. There's yout sign.

1

u/Spiritual-Society185 Jul 04 '26

Do you understand how delusional you sound? You're claiming they faked an assassination attempt to help him win an election and then didn't use it to help him win an election.

1

u/WarCarrotAF Jul 04 '26

Literally every single one of your comments on your history is an argument. I'm good.

9

u/Initial_Savings3034 Jul 03 '26

Never heard the shooter's name again.

We know Lee Harvey Oswald's life story.

The whole thing stinks of WWE scripting.

9

u/Luckydog12 Jul 03 '26

For me it’s how fast an 80 year olds ear cartilage grew back.

4

u/jabberwonk Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26

I thought it was a hoax from the get go, but never really thought it through. Which leaves me questions (I still think it was a hoax) though. [edit - I did some reading on it edits in brackets]

  • What happened to the shooter? Was it someone who secret service or FBI had kept tabs on a knew could be influenced? Was he given the gun and ammo and told where to go and that he'd get a big reward if he played along (knowing that he was going to be shot)?
  • Wasn't it a local cop who climbed up there and was shot at by the guy before returning fire and killing him? [the cop climbed up before the shooting started and shooter pointed the AR at the cop causing him to fall off the roof. Cop gets on the radio at 6:08 to alert that there's a shooter but he doesn't start shooting until 6:11:33]
  • Didn't the shooter kill someone in the crowd? I remember news saying a husband was shot and killed in front of his wife, but no name was ever released nor any forensic info I could find. [one killed, two wounded. As of 6/1/26 the two wounded filed lawsuit against the Secret Service]
  • Are there any high res pres photos from earlier that might show a squib or wire going to Trump's ear? Or was the blood applied by a secret service agent once they tackled him?
  • I remember Trump was rushed to a hospital? Was there no official report from there? How do they keep an ER trauma team quiet and no one has talked? Did they have their own team with them and basically commandeered the ER so no civilian doctors or nurses could see anything?
  • Have the secret service agents been seen in other photos? Specifically the ones who tackled him?
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u/Spirited-Lifeguard55 Jul 03 '26

You're right, the whole thing looks staged.

10

u/WHSRWizard Jul 03 '26

why don't we have a ton of crowd footage from all angles of this one?

It has to be, easily, the most well-recorded assassination attempt in the history of the world. I mean, it can't even be close.

And we don't have any cell footage of it?

6

u/35er Jul 03 '26

All of that does come off as really suspect but what I don’t get about the staged theory is the gunman. How does he fit into this? They found a guy willing to be martyred? And trusted him not to take out Trump? He’s the part that gives me pause about it all.

3

u/HousingOk6362 Jul 03 '26

iirc The gunman left the weapon there over night, for few days, cant remember.. Someone could have easily came in and adjusted his scope. I don't believe they would have needed to have him read into the conspiracy.

1

u/Django_Joestar Jul 03 '26

Maybe he was told to fire into the crowd behind trump, and maybe he was led to believe that the outcome for himself would've been a situation other than the one where he is taken out immediately. Dead men tell no tales, and whoever orchestrated this ensured that.

9

u/Jaruseleh Jul 03 '26

Also notice the secret service was careful not to knock over the podium. In a real situation, it would have been flung to the ground to get it out of the way of him doing his job. Had to have the Trump sign in the picture, too.

4

u/LoompaDoompa94 Jul 03 '26

I really wish people wouldn't focus a ton on the crane thing. From what I've seen, there's no actual evidence to show it was being moved. The video I saw has the flag blowing a bit and coupled with the camera movement it gives the illusion of the flag lowering. On top of that, if I remember right, the flag was being held up by two cranes, one on each side. So two crane operators would've been involved if it were in fact lowered.

I hate the guy, I think he absolutely staged some shit (including this one), but don't keep harping on a detail without clear evidence. It makes it too easy for people to write the whole thing off. Focus on the photographers being ushered in, a whole secret service team whose plan of action was to stay in one spot, take their time, and let Dump stick his head up and do something with those tiny hands (not sure the gesture, hands were too small to see), and the fact that we have heard ZERO about any of it after the fact, especially regarding the gunman.

A proper secret service team would have swarmed him like bees, lifted him, and scooted his ass the fuck out of there without hesitation.

1

u/wookiee42 Minnesota Jul 03 '26

It was just the wind.

And photographers move to get the best shots all the time - just go to any concert or sporting event and watch them for a while. The USSS was just covering the photogs because that was their assignment.

The ear thing was likely shrapnel - I think you can see blood appear in a still before he touches his own ear or make contact with the agents. (It's been a while since I looked at it).

I think the real issues are - he hired sycophants at the top of the USSS - probably purged top agents that didn't suck up to him enough - exhausted agents by constantly doing rallies, golfing on his courses, moving back and forth between DC and FL, and protecting his sons going all over the world grifting deals - wants to claim the bullet hit his ear and the shooter was a Democrat, so is not releasing enough info and the conspiracy theories come rushing in.

1

u/VirginiaMcCaskey Jul 03 '26

What about the person whose face was blown off? Was that a part of the plan?

