The best way to fend off conspiracy theories and instability is by emphasizing the need for solid facts.
Donald Trump is rushed offstage during a rally on July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images)
On Saturday night, Donald Trump was the victim of a shooting in a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. One thing that makes political violence of this sort upsetting is the sheer uncertainty that follows the initial act for many hours, even days. It’s reasonable to assume this was an attempted political assassination, but police and public officials are rightly cautious about making that judgement, merely saying it is being investigated as a “possible assassination attempt.” In the coming days we’ll learn more about the alleged gunman, who killed one bystander and seriously injured two before being killed by the Secret Service.
Of course, the dearth of facts hasn’t prevented a flood of unwarranted speculation and scapegoating. The New York Times reports:
Unsubstantiated claims about what took place at Saturday’s rally in Butler, Pa., immediately flooded social media after former President Donald J. Trump was carried off the stage after shots were fired.
Without providing proof, the social media posts blamed shadowy figures on the left for targeting Mr. Trump, and built on ideas circulated by Mr. Trump that the “deep state,” or a cabal within the government, was seeking to stop him from returning to office. The unverified claims surfaced on platforms including Gab, Truth Social and Parler, which are favored by the far-right, as well as on X, Telegram, Facebook and Instagram.
It isn’t just anonymous accounts that are promoting bad-faith, ungrounded, and exploitive narratives. Some right-wing politicians have gotten into the act as well. Senator J.D. Vance, who is vying to be Trump’s vice presidential running mate, tweeted:
Today is not just some isolated incident. The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs. That rhetoric led directly to President Trump’s attempted assassination.
Even more bluntly, Georgia Representative Mike Collins tweeted: “The Republican District Attorney in Butler County, PA, should immediately file charges against Joseph R. Biden for inciting an assassination.”
Joe Biden and other Democratic politicians have taken the opposite tack in response to the Trump shooting, rightly condemning political violence and expressing concern about Trump’s safety.
But there is more to be said. The scapegoating narrative developed by Vance and Collins should be condemned. There needs to be a forceful proclamation that the facts of the case need to be gathered and made public.
In his comments, Biden said, “Jill and I are grateful to the Secret Service for getting him to safety.” This pro forma praise of the Secret Service was echoed by many politicians, including Trump.
This praise of the Secret Service is, at best, premature. There is a prima facie case for suspecting a Secret Service failure. Why was a gunman allowed within the vicinity of the former president? Were warnings by onlookers ignored? These and more questions need answers. A full, independent investigation is needed.
Facts alone won’t defeat conspiracy theories or destabilization. But facts are still essential as a tool for figuring out what actually happened and assisting those who want to promote political stability. In the absence of facts, conspiracy theories and destabilization will spread.
Jeet HeerTwitterJeet Heer is a national affairs correspondent for The Nation and host of the weekly Nation podcast, The Time of Monsters. He also pens the monthly column “Morbid Symptoms.” The author of In Love with Art: Francoise Mouly’s Adventures in Comics with Art Spiegelman (2013) and Sweet Lechery: Reviews, Essays and Profiles (2014), Heer has written for numerous publications, including The New Yorker, The Paris Review, Virginia Quarterly Review, The American Prospect, The Guardian, The New Republic, and The Boston Globe.