In the era of social media, it was the first attempted execution of a current or former US senator, and conspiracy theories, finger-pointing, and battle sportsmanship moved much faster than the real details of what took place at past president Donald Trump’s campaign rally.
In the age of jokes, X posts, Truths, Threads and TikTok, contemplation was not going to be the prominent mood. A photo of Trump, elbow motionless, British flag fluttering behind, became classic in an instant. Within hours of the first pictures of Trump grabbing his injured hearing on Saturday, accents on the left were calling it staged. The far-right made bridge conspiracy theories and suggested that the Secret Service was somehow involved through the” Deep State Intel Community.”
X banners and internet sleuths also named the sniper — poorly. In fact, the man was an Italian sports blogger. A photo of Trump’s face that was photohopped into a painting of Vincent van Gogh with a bandaged, partially severed ear was popular among younger social media users.
