Democratic Strategist Apologizes For Pushing ‘Possibility’ Trump Shooting Was ‘Staged’
Top Democratic strategist Dimitri Mehlhorn apologized for remarks in an email sent on Saturday night suggesting the “possibility” that the shooting at former President Donald Trump’s Pennsylvania rally was “staged.”
Mehlhorn, a senior adviser to Democratic mega-donor and LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, said he made the comments “without consulting his team.” The shooting, which occurred at a Pennsylvania rally, left one attendee dead and two injured. Trump was also grazed by a bullet.
In a statement sent to Mediaite, Mehlhorn wrote:
Last night, I sent an email I now regret. I drafted and sent it without consulting my team. I have apologized to them directly. I also want to apologize publicly, without reservation, for allowing my words to distract from last night’s central fact: political violence took yet another innocent American life. We must unite in condemnation of such violence in every instance, without reservation. Any other topic is a distraction. Unfortunately I only talked with Reid after I sent that email. I agree entirely with his thoughtful post this morning. I join all America in demanding that we lose no more innocent lives to political violence.
In the email, first obtained by Semafor and sent to journalists, Mehlhorn proposed the possibility that the shooting might have been “encouraged” or even “staged” to benefit Trump politically.
Mehlhorn wrote: “One possibility – which feels horrific and alien and absurd in America, but is quite common globally – is that this ‘shooting’ was encouraged and maybe even staged so Trump could get the photos and benefit from the backlash.”
Drawing parallels with tactics allegedly used by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Hamas, Mehlhorn suggested that Trump’s immediate readiness to rally and his apparent lack of instinctive self-protection hinted at a potential false flag operation.
“This is a classic Russian tactic, such as when Putin killed 300 civilians in 1999 and blamed it on terrorists to ride the backlash to winning power,” he elaborated.
He urged journalists to “ask the question” and added: “Look at how ready Trump is to rally; this pampered baby shit his pants when an eagle lunged at his food.”