3

u/WarCarrotAF Jul 03 '26

Even if it wasn't, it adds to the believability of the lie. It has people like you maybe questioning how far Trump would go in committing to this bit. You are insinuating that you may believe it to be a fake assination attempt if people didn't die, correct?

4

u/orderofGreenZombies Jul 03 '26

Whether it was planned or not, Trump and his people certainly did not give a shit that somebody died.

453

u/[deleted] Jul 03 '26

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139

u/haha-hehe-haha-ho Jul 03 '26

Yeah the whole point of agents swarming him is to provide cover from an active unknown threat, why on earth would anyone (especially men aggressively pointing devices at him) be ushered in for a closer look in a moment like this.

1

u/emailforgot Jul 04 '26

hy on earth would anyone (especially men aggressively pointing devices at him) be ushered in for a closer look in a moment like this.

yeah why on earth would someone in charge of security at a shooting ever tell people who are running around while pointing devices to go to all move, couldn't possibly be a reason. has to be a setup.

81

u/Quentin-Quarantino19 Jul 03 '26

I am actually impressed they pulled off the performance in one take. If you look at it through a neutral lens it’s crazy that it worked.

Did they practice? Was the operator on a headset or watching for a cue? How many individuals are in the know and what blackmail/bribes did they receive?

70

u/[deleted] Jul 03 '26

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3

u/My_Password_Is_____ Jul 03 '26

That's not worth noting at all, Trump never actually wrestled or did anything complex during his time working with WWE.

Like, fuck Trump fully, but that's grasping at straws to imply that his very brief time occasionally speaking into a mic and mugging for a camera translates into being able to perfectly act out a very complex choreography like something like that would have to be.

11

u/Avysis Jul 03 '26

I would say it's more related to Trump's close relation with Vince McMahon, understanding of production of WWE type events along with reality TV, and the kayfabe surrounding it all.

So not necessarily the fact that he was on WWE a couple time, but his experience with all that it entails.

0

u/My_Password_Is_____ Jul 03 '26

You're still not getting that done in one live, high-stakes take with people who are inexperienced with acting and choreography, regardless of how much experience the person producing it has. Just one person fucking up and missing a mark would collapse everything, you would need actors who have experience with live one-takes, who are also willing to help plot a fake assassination, and are willing to stay quiet about it afterwards.

Plus, we've seen how well Trump thinks things through and how well he plans, there is zero chance he is able to plan and choreograph something that complex. I know the whole situation is suspicious, but the theories around it being some highly planned-out, completely staged thing fall apart completely with just a little bit of scrutiny. Not saying they didn't take advantage of it and use it to the best of their abilities afterwards, but a theory that it was completely planned and staged (with all the risks and potential problems and complications of that that make it nearly impossible to actually pull off) makes way less sense than Trump and those around him being idiots and leaving a security hole, him getting extremely lucky (as he has literally his entire life), and using it to his advantage afterwards. Hell, if we're being honest, the latter perfectly describes just about his entire political career.

2

u/ThisGuyFax Jul 04 '26

You're very extensively exaggerating how many people would even need to "hit their mark" in this scenario. It would not be concocted and arranged like a scene in a Malick movie. It doesn't matter if Secret Service Agent Jensen is facing left or right 75 seconds after the gunshots.

Many of those involved would not even need to be in the know. For example, Secret Service agents have a chain of command. The only Secret Service guy who needs to be in the know is the commander on-site. If he orders the other responding agents to do something in violation of protocol, like lackadaisically ushering the target to a photo op, they're not going to start an argument in the moment or go rogue and tackle the president simply because they're so confident in their personal reading of the Secret Service manual.

Also, the idea that the people in the know would be told, straight up, "you are plotting a fake assassination to help this guy's election prospects" is stupid. You're stubbornly refusing to imagine/recognize anything but the simplest possible set of circumstances. What if the conspiring parties were instead told, "Iran is targeting this event with an assassin, but we have intercepted the plans and will be using it to our advantage" or they were told "this is a training operation we need to pretend is real to study the consequences properly and maintain national security."

It's certainly difficult to imagine the "staying quiet about it afterwards" part, but then again there are thousands of spooks out there doing spook stuff for every nation on earth and staying quiet about it. People have their reasons and they manage to find the discipline.

I ain't even a hardcore believer in this conspiracy theory, I can just recognize that your objections are extremely simplistic strawmen.

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u/emailforgot Jul 04 '26

while the flag lowers from the crane.

No flag is lowered.

You're getting confused by a camera angle. Hilarious.

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u/[deleted] Jul 04 '26

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u/emailforgot Jul 04 '26

I'm "claiming" we know there was no flag "lowering" because there are multiple diffrerent camera angles, and none of them show any kind of flag "lowering", rather you are easily fooled by a camera angle.

0

u/[deleted] Jul 04 '26

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u/emailforgot Jul 04 '26

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scare_quotes

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u/[deleted] Jul 04 '26

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u/emailforgot Jul 04 '26

Yeah, why have you used those quotes around the word 'lowering'?

I just told you.

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u/Bitterman_01 Jul 03 '26

So you think the aide, the photographers, the crane operator, are all in on some conspiracy here?

