politics
Poll Finds 24% of Americans Believe Recent Trump Assassination Attempt Was Staged, 45% Say Legitimate
A NewsGuard/YouGov poll released May 11, 2026 shows 24% of U.S. adults think the shooting at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner was fake while 45% believe it was legitimate. The survey also found one-third of Americans think at least one of three assassination attempts on President Trump since 2024 was staged.
May 11, 5:16 PM·2m read1 source
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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.
