A new poll found that a sizable percentage of Democratic voters believe several assassination attempts targeting President Donald Trump were staged, highlighting deep political distrust and growing conspiracy thinking across the American electorate.
According to a YouGov survey conducted from April 28 to May 4 among 1,000 Americans, 42% of respondents who identified as Democrats said they believed the July 2024 assassination attempt against Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, was fake.
The Butler attack involved would-be assassin Thomas Crooks, who opened fire during a Trump campaign rally. The shooting left one attendee dead, injured multiple others, and wounded Trump.
The poll also found that 34% of Democrats believed the more recent assassination attempt involving suspect Cole Allen at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner was staged. Another 26% said they believed Ryan Routh’s alleged attempt at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach in September 2024 was fake as well.
Notably, nearly one-quarter of Democratic respondents said they believed all three assassination attempts were hoaxes.
Independent voters expressed lower levels of skepticism, though substantial numbers still questioned the legitimacy of the incidents. Twenty-one percent of independents said they believed the Butler shooting was staged, while 23% and 14% believed the White House Correspondents’ dinner and golf course incidents were fake, respectively.
Among Republicans, the numbers were significantly lower. Seven percent said they believed the Butler attack was staged, while 13% questioned the White House Correspondents’ dinner incident and 7% doubted the golf course assassination attempt.
The findings underscore growing political polarization and widespread distrust in institutions and media narratives, particularly surrounding high-profile acts of political violence.
Allen’s alleged attempt at the White House Correspondents’ dinner in April marked another alarming chapter in a string of threats and attacks targeting Trump. According to reports, the incident pushed Trump past a grim historical milestone, making him the president who has survived more assassination attempts than any other president in American history.
The poll also arrives amid broader concerns about Americans’ attitudes toward political violence.
A resurfaced 2025 survey found that respondents with graduate degrees were nearly twice as likely to agree that “violence is often necessary to create social change” compared to those with only undergraduate degrees or no college education.
Separate polling conducted earlier this year also found increasing support among younger Americans for the idea that political violence can sometimes be justified. Another survey reported that 55% of self-identified “left of center” Americans believed a hypothetical assassin targeting Trump would be “somewhat justified.”
Taken together, the data points to a political climate marked by rising extremism, conspiratorial thinking, and growing acceptance of political hostility across ideological lines as the country heads deeper into another contentious election cycle.
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Sure! Nearly having your head blown off by mere millimeters is always a good risk to take….
Who are these Idiots?
Forget that I asked!
They are Democrat Idiots who would cum in their panties if someone killed the President.
They are SICK MF’ers!