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Fake blood, Trump's heeled shoes, a secret accomplice... and even aliens! All the wild conspiracies swirling after the assassination attempt on the former president
After the attempt on Donald Trump’s life in Pennsylvania on Saturday, US politics descended into chaos — and so, too, did the more outlandish corners of the internet, with armchair theorists spinning out increasingly wild conspiracies.
Many of their fantastical claims quickly took on a life of their own, spreading like wildfire and spawning hundreds of variants. By Tuesday, conspiracy content about the shooting had been viewed over 200 million times on X, according to the Center for Countering Digital Hate.
The questions abound: Was Trump really shot? Was the whole thing staged? Was it an inside job?
(Spoiler alert: Yes he was, no it wasn’t, and no!)
Here, DailyMail.com explores — and debunks — some of the biggest conspiracies about the shooting…
As shots rang out at the Trump rally in Butler, the former president quickly lifted his hand to his ear and ducked down to the ground, before being swamped by Secret Service agents.
‘Fake blood’
As shots rang out at the Trump rally in Butler, the former president quickly lifted his hand to his ear and ducked down to the ground, before being swamped by Secret Service agents.
When he got back to his feet, raising a fist triumphantly, blood could be seen dribbling through his fingers, smeared across his ear and down to his chin.
Of course, this was all the product of an incredible near miss. One of the shooter’s bullets had been headed directly for the side of Trump’s skull — but at the last moment, he had turned his head to the right and the bullet had narrowly clipped his ear.
Some internet sleuths weren't convinced, however, and instead wildly claimed that the whole attack was staged by the Republican party as a PR stunt to win the election.
‘The angle [Trump] was in makes me wonder if it’s a set up with a blood pod in his hand [that] he burst when he grabbed his ear,’ one Reddit user remarked.
Another suggested that the shooter was a plant and had used a BB gun or rubber bullet to create convincing shots but not risk fatal injury.
Both suggestions are of course entirely fake. Apart from anything else, neither account for the obvious fact that both a member of the rally audience and the shooter himself were shot dead.
The FBI is investigating the shooting as an assassination attempt with hundreds of direct witnesses including journalists and photographers.
In fact, in one photo a live bullet is clearly visible passing behind Trump’s head.
Law enforcement officials have also recovered an AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle from the roof of the nearby building the shooter positioned himself on.
‘Plant’ in the crowd
As skeptics poured over footage of the rally, some honed in on one woman, sat in the stands directly behind Trump as he gave his speech.
Wearing sunglasses, a white shirt and a black hat, she seems innocuous at first. But alarmists insisted there was something strange, sinister even, about the way she reacted after the shooting started.
As bullets cracked over the crowd and everyone else, including Trump, dropped to the floor in terror, the woman appears calm, seeming to pull out her phone to record the attack.
‘Gunshots ring out and her first instinct is to very, very calmly pull out her phone and film the whole spectacle. Does that seem like normal behavior to you?’ one social media user asked.
Another even suggested that the woman could be seen to ‘nod’ before the before the first shot, claiming that she was an ‘accomplice’ to the shooter.
The woman in question has not yet been identified, but there is no suggestion she was in any way involved in the shooting.
Watching the rally footage in full, it is clear that she already has her phone in her hand when the attack begins.
Contrary to the conspiracist narrative, she does indeed drop low to the floor, though continues to film the shocking moment, like many other crowd members.
In a world where everyone has a smartphone, filming a tragedy as it unfolds is hardly unusual behavior any more.
As skeptics poured over footage of the rally, some honed in on one woman, sat in the stands directly behind Trump as he gave his speech.
‘Smiling’ security agents
After the attack, one striking image went viral online: it appeared to show security agents grinning as they formed a protective ring around the injured former president.
In the picture, a bloodied Trump pumps his fist in the air amid a swarm of Secret Service agents. Three of the agents seem to be smiling.
‘Due to the seriousness of the situation, I would think their expressions would be grim and determined. Now, if it was a staged event, these expressions would make more sense,’ one social media user observed.
However, while the image was indeed alarming, explanation quickly emerged.
The Associated Press, who took the original photo, issued a clarification: the image had been maliciously edited to fake the agents’ smiles.
In the original and unedited photo, as you can see here, the agents are all clearly all not smiling.
In the original and unedited photo, as you can see here, the agents are all clearly all not smiling.
‘Deep State’ involvement
A familiar specter of conspiracy circles has reared its ugly head: the so-called Deep State.
Imagined as a clandestine body of influential members of government, military and establishment elites, the alleged ‘Deep State’ is often accused of secretly manipulating the world to its own gain.
