By Maribel Velazquez
A new poll by YouGov and fact-checking platform NewsGuard revealed that a significant portion of Americans doubt the authenticity of recent assassination attempts against the president. donald trump.
The survey, published this week, indicates that nearly 30% of those surveyed consider that at least one of the attacks reported in the last two years may have been staged or you are not completely convinced that it happened as officially presented.
The survey was conducted between April 28 and May 4 1,000 U.S. citizens and addressed three recent incidents: the attack in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024; the alleged attack while Trump was playing golf in West Palm Shoreline; and the most recent episode related to an armed man who allegedly tried to enter the White House correspondents’ dinner.
Although around forty five% of participants said they believed these were real attempts of murder, the results reflect a growing level of distrust towards the official versions disseminated by the authorities.
One of the data that caught the most attention was that one in four respondents considered that the incident that occurred during the correspondents’ dinner could have been staged. In Butler’s case, 24% expressed the same opinion.
The research also identified marked differences between political and generational sectors. Americans between 18 and 29 years old were the ones who showed the most doubts about the veracity of the attacks.
Furthermore, the phenomenon appears more strongly among Democratic voters. According to the study, 42% of Democratic sympathizers considered that the attack in Butler could have been stagedwhile among Republicans the percentage was considerably lower.
Sofia Rubinson, senior editor at NewsGuard, warned about the impact of misinformation on social media after each incident.
“It is simply about this belief and this distrust in the government to act honestly and provide us with accurate information,” he declared.
Rubinson also explained that publications spread on social network conspiracy theories about the incident at the correspondents’ dinner They accumulated more than 90 million views in a few days.
For his part, Trump publicly rejected the versions that claim that the attacks were fabricated.
“I think they are more sick than scammers,” said the president during an interview with the 60 Minutes program. “But there is also a lot of fraud in all this,” he added.
The results of the survey reflect the climate of polarization and political distrust that the country is currently experiencing.
Keep reading:
- How the attacker could get so close to Trump and other questions raised by the shooting at the dinner correspondents
- Trump confirms he is safe after being evacuated from the White House Correspondents’ Dinner
- Trump evacuated after shots fired at White House correspondents’ dinner
- Donald Trump steals the spotlight during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner
