CNN initially reported Saturday’s assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump as if the former president had simply fallen off a stage, a report that was quickly condemned by conservative lawmakers and social media commenters.
“Secret Service rushes Trump off stage after he collapses at rally,” CNN headlined, shortly after news broke of a possible shooting at a Trump rally in Pennsylvania.
The headline angered Conservative politicians and others on social media, who called it “deliberately misleading” and “disgraceful.”
“‘Falls at a rally’? Is that the actual headline? This is disgraceful,” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) posted on X on Friday night.
Shooting at Trump rally investigated as possible assassination attempt
Republican presidential candidate and former US President Donald Trump is assisted by US Secret Service agents after shots rang out during a campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show in Butler, Pennsylvania, USA, on July 13, 2024. (Reuters/Brendan McDiarmid)
“Even in these horrific moments, there is nothing they can do,” Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., posted.
While addressing a crowd in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday evening, Trump suddenly grabbed his right ear, bent over and fell to the ground on stage. Secret Service agents quickly surrounded Trump before escorting him off the stage, his right ear covered in blood.
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Before being removed, Trump appeared to show he was OK by pumping his fist in the air and yelling “Fight!” to the crowd.
The shocking assassination attempt came just two days before the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was to begin, where Trump was to formally become the party’s presidential nominee.
Donald Trump Jr. also took issue with CNN’s live coverage of the incident Saturday night, accusing the network of focusing on footage of Trump, wounded by the gunman, yelling at the crowd to “fight!” Trump was taken to a local hospital before traveling to New Jersey.
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“Tonight someone tried to assassinate my father. This is what @CNN is focusing on. These people are vile,” Trump Jr. wrote.
A CNN spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the headline was published “before the details of the assassination attempt on former President Trump were 100% confirmed. The story has been updated as more details about the assassination attempt emerge.”
Other commentators and media critics also criticized the Washington Post’s headline, “Trump Had Removed After Loud Rave at Pennsylvania Rally.”
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Republican presidential candidate and former US president Donald Trump gestures with a bloody face as multiple gunshots ring out during a campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show in Butler, Pennsylvania, USA, on July 13, 2024. (Reuters/Brendan McDiarmid)
Fox News confirmed that the shooting was being investigated as an assassination attempt. The shooter, who was shot and killed by the Secret Service, was identified as 20-year-old Pennsylvania man Thomas Matthew Crooks. A motive has not yet been released.
One participant at the rally died.
Gunfire rang out at a rally for Republican presidential candidate and former US President Donald Trump at the Butler Farm Show in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024, causing attendees to scatter. Trump was seen with a wound to the side of his head, collapsed and was taken away by the Secret Service. Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger said the shooter and one spectator were killed and another was wounded. (Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)
“The FBI has assumed the role of lead federal law enforcement in the investigation of the incident involving former President Donald Trump that occurred early today in Butler, Pennsylvania,” the FBI said in a statement Saturday night obtained by Fox News Digital.
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The agency added: ” FBI Pittsburgh Field Office “We responded immediately, including with members of our Emergency Response Team and Evidence Response Technicians. We will continue to use the full resources of the FBI to assist in this investigation, along with our partners at the U.S. Secret Service and state and local law enforcement.”