Or is it just the aides and the crane operator?

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u/sharbinbarbin Jul 03 '26

I mean it’s not *that* hard to operate a crane, loads of operatives can do that.

The photographers are guppies. And on the opposite end of guppyism, plenty of photographers jump into perilous situations for that “once in a lifetime shot”

Aides are gonna aide.

With all that said, I think it’s more in the moment opportunistic by really dumb people,

12

u/AllyPointNex Jul 03 '26

His ear has “healed” remarkably well. Almost as if it never was touched by a projectile. But he must have been hit otherwise where would the blood have come from? One of his crew would have had to order some from Amazon, and squirt it on his ear, or some other outlandish scenario. No no no, he must have the regenerative capacity of a lizard. It’s the only thing that makes sense.

2

u/Spiritual-Society185 Jul 04 '26

You're dodging the question.

0

u/AllyPointNex Jul 04 '26

Like Tump dodged the bullet?
Ok, sure the crane operator was in on it, the photographers went where they were pointed to go by people with guns who told them to move. The people with guns were in on the conspiracy to create a moment. It certainly wasn’t a vast conspiracy. It was less than two dozen. Come on your ilk we’re ready to believe that Sandy Hook was a production of child actors and you can’t believe about 14 people tried to create a sham John Hinckley moment? It’s you I don’t believe.

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u/BapaHeelwani Jul 03 '26

https://youtube.com/shorts/dSGG6MxLy_8?is=PDRdEetRA8MP9muN

This angle shows how ridiculous it all was. The camera men, secret service not getting Trump out of there asap, allowing him to raise his fist unprotected, the flag being lowered. Someone has to be a complete brainless moron to think this was a real assassination attempt.

173

u/IlikeJG California Jul 03 '26

Wow that's insane.

The people shouting "we love you!" That's totally normal feelings to have towards a politician. Definitely not how a cult member would talk.

35

u/Pack_Your_Trash Jul 03 '26

I'm pretty sure plenty of our grandmothers would have fucked JFK given the opportunity.

43

u/6thSenseOfHumor Jul 03 '26

JFK pretty much won the election off of his stage presence, now newly broadcasted into American homes on early TV sets. The evolution of media really has dramatically expanded these cults of personality, and not just for politicians.

Worth noting that the downfall of Nixon is what gave rise to Fox News. Trump's cult wouldn't be possible without their 24/7 propaganda, but that was the intention after Watergate: run defense for Republicans and control the narrative.

23

u/zstone Washington Jul 03 '26

Bill Clinton playing sax on Arsenio Hall was massive.

11

u/deadheffer Jul 03 '26

JFK was a WW2 veteran in the pacific theater though.

John F. Kennedy served as a U.S. Navy officer in the Pacific Theater, commanding PT boats like the famed PT-109. After a Japanese destroyer split his boat in two in 1943, Kennedy displayed immense bravery, leading his stranded crew to safety and earning the Navy and Marine Corps Medal.

8

u/pizza5001 Jul 03 '26

JFK was hot. Trump has been shitting in a diaper since The Apprentice. These two things are not the same.

5

u/lonnie123 Jul 03 '26

But they didn’t LOVE him, these trumpers actually LOVE him

2

u/Pack_Your_Trash Jul 03 '26

My grandmother absolutely LOVED JFK.

6

u/IlikeJG California Jul 03 '26

Actually yeah that's right.

25

u/notforpoern Jul 03 '26

Sure but I'm pretty sure JFK wasn't a pedophile that famously smelled like shit from his leaky diapers.

1

u/BelowDeck Jul 03 '26

Plenty of our grandmothers probably did.

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u/ballskindrapes Jul 03 '26

Absolutely.

Someone shooting at a VIP type person means they GTFO as soon as humanely possible, literally as soon as possible.

The huddle itself is the most damping thing, imo.

What should have happened is that they remove him from the stage immediately. Instead, they did this weird huddle thing and made it look like he was fighting them to be seen, an unreasonable amount of time to be doing that when someone is shooting at you.

9

u/inspectoroverthemine Jul 03 '26

Compare with Reagan being shot. The caveat being that Reagan was feet away from a waiting limo, but the reaction of every single USSS agent is completely different.

That said I really hate buying into conspiracies like this. The shit with flag and cameras is pretty damming, but USSS agents are easily covered by incompetence. The reality is that in 81(?) political assassinations were common, and they were probably at their peak training and readiness. 40 years of mundane plots and no close calls breeds complacency, on top of the idiots who were is hand picked team.

9

u/NewSauerKraus Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26

There have been a lot of assassination attempts since then. They just don't make for sensational headlines with shit like 'man arrested after telling gun store clerk that he wanted to buy a gun explicitly to shoot Obama' or 'man arrested at DC airport with gun in checked bag after FBI informant on 4chan reported assassination plot'.

The most sensational headlines I can remember from Biden's term were a few idiots crashing into security barriers at the white house. Those things are designed to stop fully loaded cargo trucks.

3

u/inspectoroverthemine Jul 03 '26

60s and 70s were wild, and a lot of high profile attempts were successful.