Authorities believe the shooter (pictured here after the assassination attempt) acted alone and there is currently no evidence he had any accomplices.
In this case, conspiracists were quick to claim the shadowy, make-believe group were behind the shooting, alleging the attack was a failed attempt to eliminate Trump.
The theory was shared widely, including by notorious conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who took to X to say ‘we are in the middle of a Deep State hot coup’.
Jones also claimed ‘they’ will try again.
Others openly pointed the finger at President Biden, with Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) sensationally posting from his personal X account that ‘Joe Biden sent the orders.’
There is no evidence that Biden — or any group — was involved in the attack on Trump.
Authorities believe the shooter acted alone and there is currently no evidence he had any accomplices.
Trump’s ‘heeled’ shoes
After Trump got back to his feet following the attack, he could be heard making an unusual request.
‘Let me get my shoes, let me get my shoes,’ he said to his security detail, as they tried to rush him off the stage to safety.
Footage later emerged showing Trump’s smart black shoes being knocked off his feet as the Secret Service piled onto with force. One agent then threw them off the back of the stage, presumably to avoid any trip hazards as they evacuated the former president.
As one of the shoes bounces onto the grass, an insole can be seen flying out.
In one of the more harmless but bizarre conspiracies to have emerged, skeptics have claimed that the reason Trump was so desperate to get his shoes back is because he was concerned his ‘secret’ would be discovered: he wears height-boosting insoles.
Theorists have alleged that the insoles are so-called ‘invisible lifts’, which slot into shoes and can offer the wearer a few extra inches of height.
Like the others, this theory is also bogus. Trump says he is 6’ 3’’ and insoles are often worn in shoes for comfort or to support the foot’s arch.
Trump’s request for his shoes likely has a more innocent explanation.
As one Reddit user put it: ‘The reaction to wanting his shoes is a very normal reaction. Adrenaline is pumping and when in a confusing situation you try to make sense of whatever doesn’t seem right and try to gain control which can sometimes be the most unimportant things (like getting your shoes back on).’
After Trump got back to his feet following the attack, he could be heard making an unusual request. ‘Let me get my shoes, let me get my shoes,’ he said to his security detail, as they tried to rush him off the stage to safety.
Female ‘accomplice' to shooter
As footage taken by crowd members of the shooter, Thomas Crooks, perched on the roof of the nearby warehouse emerges, conspiracy theorists have highlighted one clip they claim is suspicious.
In the video, an unnamed woman appears to be shouting at the gunman, just before he launches his attack.
Theorists claim she screams: ‘Crooks. What are you doing? Get over here. Get down.’
The clip quickly went viral on social media, with some claiming it is clear evidence of an accomplice.
But other viewers have debunked the theory, explaining that the woman is in fact shouting ‘Ross’ not ‘Crooks’.
The video is an ‘auditory hallucination’, where a listener hears a word they are primed to expect by context — in this case knowing the shooter’s name was ‘Crooks’.
Try watching the footage for yourself, imagining both names — whichever name you are holding in your mind, you will hear. The effect is quite spooky.
The ‘ducking’ agent
Trump's security team have come under intense scrutiny in the days following the shooting. That an attempt could be made on the former president’s life is an undoubted failure by the Secret Service.
But some conspiracy theorists have taken honest criticism of security measures a step further, accusing one agent of being a 'traitor to the Union'.
They have pointed to a viral clip which shows a male agent in the seconds before the shooting behind the stage.
In the video, and moments before the attack, he can be seen ushering people away from behind the stage, while appearing to hold himself in a ‘ducked’ position, as if anticipating that the shooting was about to begin.
Sharing the video on X, one used said: 'That secret service agent not only knew but he ducked seconds before. What's his name? He's a traitor to the Union.'
There is no evidence, however, that the agent was in any way involved in the shooting. Analysis of the footage shows him ducking after shots ring out, not before.
A simple explanation for ushering of people out from behind the stage is that he likely had to keep the area cleared for safety reasons. His hunched position was doubtless to keep himself out of any camera shots during the rally.
It's all about aliens!
Some conspiracists have not been content with Earth-based theories and have had to go even further with their wild claims.
UFO filmmaker Mark Christopher Lee told The Daily Star this week: 'It sounds a bit out there but I do believe that this attempt may have been due to the fact that, if elected President again, Trump would release the full truth about UFOs.'
Lee also suggested some nefarious actors may have wanted to stop the former president from releasing information on an alleged affair between JFK and Marilyn Monroe.
It's hard to know where to start with this one, but needless to say, there is no evidence to support any of these claims.