Top Dem Strategist Reportedly Pushes Theory to Journalists That Trump Shooting Was ‘Staged’
Screengrab via Open To Debate/YouTube
A top adviser to Democratic mega-donor and billionaire LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, Dmitri Mehlhorn, privately encouraged journalists to “ask the question” whether Saturday’s attack on former President Donald Trump could have been “staged.”
In the email acquired by Semafor and sent to journalists at 7.34pm, less than two hours after the shooting at Trump’s Pennsylvania rally, in which one attendee was killed and the former president grazed by a bullet, Mehlhorn floated the “possibility” that the shooting might have been “encouraged” or “even staged.”
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.”
Comparing the scenario to tactics he said were used by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Hamas, he elaborated, suggesting that Trump’s quick readiness to rally and lack of instinctive self-protection indicated a potential false flag.
He continued: “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. Others who have embraced this tactic of committing raw evil and then benefitting from the backlash include Hamas on October 7. If any Trump officials encouraged or knew of this attack, that is morally horrific, and Republicans of decency must demand that Trump step down as unfit.”
He added: “I know I am prone to bias on this, but this is a classic Putin play and given the facts seems more plausible. Look at the actual shot. Look at the staging. Look at how ready Trump is to rally; this pampered baby shit his pants when an eagle lunged at his food. Look at how quickly Trump protects himself at the expense of others, but showed few of those lifelong instincts in this moment. And consider how often Putin and his allies run this play.”
“Ask the question, people,” he urged.
Another possibility, he said, is “that some crazy anti-Trumper in this chaotic moment decided to assassinate the former President.”
In response to follow-up questions, Mehlhorn clarified that his comments were not intended as a public statement, while a spokesperson declined further comment.
The email emerges amid growing scrutiny and criticism of comments made by Hoffman last week about Trump becoming a “martyr” – which he clarified on social media in the wake of Saturday’s attack as referring to “accountability to the rule of law.” Hoffman said he was “horrified and saddened” by the shooting.
