Shortly after that, the far-right activist Laura Loomer posted on X about some recent remarks that President Biden made about Mr. Trump and then wrote, “They tried to kill Trump.” She did not provide evidence.
An hour later, with official details of the assassination attempt still scant, the narrative that President Biden and his allies had engineered the attack on Mr. Trump was being amplified by Republican lawmakers, Russian sympathizers and even a Brazilian political scion.
By the time 24 hours had elapsed, posts about the unverified claim had been viewed and shared millions of times.
The idea that President Biden was behind the shooting of Mr. Trump was perhaps the most dominant conspiracy theory to emerge after the attack in Butler, Pa., on Saturday.
The unproven conjecture surfaced almost instantly, hardened into a narrative and then catapulted between platforms large and small, even as information about the incident was limited.
Persons:
Donald J, Trump, Joe Biden’s antifa, Laura Loomer, Biden, “
Organizations:
”, Mr, Central Intelligence Agency, Republican
Locations:
Butler, Pa