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Donald Trump’s supporters have wasted no time in spreading baseless conspiracy theories after an apparent assassination attempton Sunday.
The loudest voice of all is that of far-right activist Laura Loomer, who has posted dozens of times on X since a suspected gunman allegedly took aim at the former president at his Florida Trump National Golf resort in West Palm Beach.
“Coincidence? Or coordination?” wrote the conspiracy theorist in an X post on Sunday evening.
Replying to an X post from Time Magazine, she said: “On 9/11, @Time Magazine posted this cover of their paper for this month.
“It’s a photo of Donald Trump on the golf course with the words ‘In Trouble’.
“Did they have advance knowledge of the attempted assassination of President Trump today at his golf club in West Palm Beach FL?!”
Loomer’s attempt to rile up MAGA supporters appears to have worked, with thousand sharing the post, while others have responded with their own theories.
“There are no coincidences,” wrote one user.
Another claimed: “They activated him,” with the magazine cover apparently acting as “a message and instructions.”
Trump was playing a round of golf on his Florida resort when Secret Service agents claim they spotted the muzzle of a rifle poke out from a wooded area around the course’s perimeter.
After an agent fired their weapon into the treeline, the alleged gunman fled the scene by car but was detained minutes later by police on the I-95. He has since been identified as 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh, and made his first court appearance on Monday morning.
Loomer followed up her unfounded claims hours later with a screenshot of a CNN headline revealing Trump’s game of golf was a last-minute decision, saying : “Really makes you wonder how the shooter knew where President Trump would be!”
Meanwhile, the other side of the political spectrum has its own conspiracy theory that the alleged attack was staged by Republicans, with “#StagedAssassinationAttempt” trending on X.
Loomer, whose presence on the Trump campaign has been questioned, has since claimed she is driving to Palm Beach in order to “cover” the apparent assassination attempt, sparking further social media ire.
Trump’s running mate JD Vance was the lates big-name Republic to criticise Loomer after her racist comments about vice president Kamala Harris. The social-media provocature said the White House “will smell like curry & White House speeches will be facilitated via a call center,” should Harris be elected. In response, Vance, whose wife is also of Indian-American heritage said: “I don’t like those comments.”
Loomer also threatened to sue comedian Ball Maher over the weekend for suggesting she was in an “arranged relationship” with the Trump, slamming his joke as “beyond the pale,” and a “complete and blatant lie.”
“I have never in my life seen such a coordinated attack by the mainstream Media, the White House and leftist personalities to target a private citizen and investigative journalist simply because I flew on a plane and I support Donald Trump,” she continued on X.
