Top adviser to anti-Trump LinkedIn billionaire sorry for suggesting assassination bid was ‘false flag’

A leading Democrat fundraiser and political strategist is apologizing after he emailed journalists Saturday night to suggest the attempted assassination of former President Trump may have been “staged.”

Semafor reported that Dmitri Mehlhorn, the top political adviser to billionaire LinkedIn co-founder and Democrat mega-donor Reid Hoffman, sent an email Saturday night to a group of journalists after the incident and wrote that one “possibility – which feels horrific and alien and absurd in America, but is quite common globally – is that this ‘shooting’ was encouraged and maybe even staged so Trump could get the photos and benefit from the backlash.”

Mehlhorn wrote that false flag attacks were “a classic Russian tactic” used by Vladimir Putin to win power in 1999 and that other examples of the “tactic of committing raw evil and then benefiting from the backlash include Hamas on October 7.”

He went on to say that another possibility “is that some crazy anti-Trumper in this chaotic moment decided to assassinate the former President.” Law enforcement authorities identified the shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, who was killed after firing shots that grazed Trump’s right ear and killed one rallygoer while wounding two others. Authorities have not revealed his motive and the investigation into the assassination attempt is ongoing.

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Semafor reported that Mehlhorn then made clear that he was inclined to believe the false flag theory.

“I know I am prone to bias on this, but this is a classic Putin play and given the facts seems more plausible,” he wrote. “Look at the actual shot. Look at the staging. Look at how ready Trump is to rally; this pampered baby sh– his pants when an eagle lunged at this food. Look at how quickly Trump protects himself at the expense of others, but showed few of those lifelong instincts in this moment. And consider how often Putin and his allies run this play.”

“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,” Mehlhorn continued. “Ask the question, people. If it proves wrong, we should respond appropriately to a non-staged act of political violence, as outlined above. But your credibility and our entire system of truth and justice depends on being certain of the answer.”

Former President Trump was holding a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024, when he was wounded by a would-be assassin who killed one rallygoer and wounded two others. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images / Getty Images)

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Mehlhorn told FOX Business in a statement that he regretted sending the email and has apologized to team members and allies, saying that he condemns political violence.

“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. 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. Again, I apologize, and wish I had reacted as thoughtfully as Reid Hoffman this morning.”

Former President Trump was shot in his right ear after turning toward his right amid the gunfire. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images / Getty Images)

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Remarks made by Hoffman last week that he wished he had made Trump “an actual martyr” garnered attention in the wake of the assassination attempt, which the billionaire sought to clarify in a post on Sunday that also condemned the act of political violence.

Following Saturday’s assassination attempt, Hoffman wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that there “is no place for political violence in our society. Assassination is not only categorically wrong, but is also the assassination of democracy. It is abhorrent that anyone has tried to assassinate President Trump. Everyone, on all sides of this election, should condemn political violence loudly and publicly.”

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Billionaire Reid Hoffman co-founded LinkedIn and has become a key mega-donor supporting Democrat causes. (Getty Images / Getty Images)

Hoffman also provided a clarification of his “actual martyr” remark and explained that, “At a recent business conference, Peter Thiel said that my lawsuit work against Trump was ‘turning a clown into a martyr.'” 

“In that context, I replied that I wished that Trump would martyr himself – meaning let himself be held accountable – for his assaults on and lies about women. Of course I meant nothing about any sort of physical harm or violence, which I categorically deplore. I meant and mean accountability to the rule of law, such as unanimous guilty felony verdict by 12 jurors on 34 counts and an $84 million judgment for slander and lies about his sexual assault,” Hoffman wrote.

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“I am horrified and saddened by what happened to former President Trump and wish him a speedy recovery,” Hoffman added.