The situation was broadcast live as it happened in Pennsylvania on Saturday, but not everyone believes their eyes and ears.
Students for Justice in Palestine at the University of California, San Diego, for instance, say the whole thing was set up to take the public's attention off what is happening overseas.
![Lamb, Matt (The College Fix)](/media/yskf45x5/matt_lamb.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=85&height=125&rnd=133670691198070000&format=png)
"Their theory was that it was staged to distract from a military strike in Gaza by the Israeli Air Force," reports Matt Lamb, associate editor of The College Fix.
The anti-Israel students are not the only ones making that claim, as Lamb's news site has documented a handful of academics who are also suggesting the assassination attempt was staged.
But in addition to that obviously being untrue, he says it does not even make sense.
"There was a real person who really tried to kill Trump," Lamb states. "It doesn't even make sense why Trump would stage an assassination attempt to distract from the Israeli military attacking Gaza, so the whole theory is bunk."
In response to the allegations and the shared grief that Trump did not die on Saturday, Lamb says, "It's quite disgusting, and these people and groups need to frankly just keep their mouths shut for a few days."