The conspiracy theories started before the smoke had even cleared. Minutes after the shooting at the Washington Hilton on Saturday night, claims of it being staged were already circulating online.
By Monday, Karoline Leavitt was at the podium being pressed on how the administration would respond. She dismissed it as “crazy nonsense,” without offering a concrete strategy.
The question came from Fox News reporter Aishah Hasnie. She asked how the administration planned to handle viral clips convincing Americans the shooting was staged, and whether social media companies could control it before it spread further.
Leavitt called it “a good question,” then spoke about speed, truth, and dispelling misinformation. The actual mechanism for stopping it was not spelled out.
Part of the narrative started with Leavitt herself.
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Hours before the shooting, she had said “there will be some shots fired tonight” while referring to prepared remarks for the dinner. The clip was cut, shared widely on X, and reposted under the label “False flag confirmed.”
Karoline Leavitt to Fox before the WHCD event: There will be some shots fired tonight pic.twitter.com/vcVfZxYoat
— Acyn (@Acyn) April 26, 2026
Another layer came from what followed online.
Dozens of prominent MAGA accounts posted virtually identical tweets within hours of the shooting, pushing support for Trump’s $400 million White House ballroom project. The synchronized nature of the posts read, to a suspicious audience, as a coordinated campaign rather than an organic reaction.
Trump himself posted that the shooting “would never have happened” with his ballroom built. Senator John Fetterman echoed support for the idea, turning it into a rare bipartisan talking point.
Not everyone dismissed the theories outright.
Rep. Jasmine Crockett added her own version of skepticism on Threads at 2:51 a.m. Sunday, writing: “Has there ever been a president have this many close ‘attempts’ on their life? Maybe it’s lax gun laws, maybe it’s lack of mental health funding, or maybe it’s fake.”
The post was later deleted but not before generating significant engagement.
Cole Tomas Allen made his first court appearance Monday, charged with attempting to assassinate Trump.
US Attorney Jeanine Pirro told reporters Allen had booked a three-night stay at the Washington Hilton from Friday to Sunday, was armed with guns and knives brought across state lines and carried a manifesto making his intentions clear.
“He is very much aware that the President and the first lady entered the ballroom at 8 pm, and it was at 8:40 that he made a decision to rush the ballroom,” Pirro said. “Any suggestion that he wasn’t there to do harm is absurd.”
Featured image via X screengrab
