psuedon
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Jul 17, 2024 2:20 AM
psuedon
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badgesweedontneednostinkingbadges
That would be something to be considered if the gunman had been competent. But you don't hire the kid who got kicked out of the gun club for being a poor shot, to "just nick him" with a 150-yard shot without a scope.
ladymihaelatargaryen
Angel Jones is a democrat. And she expressed a opinion . Republicans aren't mentioned in the tweet
AbdulMasaiev
It honestly does not. I hate Trump, but I hate this "logic" too. "The fact that I think this of X speaks volumes of X" like bruh.
In the current day people will make a conspiracy theory of literally anything. Sprinklers, pizza, anything. This speaks volumes of the state the people are in, not of the things they make conspiracy theories of.
jethz
it was kinda the perfect moment to distract everyone once they were starting to catch on to project 2025 and him going "Everyone! Watch my rally, I might make a big announcement!"
judithCat
I agree
coffeegut
i hate his fucking guts but there's pretty much zero percent chance this was fake. if it was, we'll probably find out about it in about a week becasue it'd have been planned by the same people who booked the four seasons landscaping storefront as a venue for a press conference. there's no way they plotted a sham attempt on their candidates life with any subtlety
Matt1son1014
Where’s the press conference with the doc at hospital he was taken to
Apocalymon
seriously.. do people really think trump would really put his life on the line for a staged assassination.. get real
dingo8yrbaby
Nah, all he needs to do is put a tiny squib behind his ear. Then again, it's going to be noticeable. And would Trump put his ear on the line for a staged assassination? Probably not.
RaymondChoppard
Nope, it speaks volume about what American politics has become. Disagreeing with the the other side is not enough anymore, you have to pretend that everything that it does or that happened to it doesn't exist.
lonelyrangerofthedreams
And the fact that so many common people wanted the attempt not failing says the rest.
RandallKavanaugh
Some have suggested that Trump's presence of mind and tremendous stage performance after the attempt suggests that *something* happening that day did not catch him completely off guard.
It does appear Trump was genuinely surprised to have been hit.
YpsilantiRomani
I mean sure he is untrustworthy. But people make up conspiracy theories about every major, (& some small ones too)
CleverGroom
Partly this is the liar's dividend: in a world where most information is bullshit, all facts become suspect. That's at least half the reason why the Bannons and Putins of the world flooded the zone with shit in the first place.
Seeding QAnon was a good start. Once you get BlueAnon equally riled up, you know you're getting somewhere in fracturing consensus reality for everybody.
ImperviousLuck
What is the general themes of the theory? I saw questions about not being able to see an injury just seeing blood?
thesmelge
Ok, so...
1) The shooter was in a really obvious position that should have been watched
2) He still has an ear. One of the rounds used should have removed most of his ear from a graze.
3) It's just too perfect a shot to wound him but not stop him
thesmelge
4) The almost perfect photographs taken with trump holding up his fist while being rushed offstage with the flag flapping perfectly behind him.
It looks like a carefully set up photo with all the elements framed perfectly.
Anyway, those are the theories I have seen.
lysani
Linking coincidences together is how a lot of conspiracies get started.
youareyoursoulsilly
I said that on Facebook and got so much hate in my inbox. Freaking ridiculous.
Ardilla05
Deleting my facebook account was one of the best decisions I have ever made
DarkTheme439
Fake news.
itisafunnystoryifyouignorethetragicelementsandthesenseofdoom
You just have to watch the footage... It's like panto.
whitefoxkei
Yep, I said to another imgurian the other day, I'm not saying it was staged, but given all the shit he's done, and how little he truly cares for anything but his own image, would it actually be that unlikely?
AbdulMasaiev
Actually risk his life, putting his faith in the terrible aim kid loser (he got kicked out of the sports shooting club for having aim so bad ffs. Imagine being so bad a shot that Americans go "you know, maybe shooting isn't for you") to make the perfect shot for photo ops but not actually have his hand shake a bit and actually kill him? Yes. It would be extremely unlikely.
