Aide to Dem megadonor reportedly suggests Trump shooting may have been staged

A senior adviser to Democratic megadonor Reid Hoffman appeared to suggest in an email to several media outlets that the failed assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump may have been “staged,” Semafor reported Sunday.

Dmitri Mehlhorn sent an email to a group of “sympathetic” reporters at 7:34 p.m. Saturday encouraging them to consider the possibility that the shooting had been “staged” to benefit Trump, Semafor. reported. Hoffman has it given millions to pro-democratic political committees, funded lawsuits against conservatives, i he joked about the assassination of the former president the day before the failed assassination attempt.

One “possibility, which feels horrible and alien and absurd in America but is quite common globally, is that this 'shoot' was encouraged and perhaps even staged so that Trump could get the photos and benefit -se of the reaction,” Mehlhorn reportedly wrote to members. of the press, according to Semafor. “This is a classic Russian tactic, like when Putin killed 300 civilians in 1999 and blamed terrorists for driving the backlash to gain power.”

Mehlhorn, who Politico described as Hoffman's “right-hand man,” he co-founded a fund called “Invest in the USA” with the Democratic megadonor, according to Semafor.

“I know I'm prone to it, but this is a classic Putin play, and given the facts, it seems more plausible,” Mehlhorn continued in his email, Semafor reported. “Look at the actual shot. Look at the staging. Look at how ready Trump is to demonstrate; this spoiled baby crapped his pants when an eagle pounced on his food. Look at how quickly Trump covers himself in at the expense of others, but he showed few of those lifelong instincts at this point. And consider how often Putin and his allies run this play.”

Mehlhorn also criticized reporters for not actively entertaining the theory that the attack was staged, stating that their “credibility and our entire system of truth and justice depends on being sure of the answer,” according to Semafor. In his email he did acknowledge that there was a possibility that “some crazy anti-Trumper in this chaotic moment might decide to assassinate the former president,” according to Semafor.

Mehlhorn told the Daily Caller News Foundation that he regretted sending the email and that he did so without consulting his team, to whom he apologized.

“I also want to publicly apologize, unreservedly, for allowing my words to distract from the central fact of last night: Political violence took another innocent American life,” Mehlhorn told the DCNF. “We must come together to condemn this violence in all cases, without reservation. Any other issue is a distraction. Unfortunately, I only spoke to Reid after he sent this email. I wholeheartedly agree with his thoughtful post this morning. I join all of America in demanding that we no longer lose innocent lives to political violence.”

Hoffman, for his part, recognized and denounced the assassination attempt against the former president on Sunday X.

Hoffman's top adviser wasn't alone in insisting the assassination attempt was staged as the word “staged” trended on X in the hours after the attack, Semafor reported. “I know it seems a shame to talk about this possibility. But in this case, the odds are so high and the stakes so consequential, we have to[k] the question,” Mehlhorn wrote.

Hoffman did not immediately respond to DCNF's request for comment.

Editor's note: This piece has been updated to include comments from Mehlhorn.

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