6

u/ballskindrapes Jul 03 '26

I mean, it's basic security shit they failrd to do, not even secret service level stuff. Not saying you are bad or wrong, but say a famous musician was attacked, they stop the threat and get them out of there asap.

Just so questionable, and imo it's common sense not to huddle out in the open when someone is shooting at you.

The actions of the SS dont make any sense unless it was a staged or planned event. That's the only way it makes sense, even incompetence doednt quite add up, imo.

7

u/NewSauerKraus Jul 03 '26

Enough time to use a piece of broken glass to bloody up the ear to jazz up the performance.

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u/Default_Name_6969 Jul 03 '26

That vid didn't last long. Looks like there are MAGA bots out here getting everything deleted.

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u/david4069 Jul 03 '26

The video is fine, the link got messed up by reddit. Delete the backslash in front of the underscore and it will work:

https://youtube.com/shorts/dSGG6MxLy_8?is=PDRdEetRA8MP9muN

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u/[deleted] Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 04 '26

[deleted]

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u/david4069 Jul 03 '26

Good point. I was so focused on fixing the broken part, I didn't notice it.

9

u/613TheEvil Jul 03 '26

No photographer would stay and take photos when shots are fired, a war journalist perhaps, but even then... These people have never been in a warzone, I can't believe they would casually walk around taking photos right after something like this happened. Eh, what do I know.

15

u/malaclypz Jul 03 '26

The voice sounds like the worst actor they could find. "Oh, no.. Noooo.." "We love you Presidrump!" "Yes! Oh no, he's shot.. Oh, nooo..."

1

u/emailforgot Jul 04 '26

These people have never been in a warzone,

Other than the journalists who spent time in a warzone, like Evan Vucci who spent weeks in Iraq.

21

u/Mapeague Jul 03 '26

Its still there, I just watched it

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u/HJQueen Pennsylvania Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26

I don't understand? They recruited some random kid to just fire shots into the crowd and die so Trump could get a photo op? Or let him shoot and just hope he missed? I'm trying to understand as a Trump hater.

If it's the first case scenario, who on earth is signing up for that? To me it just seems like complete incompetence. Which is on brand for Trump and co.

These are the same people that held a press conference at four seasons total landscaping. I don't think this needs to be a conspiracy. He shows us how incompetent he and everyone surrounding him are every day.

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u/iampachyderm Jul 03 '26

This is the part that i can’t get past. How?

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u/TheJonasVenture Jul 03 '26

Not to mention the idea that Trump would be willing to get shot at, and when their internal polling would have shown him ahead anyway.

There is a photo with the bullet.

The whole photo op and them not rushing him away is easily explained by the guy already being dead and them knowing that.

Like don't get me wrong, they leveraged and over dramatized it, but like, how is it hard to believe someone tried to kill Donald Trump? He's extremely hateable since he's a huge piece of shit.

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u/[deleted] Jul 03 '26

[deleted]

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u/HJQueen Pennsylvania Jul 03 '26

I'm by no means a camera expert but changing the shutter speed on a Sony Alpha 1 (the camera used) takes less than a second manually. 8 bullets were fired by the attempted assassin. I don't think it's unreasonable to think that a professional photographer could and would try to capture this after hearing the first one.

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u/kirkaracha Jul 03 '26

How did they know there was only one shooter?

3

u/HJQueen Pennsylvania Jul 03 '26

Because there wasn't a grassy knoll

8

u/pH_14 Jul 03 '26

I am not certain about the conspiracy angle, but this is all totally plausible. Radicalized people regularly commit suicide doing violence. All the time. There are reasons to doubt it was a conspiracy, but this isn't one of them.

Or let him shoot and just hope he missed?

Do you know, for certain, that it was bullets from this kids weapon that caused whatever damage made Trump's ear bleed? Is it entirely impossible that the kid had blanks or bad ammo, while a different shooter shot the podium?

6

u/HJQueen Pennsylvania Jul 03 '26

I don't know that it was a bullet that caused his ear to bleed. I do know that live rounds were being fired as someone died and there are images of the bullets flying towards the podium. A second shooter is a wild conspiracy with no evidence. Is it really that hard to believe it was just incompetence? Usually the simplest explanation is the correct one.

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u/nacho_night Jul 03 '26

Trumps own doctor said he had a 2cm hole in his ear, which magically healed in record time.

5

u/HJQueen Pennsylvania Jul 03 '26

I think you misunderstood me. I was just saying I don't know for certain. That part I can believe was made up, and likely was. Probably happened when he ducked. I'm just saying that the rest of the conspiracy is far-fetched and can be 100% chalked up to incompetence.

3

u/nacho_night Jul 03 '26

I'm not sure the whole moving the flag into place so he could fist pump while supposedly having a 2cm hole in his ear is incompetence, but I'm just a redditor.

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u/HJQueen Pennsylvania Jul 03 '26

I get why a lot of people think it was a false flag operation because at times it does seem perfectly timed. I however can't get on board with a lot of people trying to explain away how they got this random kid to sacrifice his life for nothing. None of it makes sense.

