Approximately one in four Americans believe the shooting that occurred in April at the White House correspondents’ dinner was staged, according to a survey released by NewsGuard on Monday.
The findings follow the recent indictment of the alleged gunman by a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C. Cole Tomas Allen faces four felonies, including the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump.
Breakdown of public skepticism
The poll, conducted by YouGov among 1,000 American adults between April 28 and May 4, found that 24 percent of US adults believed the incident at the Washington Hilton was fake. In contrast, 45 percent considered the event legitimate, while 32 percent remained unsure.
Sofia Rubinson, an editor at NewsGuard, described the results as striking. She noted that the findings reflect an increasing public skepticism toward both governmental institutions and the media.
Rubinson observed that individuals across the political spectrum are increasingly distrustful of the current administration and traditional news outlets. She added that many people are now more inclined to believe unverified information found online.
Official response to conspiracy theories
The White House has firmly dismissed the circulating conspiracy theories. In a statement reported by The Washington Post, spokesman Davis Ingle characterized anyone suggesting that Trump staged his own assassination attempts as a complete moron.
The April incident is the latest in a series of threats against the president. It follows two other assassination attempts in 2024, which occurred at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Patterns of distrust across incidents
The survey indicated that the April shooting is not the only incident facing public doubt. Approximately 24 percent of Americans also believed the attempt at the Butler rally was staged, with 29 percent reporting they were unsure.
Regarding the incident at the Florida golf club, 16 percent of respondents believed it was staged, while 36 percent expressed uncertainty about the legitimacy of the event.
