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Apparently, Hollywood\u2019s favorite \u201cvoice of God\u201d and the high priestess of academic fiction have decided to spend their golden years moonlighting as amateur conspiracy theorists.<\/p>\n
Over the weekend, Oscar winner Morgan Freeman and celebrated author Joyce Carol Oates decided to dust off one of the Left\u2019s most desperate fever dreams: the claim that the 2024 assassination attempt on Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, was a theatrical production.<\/p>\n
Freeman, whose authoritative baritone usually lends gravitas to nature documentaries, took to X to drop a baseless bombshell, claiming Trump \u201cpersonally shut down the investigation into his staged assassination attempt.\u201d Not to be outdone in the department of creative writing, Oates suggested that Trump is actually \u201cembarrassed\u201d by the \u201cstaginess\u201d of the event, positing that it was \u201cstaged but not rehearsed,\u201d resulting in an \u201cawkward, amateurish\u201d performance.<\/p>\n
\n(to his credit, T***p has kept very quiet about the “assassination attempt” in Butler PA. likely, he is embarrassed about its staginess & doesn’t want to draw any more attention to it. among numerous theories is the theory that it was “staged” but not rehearsed & much went\u2026 https:\/\/t.co\/IKZGPJN2K5<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 Joyce Carol Oates (@JoyceCarolOates) April 18, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
There\u2019s just one problem for the conspiracy crowd: the facts.<\/strong>\u00a0Contrary to Freeman\u2019s social media fiction, the investigation wasn\u2019t \u201cshut down\u201d\u2014it was completed with a mountain of bipartisan evidence. The\u00a0House Task Force, chaired by Rep. Mike Kelly, released its final report in December 2024, meticulously documenting the security failures that allowed the shooter to take his position. In July 2025, a\u00a0Senate report\u00a0led by Rand Paul further slammed the Secret Service for \u201cdisturbing mismanagement.\u201d Even the FBI\u2019s criminal probe confirmed Thomas Matthew Crooks acted alone, a reality backed by the tragic, documented death of Corey Comperatore and the critical injuries of two others.<\/p>\n
This isn\u2019t the first time Oates has played detective from her ivory tower. Back in July 2025, she was already dissecting the \u201chokey publicity shot\u201d of a bloodied Trump raising his fist, marveling at how anyone in their \u201cright mind\u201d would stand up after being shot. She wrote:<\/p>\n
\nit seemed rehearsed, the positioning of officers to allow a hokey publicity shot of T***p with a fist raised for a MAGA poster. the call \u201cshooter down!\u201d certainly came quickly; how could anyone possibly know that there wasn\u2019t a second shooter? Secret Service would surely be more thorough. \u2026 impossible to believe that in the confusion & panic of that moment anyone in his right mind would wish to stand up & face another bullet.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\nimpossible to believe that in the confusion & panic of that moment anyone in his right mind would wish to stand up & face another bullet.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Joyce Carol Oates (@JoyceCarolOates) July 14, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
The pedigree of these two critics is undeniable. Freeman has an Oscar for\u00a0Million Dollar Baby<\/em>; Oates is a perennial Pulitzer finalist. Yet, they seem trapped in a 2016-era loop of hysteria. Oates has been sounding the alarm for years, comparing Trump\u2019s rise to Nazi Germany, while Freeman recently told<\/a> MSNBC that Trump is leading the country \u201cdown a sh*thole.\u201d<\/p>\n
It appears that for the elite echelons of the arts, no fact is too stubborn to be twisted into a narrative of conspiratorial malice.<\/p>\n
When the \u201cvoice of God\u201d and a literary legend start sounding like fringe Redditors\u2014ignoring bipartisan congressional reports just to keep a narrative alive\u2014it\u2019s clear that Trump Derangement Syndrome remains the most persistent pandemic in Hollywood.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n