President Donald Trump has had no qualms about using conspiracy theories to rile up his MAGA base and use them to ascend to power, but according to a new analysis from The i Paper, his supporters have now turned this against him with a dire conspiracy theory that he "can't escape."
Laura Trevelyan is a British writer and journalist who, on Wednesday, published a piece for The i Paper explaining that Trump's MAGA followers are increasingly latching on to a theory surrounding his 2024 reelection campaign, and it is "one he didn’t instigate and can’t control."
"Candidate Trump embraced the baseless claim that Barack Obama was not born in the United States, wasn’t an American citizen and was therefore an illegitimate president," Trevelyan wrote. "Now, without any actual evidence at all, some MAGA figures are asking if the 2024 attempt to assassinate Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, was staged. Outlandish and devoid of facts as this may be, it’s a sign of distrust in Donald Trump from those who were once his most fervent supporters."
There are numerous compounding reasons for this distrust among Trump's once-ardent supporters, she explained. "The way in which the Epstein files were released and President Trump’s war against Iran" have sown the seeds of disdain for the president deep within parts of the MAGA base, going against everything they believed that he stood for when he asked for their votes in years past. In light of these betrayals, some are beginning to ask venomous questions about what else Trump has been lying to them about.
What makes this particular conspiracy theory so dangerous for Trump is how much political capital he extracted from the assassination attempt during his reelection campaign. The shot of him holding a fist aloft in defiance after the shots rang out became a potent symbol of strength for his base, and was swiftly plastered onto all manner of merchandise and political messaging. The moment has been widely credited with accelerating his return to power, and supporters famously wore bandages on their own ears in solidarity with Trump at the 2024 Republican National Convention, when he accepted the party's nomination.
"Donald Trump’s courage while literally under fire became a defining part of his mythology, as he successfully campaigned to regain the presidency, and afterwards," Trevelyan continued. "A portrait of him with a raised fist, wounded ear and bloodied face now hangs in the White House. To his most loyal supporters, inside and outside 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, he is the chosen one. The FBI concluded that Thomas Matthew Crooks acted alone when he shot Donald Trump. But questions about what happened in Butler and the FBI’s investigation into the suspected shooter have been spreading online and within the MAGA movement."
Doubts about this incident are spreading quickly among prominent MAGA voices. Tucker Carlson has called into question the FBI's findings about the shooter's online presence, suggesting a possible cover-up. In an interview with Carlson, recently departed national counterterrorism director Joe Kent questioned why more information about the deceased suspect has not been released. There was some indication in the aftermath of the attempt that Crooks may have, at least once, been a Trump supporter. Kent further alleged that "investigations into the shooting had been shut down before they finished."
Jesse Ventura – the former pro wrestling icon, governor of Minnesota and outspoken Trump critic — compared the shooting to a "blade job," a reference to a bit of wrestling stagecraft whereby performers use hidden razors to cut themselves, faking the appearance that a move has caused them to bleed and heightening drama. Trump, a WWE Hall of Fame inductee in his own right, is certainly no stranger to the tricks of that trade.
"Does any of this matter?" Trevelyan asked. "The Trump administration is worried about failing to turn out the Republican base in November’s midterm elections, where control of Congress is at stake. Once devoted supporters of Donald Trump who are now questioning his commitments to bring down prices and keep America out of the Middle East may be more likely to stay at home if they also hear there are unanswered questions about the attempt to assassinate him – regardless of the lack of evidence."