Silent1fd
Or he knew the kid wasn't shooting at him and he used a fake blood pack/ some fucking ketchup he saved from his Mcdonalds breakfast.
AbdulMasaiev
There's dead and wounded. And there's the damaged teleprompter. Even if for some reason the kid wasn't shooting at him (absurdly unlikely but w/e, let's assume it for a moment), the kid is still a bad shot who definitely was shooting near Trump and could have sent him an accidental stray. It'd still be a risk to Trump's life.
Silent1fd
Dead and wounded who were no where near Trump, and "Bad Shot" is laughable anyone who has shot a gun before and had near 30 mins to set up a shot could hit the fucking lard ass.
thingamagick
"Hey kid, I want you to shoot 2 inches from my head 500 feet away so I can do a cool pose In front of the flag"
Youhavinagiraffe
Yes, it would be unlikely. The one thing that conspiracy theorists consistently refuse to acknowledge is that "this person/group isn't cynical and evil enough to do that" is almost never the main reason to dismiss a conspiracy theory. A cold risk-benefit analysis devoid of any ethical considerations is usually enough to decide a theory doesn't make any sense. For Trump this plan had risks massively outweighing potential benefits. And other ways to do this would have more benefit with less risk
FajitaPrinceofAllMexicans
Lmao imagine if Democrats pushed this assassination as fake as Republicans push school shootings.
"They did it for attention!"
rouzuki
Some how tie it together with the school shootings so that they either need to acknowledge both as fake or both real, that would be ideal.
aflarge
Conspiracy theories sure are fun when they're about someone you hate, huh?
softballguy
Is that why Republicans keep trying to blame "Antifa" for January 6?
aflarge
Yes. Of course, I don't see Red dipshittery as a justification for Blue dipshittery, because my morality is not modeled after the "bid a dollar more than someone else on price is right!" strategy.
softballguy
The weather must be nice up there on top of the fence, above it all, where you can see everything but can do nothing.
aflarge
You're right, conspiracy theories ARE cool when they're about someone you hate. Go on about how the victims were crisis actors or something. Sure when Trump supporters spout that kinda bullshit they're being unfathomable idiots, but it's smart when you do it. Good job!
softballguy
Who's doing that? Do you see a bunch of lefty talking heads descending on the town, yelling at people that this didn't happen? The conspiracy memes are almost entirely memes, and very obviously not meant to be taken seriously. You're the one who wants to make them real, just so you can talk about how high your road is.
aflarge
Also how is "I call out stupid where I see it" fence sitting? Am I supposed to pretend any idiotic mumbling is genius, as long as the person saying it isn't a republican?
Nanntuckett
He didn’t fake it. They were real bullets and one was even caught on camera zooming past Trump’s head. People are really convinced that Trumped okayed being shot in the ear from over 450 feet away for better polls?
judithCat
Taking a risk sometimes pays off
Nanntuckett
Are you seriously suggesting he willingly let someone shoot at his head while he was moving and planned to just get shot in the ear?
judithCat
He's being a lucky boy hasn't he? And what if it wasn't meant for his head/ear but that's how it went......
psmith00
and, if he didn't fake it then might his backers have done it to try and boost the likelihood that he would get elected.
InfocalypseRising
I've said it a few times now: if it was ANYONE else, I'd dismiss it as tinfoil hat shit. But the traitor is the one person I absolutely could see faking an assassination attempt to boost his own waning popularity.
PaleChapter
I can't, even for a second, see Trump allowing anybody to point a gun at him on purpose. I *can* see one of his deranged followers taking it upon himself to try one of those false flag attacks he thinks the left pulls off on a regular basis. Crooks was apparently a terrible shot--it's not outside the realm of possibility he only hit Trump by accident.
AdrianMole
This is as stupid as republicans saying January 6 was committed by democrats.
GerhardRammelhausen
I dont think it was staged, but that pose he did after? I bet he often acted out similar situations in his head and planned how to react.
