Poll Finds 24% of Americans Believe Recent Trump Assassination Attempt Was Staged, 45% Say Legitimate

A NewsGuard/YouGov poll released on May 11, 2026 found that 24% of American adults believe the April 25, 2026 assassination attempt on President Trump at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner was staged. Forty-five percent believe the attempt was legitimate while 32% are unsure.

The incident occurred at DC's Washington Hilton, where President Trump and Vice President JD Vance were present.

The poll surveyed 1,000 American adults between April 28 and May 4, 2026. 5% of Republican respondents. One-third of Americans overall believe at least one of the three assassination attempts against Trump since 2024 was staged.

Sofia Rubinson, an editor at NewsGuard, told USA TODAY that the poll results are very striking. She added that people on either side of the political spectrum are distrustful of both this administration and the media. The findings come as skepticism toward government and media appears across party lines.

The poll was released on the same day Cole Tomas Allen, the suspect accused in the April 25, 2026 White House Correspondents' Association dinner shooting, faced court proceedings. Cole Tomas Allen pleaded not guilty on May 11, 2026 to multiple federal charges including attempting to assassinate the president and assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon.

His arraignment hearing occurred in Washington on May 11, 2026.

Allen's lawyers plan to ask that two top Justice Department officials who were present at the dinner be disqualified from involvement in the prosecution. The same poll examined views on two earlier assassination attempts. Twenty-four percent of respondents said they believed the July 2024 Butler, Pennsylvania rally shooting was staged, with 42% of Democratic respondents and 7% of Republican respondents holding that view.

Federal investigators called the rally shooting an assassination attempt. Sixteen percent of those polled said they thought the September 2024 Trump golf club assassination attempt was staged. Twenty-six percent of Democrats and 7% of Republicans believe that attempt was faked.

Younger respondents were more likely to view the attempts as staged. Thirty-two percent of 18-to-29-year-olds said the April 25, 2026 assassination attempt was staged compared with 15% of those aged 65 and up.

Of those who believed all three assassination attempts against Trump were legitimate, only 13% were between the ages of 18 and 29. Twenty-one percent of Democrats polled believe all three assassination attempts on Trump were staged.

Usa Today reported the full findings of the NewsGuard/YouGov survey.