President Trump making a statement after the cancellation of the annual White House Correspondents Association Dinner after a possible shooting. (PHOTO: Al Drago/Getty Images)
(Al Drago via Getty Images)
About one in four Americans believe the April shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner was staged, according to a new survey that highlighted sharp political and generational divides. The poll by NewsGuard found that 24 per cent of respondents thought the incident was fake, while 45 per cent believed it was genuine. Another 32 per cent said they were unsure.
Belief in the conspiracy theory was more common among Democrats, with roughly one in three saying they believed the shooting had been staged, compared with about one in eight Republicans. Younger respondents aged 18 to 29 were also more likely to hold that view.
The findings come after a federal grand jury indicted alleged gunman Cole Tomas Allen on multiple charges, including the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump, following the shooting at the Washington Hilton.
Soon after the incident, conspiracy theories circulated online claiming the Trump administration orchestrated the attack to boost support for the president and his political agenda.
“It’s very striking,” said NewsGuard editor Sofia Rubinson, who said the results reflect growing distrust of both the government and traditional media.
“Increasingly, people on all sides of the political spectrum are distrustful of both this administration and also the media,” she said.
The White House rejected the claims outright. “Anyone who thinks President Trump staged his own assassination attempts is a complete moron,” spokesman Davis Ingle said.
Boston University professor Joan Donovan, who studies media manipulation, said the results also reflected the theatrical nature of modern politics.
“It just seems incredibly Hollywood to imagine that this is staged,” she said. “The entire apparatus of the government has been turned into a reality TV show.”
For more on Trump’s alleged staged assassinations, read here.