Ardilla05
Yes!! He didn’t seem shaken at all, which at first made me think this was staged, but like you, I then realized his internal crappy actor took over and it all fell into place
Youhavinagiraffe
I think it's just as unlikely as with anyone else. But mostly for different reasons
Zyrixion
I mean, I dunno, what are the odds someone manages to actually bring a long rifle to a prime sniping location overwatching a former president who is actively engaged in candidacy, evading the notice of everyone, including secret service countersnipers, and then is also not skilled enough to hit a shot that is literally the easiest part of the entire plan. I mean, sure, god has been known to blink, but jesus. This shit's why I wouldn't be surprised if it was in fact staged.
wombat1959
Not to mention police being warned for several minutes by bystanders that he was up on the roof with a gun, and they ignored the warnings.
CleverGroom
It wasn't some perfectly executed plan. There was literally a cop on a ladder trying to get him off the roof. They knew he was there and tried to stop him. He pointed his rifle at them and they fucked off instead because--stop me if you've heard this one before...
...a lot of cops are incompetent fucking cowards.
This was an ordinary, garden-variety police failure just like Uvalde or Parkland. Secret Service foolishly trusted local cops to cover that sector and they fucked it all the way up.
Ardilla05
In open carry places it’s not that hard. And as all things American, the secret service is waaaay pverrated. So it’s not that hard.
DarkSock
I was disappointed to see how many otherwise reasonable progressives were so quick to jump on silly conspiracy bandwagons; our resistance to such magical thinking and conspiracy bullshit is supposed to be what separates us from the lower quartile of IQ scores that make up the MAGA base.
Ardilla05
With an asshat like Trump, nothing is outside the realm of possibility ing
CleverGroom
That was always wishful thinking, in fairness.
It's still profoundly upsetting to have to wade through all the BlueAnon bullshit, isn't it?
SociallyInept1
Ah well see here's the thing Rand, sometimes to catch a shit weasel you gotta think like a shit weasel
WyldStallynsRule
lysani
Imgur isn't free from that either. When it first happened, people were jumping on the conspiracy bandwagon right from the get go. A lot of people on here don't realize just how often misleading things end up getting spread around as if they were fact.
Youhavinagiraffe
People were saying that Jon Stewart must have been bought off by corporate interests because he said Biden should quit. And that elected Democrats must have secured themselves a position in the future Trump dictatorship for doing the same. There are conspiracy theories all over this site, they just align with different political interests which are less sinister than Q etc. The magical thinking, myth-making and stupid fantasy role-playing is not remotely rare on our side of the spectrum
Magjee
I like to call it blue MAGA. Same energy, but for a better cause
Youhavinagiraffe
I think BlueAnon works better
Magjee
Igut
Real term is blue waffle, look it up
Magjee
Nice try <3
bippityboppitybuttsex
Wait, Republicans think it was fake?
barnwolf
Democrats think it was fake.
bippityboppitybuttsex
No we don't.
aflarge
Many People™, I'm sure.
ShitIstoleFrom4chan
A lot of us lefties wondered about it being fake, too. Because it looked pretty weird. He instantly feels his ear, but many people who report being shot say they didn't notice until way later when they felt warm wetness on their body. Then he ducks, and when he comes back up, he has a little bit of blood on the ear, and while being dragged out he strikes a pose and yells slogans, while not being covered on the photographers angle to get a good pic.
That being said: I do not think it was faked.
ShitIstoleFrom4chan
Just that if you saw the initial video, there's enough small stuff that just happens to line up like I described, to make you go: "Hmm". Just enough to spin up some conspiracies. But honestly there's no good reason to believe it was faked.
BanadecCamberbootch
Look. I fucking hate Trump. You could not pay me to vote for him. I don't think for one single second that he had anything to do with this. I wouldn't trust the world's best sniper to shoot only my ear. 1 inch to the right and Trump wouldn't be here. Unless there's photos of Trump going on stage with a squib behind his ear, this was real and nothing to do with Trump, and thinking otherwise is weird territory. 1/
Ardilla05
I did qt first think he was in on it given him being a massive pussy but not looking shaken at all right after. But I agree, very hard to believe it was staged.
georgejimmydoodle
He wasn't hit by the shot, it was glass from his teleprompter.
akafluffy
that was debunked, both teleprompters survived the shootings.