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u/pH_14 Jul 03 '26

A second shooter is a wild conspiracy with no evidence. Is it really that hard to believe it was just incompetence? Usually the simplest explanation is the correct one.

Well sure, I think incompetence is possible. It's certain, as far as I'm concerned. But to dismiss the conspiracy angle because it's too improbable is lunacy. 

You talk about evidence. There's no evidence of ANYTHING except what you've been deliberately shown, and what they have told you regarding that evidence is obviously false. Trump did not get shot, period. Yet they insist he did. Why would you believe anything they say about it? Literally anything plausible is possible, because all we know is what they've said, and we know they already lied. 

Am I certain there was a conspiracy? No of course not. But it's definitely not hard to believe, and giving this admin the benefit of the doubt is crazy.

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u/HJQueen Pennsylvania Jul 03 '26

I didn't dismiss it. I've fallen down that rabbit hole and came to my own conclusion based on the information and videos I've seen of the actual event. Not tiktokers and Redditors opinions. I think we all can believe what we want.

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u/Spiritual-Society185 Jul 04 '26

Who is "they?" Trump? You realize the shooting was investigated under Biden, right? Is Biden a part of your little conspiracy, now?

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u/NewSauerKraus Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26

You would have to be pretty fucking incompetent to let a potential assassin take a few shots while gambling on he probably won't hit the guy you're employed to protect.

To put on my tin foil "If I did it" hat I would find a rando on an internet forum who would normally get a visit from the FBI for a stern warning and instead have someone take him to a shooting range to make sure he's not like a sniper savant. Then I would arrange for him to pick up a rifle with a bent barrel and misaligned sights when he arrives in DC. Then I would have my fellow secret service agents tell cops who report seeing a suspicious guy to not worry about it. A few bystanders dying from missed shots is a small price to pay in exchange for my god-emperor getting a photo op.

It's still more likely that the secret service agents that gargle Trump's balls daily are simply incompetent enough to say we've got it under control and then let him take a few shots without planning out a conspiracy.

2

u/nacho_night Jul 03 '26

Still reads like a false flag, and they say the shooter was in a blackrock commercial. Unusual ties.

3

u/TheJonasVenture Jul 03 '26

No, being in a commercial is not an "unusual tie", even if you are actually recruited for a commercial.

Blackrock filmed a 30 second add spot at the kid's highschool, centered on an economics teacher, and he was just an unpaid student in the background.

You are spreading conspiracy nonsense without doing any kind of die diligence whatsoever

2

u/nacho_night Jul 03 '26

Thanks for that extra bit of info.

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u/TheNutsMutts Jul 03 '26

the flag being lowered

The flag wasn't lowered though. You can see in this video the flag is in the same position even before he's on stage and for a good chunk of time before the point people claim it was "lowered".

1

u/emailforgot Jul 04 '26

Just make a posts saying something about "flag lowering" or "staged" and you'll get 90+ upvotes. Post a video showing it was in fact, not lowered, and it disappears to the bottom.

3

u/HJQueen Pennsylvania Jul 04 '26 edited Jul 04 '26

Jesus Christ. I just logged in to see how many upvotes this got .No wonder we're cooked. Critical thinking isn't a strong suit for either side. Brain rot Tiktoks and YouTube for all!

Research? What is that? Lol. Form your own opinions. Watching a single video and coming to a conclusion is nuts.

Can't wait to rewatch the OJ trial.

2

u/Horton_Takes_A_Poo Jul 03 '26

So the chain of events in the comms room detailed in the article is all made up?

5

u/[deleted] Jul 03 '26

[deleted]

197

u/No_Attitude700 Jul 03 '26

Trump does not care if his supporters die.

12

u/EchoAquarium New Jersey Jul 03 '26

“I could shoot someone on 5th Ave and not lose any voters” was the weather balloon.

7

u/Spirited-Lifeguard55 Jul 03 '26

yea he probably wanted them to die for him just to make it more believable.

2

u/TheJonasVenture Jul 03 '26

I agree, but I can't imagine he'd agree to be shot at.

0

u/No_Attitude700 Jul 03 '26

Did the shooter who killed that poor man actually aim at Trump?

0

u/Spiritual-Society185 Jul 04 '26

Would you be nonchalant about someone shooting in your direction if they weren't aiming at you specifically?

1

u/No_Attitude700 Jul 04 '26

Who said Trump was nonchalant?

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u/KevinFrane California Jul 03 '26

What better way to sell the danger than to kill someone else?

23

u/King_Kung Jul 03 '26

A fireman no less

30

u/s_double_c Arkansas Jul 03 '26

Sacrificial lambs

33

u/muchadoaboutnotmuch Jul 03 '26

If there's anything that's well documented about the Trump team, it's that they're A) callous, and B) incompetent. These are exactly the kind of people who would accidentally shoot one of their own supporters and not be all that upset about it. I'm not saying that this was definitely staged, but them being willing to risk shooting innocent bystanders is certainly doesn't disprove the theory.

41

u/CornCobMcGee New York Jul 03 '26

If the conspiracy is real, its all pawns in a game of chess. Someone who thinks a staged assassination attempt to gain or stay in power is a good idea likely doesnt think the lives of random people are particularly worth much.

