In the aftermath of a shooting that injured former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday, several Republican lawmakers and conservative media personalities baselessly blamed President Joe Biden for the assassination attempt against his rival for the White House.
“Joe Biden sent the orders,” Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) wrote on X, formerly Twitter, minutes after the shooting.
There is, of course, zero evidence for this claim. Collins pointed to a recent statement made by Biden during a Monday call with top Democratic donors. “I have one job, and that’s to beat Donald Trump. I’m absolutely certain I’m the best person to be able to do that. So, we’re done talking about the debate, it’s time to put Trump in a bullseye,” Biden said, adding: “We can’t go another day, another day, without explaining what he’s doing, and we have to go after him.”
The details surrounding the shooter and their motives remain hazy. According to the Associated Press, the incident is being investigated as an attempted assassination. Despite the lack of information, Collins and other Republican figures have seized on the portion of Biden’s statement referencing a “bullseye” as proof that the president ordered or tacitly endorsed an attempt on Trump’s life.
The X account of the Republican-controlled House Judiciary Committee attempted to connect the same statement to the shooting, “Joe Biden: ‘It’s time to put Trump in a bullseye. ‘That just happened.”
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) wrote “shame on him” in reference to the same quote.
Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), who is seen as a top contender for Trump’s vice presidential spot, similarly tried to blame Biden for the shooting — though he cited Biden’s criticisms of Trump’s authoritarian leanings.
“Today is not just some isolated incident,” Vance posted on X. “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.”
Right-wing media figures even further, claiming that Team Biden may have been involved in a covert assassination plot against Trump.
Sean Davis, founder of the far-right publication The Federalist, suggested that “the Biden regime knew about this and either allowed it to happen… or made it happen.”
“They did it to Kennedy, and his brother, and they just tried to do it to Trump,” Davis added.
Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones claimed that the shooting was evidence of “globalists” desire to kill Trump and other prominent conservative allies and supporters. “Deep State Will Try To Kill Trump Again!” he wrote on X.
Biden addressed the shooting in a televised statement on Saturday. “There’s no place for this kind of violence in America,” Biden said. “We must unite as one nation to condemn it,” he added, calling it “sick.”
The president said he planned to speak directly with Trump.
Before leaving the podium, Biden was asked if he felt the shooting was an assassination attempt. “I do not know enough. I have an opinion, but I do not have any facts. I want to make sure of all of the facts before I make a comment,” the president replied.
Others would do well to follow his lead.