BanadecCamberbootch
That being said: is he going to milk this for all it's worth? Absofuckinglutely, and I was already about 85% sure that he was going to win and this bumps it up to even-Vegas-won't-lay-those-odds territory.
Ardilla05
I muat say, although still early days, but the impact of the attempt seems to have been meh… happily
blatzorama
Fuck a squib, blood capsule in his pocket, dude idk
NothingPrince
any one who watches They Boys thinks its fake
Youhavinagiraffe
Yeah that's how most conspiracy theories get popular. People watch a piece of fiction and decide it is a good barometer for assessing real life events
SpoilsburyToastMan
Art immitates life.
zylokun
everyone thinks its fake
onlyhalfghost
the only thing about it being fake that would be a surprise is Trump organizing it, given his lack of physical courage.
akafluffy
lack of physical courage is why his response only makes sense if it was staged, if he was never shot, but had a squib behind his ear or under his toupee, and only looked like he was the first shot, but no bullet came near him his response makes perfect sense.
sans3go
well he also met wit victor orban a day before this. All this points to part of the dictators handbook
HandoB4Javert
PutinGivingYouANeckMassage
When it happened, every second posting here was close to or deep conspiracy theory territory.. And I don't think that there are that many left of them
ThisGuyHere
Yeah, it's like we all started at "this was so staged, right?" and as details and reports came out, we moved to, "Well, it likely did happen and wasn't fake, but... I won't be surprised if it turns out to be staged after all."
PutinGivingYouANeckMassage
I don't think it's staged. But when I saw the very first posting on that day I thought it was one of the usual jokes on here
W0lfsbl00d
With how conniving, fake, manipulative, wealthy, powerful, projective, hated, etc, etc that Donald is, it could be so many things... Hated and wanted dead? Sure. Setup by Don? Sure. Riech winger wants to start war? Sure.
To me, all of it, it all just seems too perfect for Donald. I really can't get passed how the USSS left THAT opening AND for that long... Even when he just startled the crowd near it... This shot was like a video game's Intro/Training Level... Come the fuck on...
MeatPopsicleMultiPass
Most of imgur did, too.
JStengah
Last poll i saw said about 1/3rd of democrats and 1/10th of Republicans responded that it *might* have been faked. Not faked as in it didn't happen (suggesting the victims and shooter were crisis actors and everything was staged), but faked as in the shooter was not actually trying to kill Trump, and was recruited to shoot into the crowd as part of a plan to boost Trump's image by having him survive an assassination attempt.
parkway
I still think it's weird how nonchalant he was in an otherwise immensely scary scenario. I get confused and panicky when there's too many people in a room, let alone have someone shoot at my face lol.
ItsHardToBeatboxOnADigeridoo
I think maybe he's just that dumb
Crowlands
It's a question of "How invincible does Trump think he is?" VS "How much of a coward is Trump?" When it comes to allowing himself to be shot at.
The question of the lives of the crowd or the shooter mean Nothing. His IMMEDIATE reaction upon standing back up was to tell people to fight. Because he WANTS people to die for him.
georgejimmydoodle
On January 6, he wanted the armed mob to be let into the pre-attack rally. As long as he believes that the bad guy with a gun is his bad guy with a gun, he'll play along.
Crowlands
According to reports on his actions during Jan 6th, he complained that not enough people died, so he couldn't declare a state of emergency.
He did not care who it was that died. He just wanted death, of Americans, so he could grab for more power.
ProjectDA
ive heard from a few mumblings that the point was to use his death get the 'culture war' going into a full on civil war. that trump wasnt in on the plan.
no matter what, i dont think he planned it, but i also wouldnt be shocked if he did. he could have helped his image if he made 1 call lol, but chose not to.
