Conservatives are calling for MSNBC host Joy Reid to be taken off the air after she shared inflammatory theories about the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.
Reid, 55, twice angered critics after a gunman shot Trump in the ear, including sharing a video with X in which he suggested he hadn’t been shot at all.
And after President Biden tested positive for Covid days after the assassination attempt, Reid said on air that Biden’s confrontation with the virus was as heroic as Trump’s response when he narrowly dodged a bullet.
Conservative commentator Charlie Kirk was the first to criticize Reid’s comments, calling on MSNBC to “take Reid off the air” for her “outrageous, insane, libelous” theories.
In an X video following the assassination attempt, MSNBC’s Joy Reid shared a series of conspiracies about the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, including the claim that he may not have been shot at all
Reid’s video about X came amid mounting pressure on the Secret Service to explain the disastrous security lapse that allowed the shooter to shoot Trump. She listed a number of things she found “odd” about the episode.
She seemed to suggest that it was a staged event, with Trump able to “pose” for the iconic photo of him raising his fist in the air. According to Kirk, this would mean that Trump’s “campaign and the Secret Service conspired to murder two people in a fake assassination attempt, just so Trump could have his picture taken.”
“Donald Trump should immediately charge her,” he added.
Reid also stated that “we still don’t know for sure whether Donald Trump was hit by a bullet,” citing earlier reports that he may have been hit by a shard of glass from a teleprompter.
Reid appeared to suggest that Trump’s shooting was staged so he could “pose” for an iconic photo of him surviving the assassination attempt
Conservative commentator Charlie Kirk led the criticism of Reid’s comments, when he called on MSNBC to “take Reid off the air” over her “outrageous, insane, libelous” theories.
After Reid had previously called the assassination attempt a “photo opportunity” on an earlier MSNBC broadcast, her X clip struck a similar tone, speculating that Trump’s Secret Service agents paused to allow Trump to pose for the cameras.
“We don’t know why Donald Trump was allowed to stand up for nine seconds during a shooting,” Reid said.
“Even though they said at that point that the shooter had been shot, how could they have known if there were more shooters or not? There could have been five shooters for all they knew.
‘Yet in the middle of that crisis they had him stand up, pose for a photo and wave his fists in the air so he could take the iconic photo.’
Conservative commentator Kenny Webster criticized Reid’s insinuation that the shooting was staged, comparing it to Alex Jones’ legal battle over his outrageous comments about Sandy Hook.
‘Alex Jones was fined $1.5 billion for his Sandy Hook comments. How is this any different? Joy Reid fined and MSNBC studio equipment seized,’ he said on X.
Reid’s comments come amid mounting criticism of the Secret Service’s failure to prevent the shooting and its decision to let Trump stand shortly after the shots were fired.
Trump said a bullet went through the upper part of his right ear and that he showed up at the RNC with a small bandage over the wound. However, Reid said she’s still not sure “what the actual damage is to Donald Trump’s ear that’s under that bandage?”
In her broadcast from the Republican Party convention, Reid also weighed in on the attempted assassination issue after it was revealed that Biden had tested positive for Covid.
She compared Biden, who recovered from the virus “in a matter of days,” to Trump, who stood up and raised his fist in the air seconds after being shot, saying they “are communicating the exact same thing.”
Reid’s comments about the shooting sparked outrage in conservative circles, with CPAC host Mercedes Schlapp even calling her “out of control.”
“Her comments are irresponsible and dangerous,” she said on X“She’s the ultimate conspiracy theorist.”
“Joy Reid should be fired,” another critic concluded. “MSNBC, you can never be taken seriously with this woman on the air.”
