1 in 3 People Think Donald Trump Assassination Attempts a Conspiracy: Poll

A recent national poll shows that one in three Americans believe that attempts to assassinate former president Donald Trump are part of a conspiracy.

The survey, conducted exclusively for Newsweek by Redfield & Wilton Strategies, sampled a diverse group of respondents from across the country, asking them: “To what extent, if at all, are you familiar with the arrest of a man suspected of attempting to assassinate Donald Trump on 15 September 2024 in West Palm Beach, Florida?”

The majority of those asked, 38%, stated that they were “very familiar,” while 11% said that they were not at all familiar.

This was followed by the question: “In June, Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania. Do you believe the events in Butler in June and in West Palm Beach last week were the work of lone individuals or were they the result of a wider conspiracy involving multiple individuals?”

Over one-third of respondents, 36%, said that they believed multiple people were involved in a wider conspiracy to attempt to assassinate Trump.

Some 44% believed the assassination attempts were isolated acts of violence, while the remaining 20% were unsure, or declined to answer.

Conspiracy theories around assassinations and assassination attempts are not uncommon. For example, a gallup poll conducted last year found that 65% of respondents think the assassination of John F. Kennedy involved a conspiracy and that Lee Harvey Oswald did not act alone.

Conspiracy theories around Thomas Matthew Crooks

As reported previously by Newsweek, after Trump’s assassination attempt in July, conspiracy theories erupted online around the gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks.

Some theories suggested that the attack was staged, pointing to the speed of the Secret Service’s response and speculating that the event was orchestrated to manipulate the public or bolster Trump’s political standing.

Others claimed that Crooks was connected to larger political plots, with fringe theories involving foreign actors, the Deep State, or domestic political groups such as Antifa. These theories were amplified on social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter), 4chan, and TikTok, despite law enforcement efforts to provide clear facts about the incident.

The FBI has stated that there was no evidence to support claims of Crooks being part of a broader conspiracy, domestic or foreign. Nevertheless, the rapid spread of misinformation and unverified claims about the assassination attempt has contributed to increased polarization and confusion in the weeks following the shooting.

Assassination attempts on Trump this year

Trump has been the subject of multiple assassination threats during and after his presidency, and his vocal supporters have often framed these incidents as proof of a wider effort to silence him. In his own speeches, Trump has frequently referenced “deep state” actors, claiming that they want to see him eliminated due to his political influence. Public figures and media outlets sympathetic to Trump have often reiterated these concerns.

As reported previously by Newsweek, Trump has said there are “big threats” on his life from Iran, after he was briefed by U.S. intelligence on alleged assassination plans. Federal authorities are investigating two apparent assassination attempts on Trump in recent months. Iranian officials have denied involvement in any plot to kill Trump.

The poll’s findings come at a time when Trump’s legal battles, including his numerous indictments, have been dominating headlines. His supporters have often viewed these legal challenges as politically motivated, and the belief in a potential conspiracy to assassinate him only adds to that narrative of victimhood.

Experts caution that this level of public suspicion, coupled with the ongoing polarization in the country, could make it more difficult to maintain a sense of unity in the coming years.

Newsweek contacted Trump’s press office online on Friday for comment.