W0lfsbl00d
The Heritage Foundation guy a week before said the 2nd American Revolution was underway and it would remain bloodless if the left allowed it to be...
And this wouldn't be the first time a reich winger tried to use killing to start a local war in the last few years... Ffs it's like the tenth time.
ProjectDA
theyve been saying this since 1/6 almost. im not taking it lightly, but also not gping to say this kid is part of that unless we have proof.
mcmachack
[sighs] you're going to have to be more specific
INeverWaitForIt
I know of no reasonable person that wouldn't be surprised if it came to light that the whole thing is staged. That's how degenerate Trump, the people around him, and his supporters are. They are fully capable of doing something like this, they've done something like this before (Epstein, perfidy of Iran's general), and if given the chance, would likely do it again if they could get away with it. Is it likely? No. Is it within the realm of reason? Yes.
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InkyBlinkyPinkyAndClyde
He wouldn't have to agree with it, necessarily. Or he could be told there were blanks and then there weren't. Someone else could set it up without his knowledge entirely, though. He's not actually the one in charge. Personally I think he's just reaping what he showed with his violent rhetoric and general shitassery, but just saying if it was planned, he didn't need to be in on the planning.
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InkyBlinkyPinkyAndClyde
Maybe they figured either way is good. Dead Trump or survived-assassination Trump both have their advantages to those spinning the stories.
CaldariBob
*that would be surprised, I think? Sorry, just threw me the other way, given the rest of the post.
Enoan
Current evidence seems to point against it being staged, but yeah it being staged would be in their MO
StevieTheAussie
Well I made a similar comment today, and I’ve heard nothing but disagreements to said comment.
NoItsATideUsername
Copy pasta
ThePastmaster
I would find it more believable if the shooter was 35-40 with kids and debt in this case. (If the assassination was staged that is.)
Forensickle
Depends. Best deniability is just pushing people on the fringes to do it, but you don't have control of if they miss. Someone who can plan to hit an ear only from that distance needs to be chosen, so harder to deny. If it was "planned", you'd go the latter, which means trump himself didn't plan it, no way he'd risk himself. But if the heritage foundation thought a dead trump or a surviving was better than no attempted assassination, you'd rev up a fringe nut, and just hope it turns out
Forensickle
So, at best it's a "encourage it to happen from a distance, because whoever it is, whenever it is, we can spin it" and they got lucky. Rather than an actual conspiracy, actual specific planning by anyone would surprise me. They just tended the soil, and capitalised on what grew
ThePastmaster
Yeah.
elusiveenchilada
No one would be surprised if Putin released a video of Trump eating big macs off a dead Russian hooker's ass, either. "Yeah, that tracks."
johnxbear
Kallas267
Imalwaysready
I’d be surprised.
Yes, trump’s a scumbag. And yes, maybe he would fake an assassination attempt…in theory, but he’s not suicidal. He’s also—fundamentally, to his very core—a coward. He’d NEVER trust a 20yo nobody to take actual shots at his head with the skill to graze and not actually hit and kill him. He’d get a highly trained sharpshooter and STILL want every shot 10 to 20 feet wide.
If you entertain the idea he faked this, you believe him brave enough to fake this. And that I cannot do.
Madalchemist2018
I don't think it was faked but it would be pretty on brand to hire someone absolutely unqualified (couldn't make HS rifle team) then when one of his stooges fucks up (shoots too close hits teleprompter) it miraculously works out better for him.
Forensickle
But if the heritage foundation organised it, and they thought a worse case assassinated trump would get them the election easier than status quo, and a surviving trump is better yet. I wouldn't be surprised. Trump would no way be in on it though, you are right, he'd never risk his own skin. And just encouraging a crazy person to do it is easy plausibility. The drivers of the alt-right don't care about Trump, and win or lose he is useless within a year, a dead trump isn't bad for them
Youhavinagiraffe
I agree. I'm sure he would fake an assassination attempt but he wouldn't do it like this. He'd have the shooter be wearing a "Biden-Harris" for a start