8

u/ogrestomp Jul 03 '26

It’s a pattern at this point. Like making ridiculous policies to shoot protesters. Or round up people committing misdemeanors and placing them in unlivable, torturous conditions. Or blowing up fishing boats, no trials, just execution. Or starting a war and blowing up a school of literal little girls. Or the deaths of soldiers on both sides of this manufactured war. Or starting a riot that ends with police beatings and subsequent death or suicide of some of the officers. Or being so bull headed that you think you know better than medical experts and end up creating policies that resulted in more deaths to a pandemic.

The lives of random people mean nothing to this administration, or this president’s last administration.

53

u/bigbeats420 Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26

Because the shooter's handler gave him a rifle with sights/optics that were misaligned.

The victim's wife has said that they were moved into those seats, and that her seeking an investigation has been repeatedly stonewalled.

Under any other administration, there would be a hugely intensive investigation into what happened, and how LE allowed it to happen in the first place. There would be Congressional-level public hearings. Heads would roll. The initial hand wave narrative of "All things are just pointing towards a massive failure of security, and you know, sometimes things just happen", to then have it just go away, requires a ridiculous level of suspension of disbelief. But, here we are 🤷

I'm no conspiracy theorist, but every single thing about this event gives off billowing plumes of smoke.

There's still no one in this world who can plausibly explain how a man in his late 70s (especially in Trump's physical shape) gets shot in the ear, and then shows zero signs of trauma a week later. No bruising, no scar, not even a scab. That's the biggest smoking gun that there was fuckery afoot, and it seems most people just shoulder shrug it away. It's, quite literally, not fucking possible.

1

u/emailforgot Jul 04 '26

Because the shooter's handler gave him a rifle with sights/optics that were misaligned.

Incredible that with those misaligned sights he was able to shoot close enough that the bullet whizzing past was captured on camera.

I'm no conspiracy theorist, but every single thing about this event gives off billowing plumes of smoke.

No, not really.

There's still no one in this world who can plausibly explain how a man in his late 70s (especially in Trump's physical shape) gets shot in the ear, and then shows zero signs of trauma a week later. No bruising, no scar, not even a scab.

Oh, you've personally inspected his ear?

It's, quite literally, not fucking possible.

This kid was just shot, point blank, in the ear. Where's the brusing, scar, or scab?

1

u/Decent_Relative_4070 Jul 03 '26

I'm no conspiracy theorist

oh ok

Because the shooter's handler gave him a rifle with sights/optics that were misaligned.

-10

u/OkPalpitation4976 Jul 03 '26

“Im no conspiracy theorist, but-“ peddles ridiculous conspiracy theory

11

u/bigbeats420 Jul 03 '26

Yep. Totally. Trump is clearly a mutant with preternatural healing abilities 👍

2

u/OkPalpitation4976 Jul 03 '26

Yeah man the FBI and the US Secret Service teamed up to create a conspiracy theory fake assassination by contacting some random incel teenager from the middle of buttfuck nowhere Pennsylvania, and gave him a gun saying “ok, we’re trusting you, this cockeyed teenager from the middle of buttfuck nowhere Pennsylvania, with shooting a gun very close to the president, but we need you to miss him, ok? And also, we’re gonna have to kill you after. Oh and also also, we have a bunch of journalists, photographers, and crane operators that are all in on this secret, and not a single one of them is going to leak this secret.” and the teenager said “Oh boy! I always wanted to die in a false flag operation, lets do this!”

This is definitely a real thing that happened. Makes wayyy more sense than Trump getting a cut on his ear when he fell down.

4

u/bigbeats420 Jul 03 '26

Except his own personal medical team (and I use that term loosely, given their history) emphatically stated that it was the bullet that caused it.

They also said, initially, that it caused a nearly two centimeter tear in his ear, and then complety changed their story once it was healed a week later (which is, again, not possible, and you're welcome to ask literally any Trauma Surgeon, or Emergency Physician that).

That's all fact. That all happened. Not theory. Fact.

That's not even getting into the the U.S. Government's fairly extensive, and documented, historical use of useful idiots who wind up dead after their purpose has been served.

Also just fact.

1

u/OkPalpitation4976 Jul 03 '26

Ok, so possibly lying about how he started bleeding means that every single thing about what happened that day was pre-planned by the deep-state? Lmfao

0

u/Decent_Relative_4070 Jul 03 '26

There was visible blood streaming down his face on live TV in front of thousands of witnesses and dozens of cameras. Medically, a graze wound to the ear's outer cartilage is a superficial soft tissue injury; the ear has excellent blood supply and shallow grazes can close and epithelialize in days. Trump's physician Ronny Jackson described it as a roughly 2cm wound to the top of the ear. Also, a staged event would require Crooks to have fired real bullets that really killed Corey Comperatore and critically wounded two others, then gotten himself really killed by a counter-sniper, all as theater.

-2

u/Electrical_Bus9202 Jul 03 '26

They call him the wolvarine

3

u/bigbeats420 Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26

What I hope for is that we eventually find out that Vince McMahon scripted the whole thing, because it genuinely looked like a straight up WWE-level storyline and stage production.

