MSNBC’s Joy Reid went to X to share yet another round of conspiracy theories about the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, including the claim that he may not have been shot at all.
The 55-year-old liberal host listed a number of things she finds “odd” about the shocking event in Butler, Pennsylvania, and appeared to suggest it was a staged event.
“We still don’t know for sure if Donald Trump was hit by a bullet,” she began. “We know almost nothing.”
While Reid appeared to raise some questions that authorities have already answered, her comments came as pressure mounted on the Secret Service to explain the disastrous security lapse that allowed the shooting to occur.
MSNBC’s Joy Reid shared a new series of conspiracies about the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, including the claim that he may not have been shot at all
Reid shared her speculation on social media shortly after she raised eyebrows during a broadcast of the Republican National Convention when news broke that President Biden had tested positive for Covid.
She compared Biden, who recovered from the virus “in a matter of days,” to Trump, who stood up and raised his fist in the air seconds after being shot, saying they “are communicating the exact same thing.”
After Reid also called the assassination attempt a “photo opportunity” on air, her X clip struck a similar tone, appearing to speculate that Trump’s Secret Service agents paused to allow Trump to “pose” for an iconic photo.
“We don’t know why Donald Trump was allowed to stand up for nine seconds during a shooting,” Reid said.
“Even though they said at that point that the shooter had been shot, how could they have known if there were more shooters or not? There could have been five shooters for all they knew.
‘Yet in the middle of that crisis they had him stand up, pose for a photo and wave his fists in the air so he could take the iconic photo.’
Conservative commentator Kenny Webster criticized Reid’s insinuation that the shooting was staged, comparing it to Alex Jones’ legal battle over his outrageous comments about Sandy Hook.
“Alex Jones was fined $1.5 billion for his Sandy Hook comments. How is this any different? Joy Reid fined and MSNBC studio equipment seized,” he said said on X.
Reid appeared to suggest that Trump’s shooting was staged so he could “pose” for an iconic photo of him surviving the assassination attempt
Although Trump only briefly raised his fist in the air as he was pushed into an SUV, Reid added that it appeared to her that the Secret Service “made him stand back up … rather than pushing him into the SUV.”
“That seems very unusual to me,” she said.
Trump said a bullet tore through the upper part of his right ear and that he showed up at the RNC with a small bandage over the wound. However, Reid said she’s still not sure “what the actual damage is to Donald Trump’s ear that’s under that bandage?”
“Shouldn’t we know this by now?” she continued. “It’s strange and there doesn’t seem to be much curiosity about it.
“Why isn’t the New York Times aggressively seeking his medical records? It’s just odd, just something odd that I’ve noticed.”
Reid also claimed that authorities still do not know where the three rally attendees who were shot “were sitting or standing in relation to (Trump).”
This seems like a challenge, since The hill reported that Rico Elmore, vice chairman of the Beaver County Republican Party, sat next to one of the victims and administered CPR while sitting behind the former president.
Joseph Meyn, a participant in the rally, told NewsNation that he saw Corey Comperatore being shot and killed. He said he was “in the stands right in front of me.”
Dave McCormick, the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, was also quick to point out where the victims were located. He said he was sitting to the right of Trump’s podium when he looked over his shoulder and saw a victim get hit.
Trump said a bullet went through the upper part of his right ear and that he showed up at the RNC with a small bandage over the wound. However, Reid said she’s still not sure “what the actual damage is to Donald Trump’s ear that’s under that bandage?”
Reid’s comments come amid mounting criticism of the Secret Service’s failure to prevent the shooting and its decision to let Trump stand shortly after the shots were fired.
Attention is now mounting on the Secret Service as the agency’s head, Kimberly Cheatle, faces mounting pressure to resign over the chaotic situation.
As questions arise about why her agency didn’t put an officer on the roof where gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks fired shots, she offers a bizarre explanation.
She said Secret Service officials handling security for Trump’s rally considered the warehouse, 440 feet (135 meters) from where Trump spoke, a risky position to station an agent.
“That building in particular has a sloped roof at the highest point. And so, you know, there’s a safety factor that would be taken into consideration, we wouldn’t want to put someone on a sloped roof,” she told ABC News in an interview Tuesday.
‘And so it was decided to secure the building from the inside.’