A top advisor to a Democrat donor pushed media outlets to claim the assassination attempt against Donald Trump was “staged.”
Democrat donor Reid Hoffman’s advisor reportedly wrote in an email that the attempt on Trump’s life was “encouraged and maybe even staged so Trump could get the photos and benefit from the backlash,” Semafor reported.
The advisor, Dmitri Mehlhorn, noted that a staged attack is a “classic Russian tactic, such as when Putin killed 300 civilians in 1999 and blamed it on terrorists to ride the backlash to winning power.”
“Others who have embraced this tactic of committing raw evil and then benefitting from the backlash include Hamas on October 7. If any Trump officials encouraged or knew of this attack, that is morally horrific, and Republicans of decency must demand that Trump step down as unfit,” Mehlhorn allegedly wrote.
“I know it feels yucky to discuss such a possibility. But in this case, the odds are so high, and the stakes so consequential, we must as[k] the question,” he added.
Mehlhorn later sent another email apologizing for his statements.
“Last night, I sent an email I now regret. It was drafted and sent without consultation from team members or allies. I have apologized to them directly. I also want to apologize publicly, without reservation, for allowing my words to distract from last night’s central fact: political violence took yet another innocent American life last night,” he wrote. “We must unite in condemnation of such violence in every instance, without reservation. Any other topic is a distraction. I am grateful that those injured last night appear to be on the path to full recovery.”
Mehlhorn also visited the White House at least 10 times throughout Joe Biden’s presidency, according to a report from the Washington Free Beacon.
According to White House visitor logs, Mehlhorn and Hoffman met with Katharine Reilly, an aide in the White House chief of staff’s office, in September 2023. Mehlhorn also met with an aide to a Biden communications leader.
