Conspiracy theories thrive amid chaos of correspondents’ dinner shooting
Within minutes of the shooting, baseless “false flag” claims flooded social media — claims that were propelled in part by President Donald Trump himself.
Within minutes of the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday, a false flag conspiracy theory began to spread on social media.
Users latched onto a quote from White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt during a red carpet interview that aired on Fox News in the hours leading up to the dinner.
“It’ll be funny, it’ll be entertaining, there will be some shots fired tonight,” she said with a grin. “Everyone should tune in, it’s going to be really great.”
The “shots fired” line was very clearly a reference to the upcoming speeches at the dinner, which serves as an annual venue for prominent comedians, journalists and presidents to roast each other on stage. This was Donald Trump’s first appearance as president, and given his well-documented distaste for the media, he was almost certain to trade some rhetorical salvos with his audience.
Instead, real shots were fired outside the underground ballroom at the Washington Hilton hotel, where hundreds of people were seated before the president.
By Sunday afternoon, investigators and White House officials — including the president himself — had already released a trove of information, including the suspect’s name and photos. They also divulged clues to his alleged motive and targets, which may have included Trump and administration officials. But in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, when no tangible evidence was available, the conspiracists of the internet turned their attention to the Leavitt quote.
“False flag confirmed,” wrote user @ProudSocialist on X, an account with nearly half a million followers.
The baseless false flag claim — that the shooting was orchestrated to somehow benefit the Trump administration — spread quickly across social media, fueled in part by a number of legitimate news outlets raising questions about Leavitt’s quote in headlines. Trump himself propelled the claim by offering the shooting as a reason to fund his expensive and tumultuous White House ballroom project, parts of which are paused because of a legal ruling.
The baseless false flag claim — that the shooting was orchestrated to somehow benefit the Trump administration — spread quickly across social media, fueled in part by a number of legitimate news outlets raising questions about Leavitt’s quote in headlines
“This event would never have happened with the Militarily Top Secret Ballroom currently under construction at the White House,” he posted Sunday on Truth Social. “It cannot be built fast enough!”
Saturday’s event in particular was fertile ground for conspiracy theories to thrive; content creators and armchair detectives had already spun fantastical narratives about the other times Trump was targeted by shooters — this attack has already served to crystallize those beliefs, even though the target is not yet clear.
Adding fuel to the conspiracy fire, dozens of prominent right-wing X accounts — including current and former Trump administration officials — posted what appeared to be a coordinated campaign of support for Trump’s ballroom in the moments after the incident.
“We MUST have the Ballroom completed to protect @POTUS and his guests,” wrote former U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, who Trump fired weeks ago.
MAGA accounts tweet in unison about the need for a White House ballroom following WHCD incident pic.twitter.com/3acgko7qv3
— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) April 26, 2026
Since then, lawmakers and administration officials echoed the right-wing accounts on X, also calling for the ballroom to be built as a safer alternative for mass gatherings that include the president, given arguments about security lapses surrounding the dinner.
We were there front and center.
That venue wasn’t built to accommodate an event with the line of succession for the U.S. government.
After witnessing last night, drop the TDS and build the White House ballroom for events exactly like these. pic.twitter.com/eeUBnlSe5y— U.S. Senator John Fetterman (@SenFettermanPA) April 26, 2026
This was confirmation enough for a section of the internet that’s desperate to identify a shadowy cabal behind every big news event. On Bluesky, a liberal-leaning alternative to X, dozens of accounts posted the word ‘STAGED’ repeatedly through Saturday night and Sunday.
“Wait … it looks like a false flag to justify a ballroom,” wrote one X account with 300,000 followers. “He’s used to getting what he wants at ANY and all costs!!”
Andy Campbell
Andy Campbell is the Senior Enterprise Editor for MS NOW Digital. He is the author of "We Are Proud Boys: How a right-wing street gang ushered in a new era of American extremism."
Trump Signs Order Expediting Drugs for Mental Health Treatment
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Saturday that he said “directs the FDA to expedite their review of certain psychedelics already designated as breakthrough therapy drugs.” A primary objective of the order is to speed treatment for veterans.
“The executive order I’m signing, we’re actually signing the executive order today, is really a moment,” Trump said. “These treatments are currently in the advanced stages of clinical trials to ensure that they’re both safe and effective for the American patients.”
The president said the executive order would implement “historic reforms to dramatically accelerate access to new medical research and treatments based on psychedelic drugs.” Citing the elevated veteran suicide rate, the president added: “In many cases, these experimental treatments have shown life-changing potential for those suffering from severe mental illness and depression, including our cherished veterans.”
“And the nice part is we’re actually doing this early, but it has been going on. Research has been going on for quite some time. But, you know, usually with things like this, nothing ever happens, no matter how the research ends up, but we’re changing that. This order will clear away unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles, improve data sharing among the FDA and the Department of Veterans Affairs, and facilitate fast rescheduling of any psychedelic drugs that become FDA approved,” Trump continued.