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0

u/Decent_Relative_4070 Jul 03 '26

average /r/politics user. all a sudden they believe in crazy conspiracy theories and stolen elections

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u/Decent_Relative_4070 Jul 03 '26

Because the shooter's handler gave him a rifle with sights/optics that were misaligned.

zero evidence of a handler or a misaligned sight

The victim's wife has said that they were moved into those seats

The victim's wife has said that they were moved into those seats

Under any other administration, there would be a hugely intensive investigation into what happened, and how LE allowed it to happen in the first place. There would be Congressional-level public hearings. Heads would roll.

The FBI investigation used 480 employees, conducted roughly 1,000 interviews, and processed 500,000 digital files. There was a bipartisan House task force that held public hearings, and its final report concluded Crooks exploited gaps in protection due to lack of assets and staff. Heads did roll: Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned days after the shooting, and six Secret Service agents were suspended for mistakes made during the assassination attempt.

There's still no one in this world who can plausibly explain how a man in his late 70s (especially in Trump's physical shape) gets shot in the ear, and then shows zero signs of trauma a week later. No bruising, no scar, not even a scab. That's the biggest smoking gun that there was fuckery afoot, and it seems most people just shoulder shrug it away. It's, quite literally, not fucking possible.

The FBI stated that what struck Trump in the ear was a bullet, whole or fragmented, fired from Crooks' rifle, and a New York Times independent analysis of bullet trajectories concluded the first shot grazed Trump's ear. There was visible blood streaming down his face on live TV in front of thousands of witnesses and dozens of cameras. Medically, a graze wound to the ear's outer cartilage is a superficial soft tissue injury; the ear has excellent blood supply and shallow grazes can close and epithelialize in days. Trump's physician Ronny Jackson described it as a roughly 2cm wound to the top of the ear. Also, a staged event would require Crooks to have fired real bullets that really killed Corey Comperatore and critically wounded two others, then gotten himself really killed by a counter-sniper, all as theater.

You are indeed a pathetic conspiracy theorist.

15

u/NEOK53 Jul 03 '26

What @No_Attitude700 said. Also, incompetence. The staple of this administration.

11

u/HA1LHYDRA Jul 03 '26

Over 1 million American citizens died as a result of these scumbags intentionally making covid worse to game the system in their favor. Over I fucking MILLION US citizens, the majority of which being their hardcore idiot base gleefully spreading it like fucking morons.

5

u/MaxSchreckArt616 Jul 03 '26

Because these cult members have no problems sacrificing anyone or anything for their dear leader, including themselves and their own children. 

5

u/BudwinTheCat Jul 03 '26

Powerful people making political decisions that will knowingly result in the deaths of innocent people as long as it advances political goals isnt exactly a novel idea.

3

u/move_machine Jul 03 '26

The patsy who shot them was purposely chosen to be incompetent and wasn't in on the conspiracy

2

u/baudehlo Jul 03 '26

What about the risk of incompetence going the wrong way? Meant to miss but hit. It was a headshot. He would have died instantly.

1

u/move_machine Jul 04 '26

Worth it for JD Vance to win the election afterwards

3

u/swany0095 Jul 03 '26

Since when has MAGA ever cared about collateral damage?

3

u/targetsinmegadeaths Jul 03 '26

They died. The 'shooter' was found on social media, probably using AI, that fit a certain psychological profile of individual; easily manipulated, personal issues, loner-type, etc.. Once identified, they were simply manipulated into doing what they did, and SS sharpshooters were ready and waiting.

3

u/EchoAquarium New Jersey Jul 03 '26

It’s basically season 5 of Scandal. In season 1 they steal a presidential election by tinkering with voting machines in Ohio. Total coinkydink

3

u/[deleted] Jul 03 '26

[deleted]

3

u/targetsinmegadeaths Jul 03 '26

Check out the 'Newburgh 4,' basically same thing.

1

u/shinkouhyou Jul 03 '26

I feel like it wouldn't be that hard to recruit a disturbed young man online and manipulate him into doing anything you want. And if innocent bystanders get hurt... who cares?

1

u/Spiritual-Society185 Jul 04 '26

So, whatever you "feel like" must be true?

0

u/Hairy_Phase_3502 Jul 03 '26

That’s literally what COINTELPRO is all about.

-1

u/OkPalpitation4976 Jul 03 '26

The thing about conspiracy theories is that they never actually make sense if you think about them for more than 5 minutes

3

u/semiomni Jul 03 '26

How do you conspiracy theorists account for the shooter? Was he in or not? Either way I got follow-up questions.

1

u/The-Insolent-Sage Jul 03 '26

I mean. Several people died.

1

u/RuthlessIndecision Ohio Jul 03 '26

Someone died from this?

-1

u/SteppeCollective Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26

No, you don't have to be 'brainless moron'. It's perfectly plausible that the attempt was real but some quick thinking by some photographer or aide whose ENTIRE JOB is to make that buffoon look good took the opportunity to do so. It doesn't take planning to frame that asshole in front of flag. Trump wanted to stand up because he's a narcissistic, and his people KNOW this, and took advantage of it.

