The possible attempt at a second attack on Donald Trump has brought to light a number of conspiracy theories that have been brewing for some time between the far right and the Trumpist orbit. While the former president points to the “rhetoric” of his rivals as the cause of the incident, hundreds of profiles associated with the MAGA universe present complex patterns that point to a supposed Deep State (a concept that also exists in the tycoon’s vocabulary) to the investment fund giant BlackRock.
Ryan Wesley Routh, the man arrested on suspicion of attempting to assassinate Trump, has expressed strong commitment to the Ukrainian cause and appeared in a 2023 report by New York Times in which he explained how he was trying to recruit Afghan soldiers to fight on the Ukrainian front. As the investigation progressed, the North American media echoed a book on Ukraine that Routh allegedly self-published and in which he claimed that Iran was “free to assassinate Trump, as well as me.” This information was enough to publish dozens of discussions on the platform
“Shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks was linked to BlackRock and appeared in a BlackRock ad in 2022. Now we see that Ryan Routh, who attempted to assassinate President Trump today at his West Palm Beach, Florida golf club, was interviewed by the New York Times in 2023 and worked with the American Foreign Legion in Ukraine, which has ties to the CIA. He DEEP STATE “This is profound!” wrote Laura Loomer in X on the very Sunday of the attack.
Loomer is known for his far-right activism on the platform and for spreading conspiracy theories. He has also recently become one of Trump’s trusted aides, a move that some of the former president’s advisers can’t explain. In 2023, Loomer also suggested that the 9/11 attacks were an “inside job.” His account has over a million followers.
When Trump supporters talk about the Deep State They refer to a secret and coordinated network that is conspiring against the former president. It is an idea that had already appeared in 2017, when the tycoon was in power, and that has also been heard recently at Republican rallies. “We will demolish the Deep State”, This is one of the tycoon’s promises that, in the conspiracy sectors, can be interpreted as a sign of complicity. Although Trump refers to a much more specific plan: that of purging the civil service if he is re-elected to ensure that he has a free hand to deploy his agenda.
The fact that Routh was near the golf course 12 hours before the events and was there when the former president decided to drop in unannounced not only raised more questions, but theories also emerged suggesting that the Secret Service itself might be involved in the events.
“What are the chances that this shooter, who spent months fighting in Ukraine, has no connections to anyone in the US military or intelligence community?” Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA and with over 3 million followers, asked in X. Kirk’s comment was in reference to the fact that in 2022, Routh had spent a few months in Ukraine.
Other users go even further and point to investment fund BlackRock as part of the alleged conspiracy. In other shootings, BlackRock has been criticized because some of its index funds hold stocks in gun manufacturers, although that’s not why it’s been on the conspiracy theory circuit.
The fixation on the investment fund emerged shortly after the Butler attack. Thomas Crook, the gunman killed in the attack, appeared in a 2022 ad for the investment fund. Some social media posts even indicated that Routh had also appeared in a BlackRock ad. The video featuring Routh was created in 2022, showing protesters calling for the safe evacuation of Ukrainian soldiers defending the besieged Avovstal metallurgical complex in Mariupol. BlackRock has previously denied any connection to the video.
Another element from which conspiracy theories establish an alleged link between Crooks and Routh is the fact that the bank for the reconstruction of Ukraine is created with the help of BlackRock. The conspiracy logic links this to Routh’s presence in the country in 2022 and to Crooks’ appearance in an advertisement recorded by the investment fund at its institute.
The second “apparent attempted attack” that the FBI investigated came just as Trump was beginning to revive conspiracy theories that had already emerged with the Butler shooting in mid-July.
On Monday, during a presentation at X of a cryptocurrency brand, the former president recounted for the first time how he experienced this second attempt, in addition to explaining, once again, what the Butler attack was like. “Behind all this are very strange things happening,” Trump insinuated about the fact that he has already suffered two attacks.
Before the Palm Beach incident, Trump had already begun to explicitly express his accusations against Democrats for what happened in Butler. When the first attack came, the former president’s first reaction was to tone down his message and let his people throw stones at him. Following the logic of Trump’s escalating rhetoric in recent weeks, after Sunday’s incident, the former president immediately targeted his rival, Kamala Harris, and President Joe Biden.
Following this accusation, threads were also created on X that feed the Republican’s “official” narrative about the causes of the attack. Some profiles retrieve alleged screenshots from Routh’s account on X (which is suspended) in which his posts are linked to the Democrats’ speech. “Ryan Routh believed DEMOCRACY was at the polls. I’ve heard that somewhere before,” user ZNO said, attaching screenshots of an alleged tweet from Routh and various headlines with Biden saying a similar phrase.
Another person who has dedicated himself to amplifying Trump’s statements is his ally and owner of X, Elon Musk. On Sunday night, after the incident, Musk wrote on his profile that “no one is even trying to assassinate Biden/Kamala.” Shortly after, he deleted the post, although he continued to publish messages in which he blames the Democrats and their rhetoric for the situation. In one of them, he went so far as to say that “the Democrats explicitly called for Trump to be shot and now two people have answered that call.”
The doctor in American politics and director of the electoral protection area of the bipartisan platform Issue One, Carah Ong Whaley, explained to elDiario.es the consequences that Musk’s behavior can have in stirring up the campaign and increasing political violence in the country.
It is not just about the reach of the social network owner, but also about his political positions, which raises questions about how the network’s algorithm works and what types of discourse benefit from it.