The president said “in 2024, a study from Stanford University, 30 special operation veterans with traumatic brain injuries underwent — it’s called ibogaine treatment — ibogaine, remember the name,” noting that they “experienced an 80 to 90% reduction in symptoms of depression and anxiety within one month.”
“In Texas, Republican leaders have already committed $50 million to the ibogaine research. And today, the federal government is making a $50 million research investment in its own. And so that was just approved just last night,” Trump announced.
“We’re also opening a pathway for ibogaine to be administered to desperately ill patients under the right to try law,” Trump said.
“Today’s order will ensure that people suffering from debilitating symptoms might finally have a chance to reclaim their lives and lead a happier life, just lead a happier life,” he added.
Two weeks ago, Trump signed a sweeping executive order aimed at tightening federal oversight of election integrity, directing multiple agencies to expand voter eligibility verification and impose new controls on mail-in ballots.
The order, titled “Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections,” outlines a series of measures that would increase coordination between federal agencies and state election officials, while also establishing new procedures for how ballots are distributed and tracked through the mail system.
At the core of the directive is a requirement that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), working with the Social Security Administration (SSA), compile and transmit lists of individuals confirmed to be U.S. citizens to state election authorities. These “State Citizenship Lists” would be generated using federal databases, including immigration and Social Security records, and updated regularly ahead of federal elections.
According to the order, the lists are intended to help states verify voter eligibility, though inclusion on the list would not automatically register an individual to vote. State laws and procedures would still govern registration requirements.
The order also calls for the Department of Justice (DOJ) to prioritize investigations and potential prosecutions related to election law violations. This includes cases involving the distribution of ballots to individuals deemed ineligible to vote, as well as any actors—public or private—who may be involved in producing or sending such ballots.
In a significant expansion of federal involvement in mail voting procedures, the directive instructs the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to develop new rules governing the handling of mail-in and absentee ballots. Within 60 days, the Postmaster General is required to initiate a rulemaking process that would standardize ballot tracking and verification measures nationwide.
Under the proposed framework, all mail-in ballots would be required to use specially marked envelopes designated as official election mail. These envelopes must include unique tracking barcodes and meet specific design standards set by USPS to ensure compatibility with automated processing systems.
Trump Says He’s in No Hurry to Make Deal With Iran
The president gave an update on negotiations between Washington and Tehran in a weekend interview.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House on March 26, 2026 in Washington. This is Trump's second Cabinet meeting of 2026 and the first since the United States and Israel began attacking Iran on Feb. 28, 2026. Chip Somodevilla/Getty U.S. President Donald Trump, in an interview published on May 30, said that he is in no hurry to make a deal with Iran to end the war, saying that neither Washington nor Tehran has signed an agreement yet.
“I’d like to say I’m in a hurry because gasoline prices are going to come tumbling down, but if you’re going to be in a hurry, you’re not going to make a good deal,” Trump told Fox News. “And slowly but surely we’re getting, I think, what we want, and if we don’t get what we want, we’re going to end it a different way.”
For weeks, the United States and Iran have been working to come to an agreement that would end the war, which started in February, as the conflict remains in a ceasefire. On May 29, Trump released the terms of a deal with Tehran and said he would be making a final decision soon.
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Along with demanding that Iran not obtain a nuclear weapon, Trump said in a post on Truth Social that the Strait of Hormuz must be opened “in both directions” and that Tehran must “complete the immediate removal and/or detonation of any mines that are left.”
Since the start of the conflict, the strait has effectively remained shut down, sending oil and gas prices surging, as the strait allows for the transit of about a fifth of the world’s traded oil and natural gas. As of May 31, gas prices in the United States averaged $4.34 per gallon, according to the American Automobile Association.
A White House official told The Epoch Times on May 29 that a White House meeting in the Situation Room on Iran lasted approximately two hours. No details were provided.
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Iran on May 31 claimed that the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) shot down a U.S. military drone that entered its airspace, in comments carried by state-run Tasnim News. The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) has not publicly commented on the incident.
A top Iranian official, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, also said on May 31 that Tehran’s military force is “pushing back the enemy in a great and history-making war,” referring to the United States, according to state-run media. He also claimed that the United States has retreated from the conflict while pushing a narrative of unity in the Iranian regime.
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In his May 29 post on Truth Social, Trump also wrote that mines would be removed from the strait and that ships trapped there may start to go home.
“Say HELLO to your wives, husbands, parents, and families from me, your favorite President!” he said.
On May 30, War Department Secretary Pete Hegseth said the United States would restart attacks against Iran if no deal can be reached and that the military’s ammunition stockpiles are being replenished.
“Our ability to recommence if necessary ... we are more than capable,” Hegseth told reporters in Singapore. “Our stockpiles are more than suited for that, both there and around the globe, so we’re in a very good place.”
The Pentagon head said that Trump was “patient” and that the president wants to make a “great deal” that ensures that Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon.
Reuters contributed to this report.