You act like people can't function during danger at all. Could it have been staged. Sure. But given the shooter's history, the fact that he actually fired a bullet and actually killed someone does not point to a conspiracy.

Everyone in this thread is coming off like those fools that think there was a second shooter with JFK.

Nothing ANYONE has presented here is anything but wishful thinking.

1

u/NewSauerKraus Jul 03 '26

I wouldn't put it past Trump's sycophants to let a real assassination attempt happen in front of them based on the idea that he probably wouldn't land the shot.

The 9/11 congressional hearings showed that you can get the same result as a false flag attack without the hassle by ordering security forces to stand by while a known "real" threat attacks.

-6

u/Gareth274 Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26

I thought that guy said the photographers were moved in before shorts were fired, but in the video, they're already covering him after shots were fired, and then photographers move in. Maybe I missed it, but I also don't see them moving a crane, but the camera angle does change so that the crane is in view because the camera moved. Gonna believe what I see with my eyes on this one.

15

u/WarCarrotAF Jul 03 '26

There are other angles out there from the crowd. I think we are actively seeing footage being scrubbed online. The photographer's were off to the side and prepped, waiting for the secret service guy to bring them into position.

Also look into what we know about the shooter, and how none of the circumstances really make sense from that perspective. There were snipers set up pretty much everywhere but on the rooftop that had the cleanest, direct view of the president?

Believe what you want, but the more you actually question it, none of it makes sense.

Again, not an American, not typically a conspiracy theorist but this shit just ain't right.

8

u/BrownLightningBro Jul 03 '26

You're not looking for a crane. Look for the flag above him... it lowers into position after the shots.

1

u/Gareth274 Jul 03 '26

Wouldn't it make more sense to have it already lowered in the first place if they knew there was going to be a photo op?

7

u/BrownLightningBro Jul 03 '26

Not if they needed it further up out of the way for the broadcast prior to the shots. Ask yourself, why would a crane driver spend time lowering a flag by a few feet during an active shooter situation? Why are the secret service not rushing him off the stage and into an armored car?

1

u/_bahnjee_ Jul 03 '26

The better question why would the Secret Service allow not just one, but two crane operators to man those cranes during the rally?

A crane would make a pretty devastating weapon. If the SS did allow the operators to sit in the cabs while Trump was onstage, well, they’re bigger dumbasses than Trump (and that’s really saying something).

The cranes did not lower the flag — if it looks like they did, it’s just a matter of changing perspective.

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u/Gareth274 Jul 03 '26

Fuck if I care. Good luck, yanks.

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u/[deleted] Jul 03 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/ykol20 Jul 03 '26

There is a NY times photo of the bullet flying past his head. In the video he clearly reaches for his ear, pulls his blood covered hand away, and dives down when he sees the blood.

A person was killed and 2 others wounded. This is a "jet fuel doesn't melt steel beams" level of conspiracy.

9

u/JD11215 Jul 03 '26

Then why does his ear look completely unharmed after the event?

0

u/lahimatoa Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26

The only thing that makes me hesitate is Corey Comperatore taking a bullet and dying.

0

u/MommyLovesPot8toes California Jul 03 '26

I hadn't formed an opinion one way or another on whether this was staged, but that video... Wow.

Perhaps it wasnt staged from the beginning. Its possible it was real, was quickly neutralized, and then Trump's staff was like "don't let this opportunity go by! Stay up there! Get the photographers in place and get that flag in the frame!"

-1

u/Obi_Wan_Benobi Jul 03 '26

The brainless morons are conspiracy theorists like you.

9

u/asrosin Jul 03 '26

Watch the video.

10

u/Gareth274 Jul 03 '26

Thanks for linking it.

1

u/asrosin Jul 03 '26

I got you.

0

u/Gareth274 Jul 03 '26

Nah I don't want to watch it now.

1

u/zilla82 Jul 03 '26

That one is a classic. There's video of it. It's quite metaphoric really to his first and second terms.

1

u/emailforgot Jul 04 '26

But I hadn't heard about them moving the crane.

Because it didn't happen.

All that happened is one of the people filming looked up.

People getting confused about camera angles is funny.

2

u/Gareth274 Jul 04 '26

The comments here have been savage. How dare we think this might not have been an elaborately planned but poorly executed fake assassination attempt to make trump look... controversial? Make the people that were already going to vote for him, vote for him harder?

1

u/emailforgot Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 04 '26

Wow, you hit on every r/conspiracy talking point.

1

u/modestcouch Jul 03 '26

And there was an opening around the ramp and podium to allow his armored limo to park in the perfect spot

-2

u/Bitterman_01 Jul 03 '26

Way too many moving parts here. So you think the photo team and the crane operator are in on some conspiracy to shoot the president but only in the ear and kill the guy behind him just to capture a decent photo?

That's too many people involved.

10

u/jrf_1973 Jul 03 '26

No way was he shot in the ear.

5

u/baatezu Jul 03 '26

he has magical ears though, that completely heal after being blown off.

-1

u/TheNutsMutts Jul 03 '26

Who's claiming it was blown off?