Trump's New Lie: Assassination Attempt Was A Democratic Plot Against Him
Dehumanizing Rhetoric
How They Deceive You
Propaganda
The piece prioritizes dehumanizing insults and upfront declarations of falsehood over evidence or balanced sourcing.
Main Device
Dehumanizing Rhetoric
Repeated scatological and dehumanizing language frames the subject as deranged before any substantive analysis.
Archetype
Anti-Trump partisan polemicist
Portrays Trump as inherently deceitful and unstable while treating opposing claims as self-evidently true.
Declares the claim a lie in the headline and lead, then attacks the speaker with insults while citing only one narrow source.
Writer's Worldview
“Anti-Trump partisan polemicist”
3 findings
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Narrative Analysis
This Crooks and Liars post functions primarily as opinionated commentary that labels Trump's claim a "lie" upfront rather than testing it against available records.
The piece relies on rhetorical framing and selective sourcing to reach its conclusion.
Key Findings
- Emotional language substitutes for evidence. The article repeatedly uses visceral terms such as "vomits up lie after lie," "hyperbolic sewage," and "panties are in a bunch" to characterize Trump's statements. This approach invites readers to reject the claim through disgust rather than by weighing specific facts about the Butler investigation or Thomas Crooks' communications.
- Premature classification in the headline and lead. The title calls the allegation "Trump's New Lie" and the opening paragraph labels the post "lie-filled" before any testimony or documents are presented. The only concrete evidence supplied is a single line from Kash Patel's congressional testimony stating no evidence was found of Crooks contacting anyone besides his parents.
- Narrow sourcing without context. The article quotes Patel's statement directly but provides no additional testimony from the same hearing, FBI updates, or records on the cremation detail mentioned in the New York Post reference. Readers receive no indication of what the full hearing record showed or whether other witnesses addressed coordination questions.
What the Article Does Well
It accurately reports Patel's testimony on the absence of documented contacts by Crooks. That quotation stands as a verifiable data point from the congressional record.
Source and Format Context
The piece appears on Crooks and Liars, a site that publishes daily commentary from a consistent editorial perspective. The author, John Amato, writes in a style typical of the outlet's opinion sections rather than straight news reporting.
Bottom Line
The article supplies one piece of testimony and then applies heavy rhetorical pressure to close the case. Readers interested in the underlying allegation receive little detail on the scope of the investigations that have been conducted or the specific records examined. The result is a clear expression of viewpoint that does not attempt to separate factual rebuttal from stylistic dismissal.
Neutral Rewrite
Here's how this article reads with loaded language removed and missing context included.
Trump Claims Assassination Attempt Involved Democratic Plot
Former President Donald Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that the July 2024 assassination attempt against him was a "Democrat Plot, to get me out of the Election." The statement came amid reports of low poll numbers and public opinion on other administration actions.
Trump's post followed a New York Post article describing an anonymous donor who covered the cost of cremating the body of Thomas Crooks, the individual identified by authorities as the shooter in the Butler, Pennsylvania, incident. The article did not link the donor to any political party or organization.
In the post, Trump called for former FBI Director Christopher Wray to face consequences over what he described as a cover-up of the plot. No specific evidence was presented in the statement.
During a congressional hearing, Kash Patel, a former Trump administration official, testified about the Butler investigation. "We found no evidence that that individual was literally even speaking to any other human being other than his parents, who he resided with," Patel said. The testimony addressed communications records reviewed by investigators.
Attorney General Todd Blanche, when asked about the claim, did not address the allegation directly and instead described his own concerns regarding the matter. The Department of Justice has not released additional findings on external involvement in the attempt beyond the initial lone-actor assessment.
Investigations into the shooting remain under review by multiple agencies, with public updates limited to congressional testimony and official statements.
Investigation Log · 26 steps
Starting investigation...
Investigating Crooks and Liars
Investigating John Amato
Searching for "Trump Truth Social post "Democrat Plot" assassination attempt Butler"
Verify if Trump claimed the assassination attempt was a Democratic plot
Searching for "Kash Patel testimony Butler assassination attempt "no evidence" Crooks"
Verify Kash Patel's exact testimony on the Butler shooter
Searching for "NY Post article Thomas Crooks body cremation anonymous donor"
Check if NY Post ran story on Crooks cremation that Trump referenced
Searching for ""AllSides" OR "Media Bias Fact Check" "Crooks and Liars" bias rating"
Determine political bias of Crooks and Liars
Emotional Manipulation
Uses repeated dehumanizing and scatological language: "vomits up lie after lie", "hyperbolic sewage from a demented man with a Bromhidrosis problem", "panties are in a bunch", "Toadie"
Replaces factual rebuttal with visceral disgust to make readers reject Trump's claim on emotional grounds rather than evidence
Framing
Title and lead declare Trump's claim a "lie" and "insanity" before presenting any evidence beyond one quote
Prematurely categorizes a contested allegation as proven false, signaling conclusion rather than reporting facts
Source Credibility
Cites only Kash Patel's testimony that "no evidence" existed of Crooks contacting others, while ignoring broader context of ongoing investigations or other testimony
Creates impression of definitive debunking from a single source without noting limitations of that testimony
Writing analysis narrative
Writing verdict summary
Writing neutral rewrite
Investigation complete. Preparing report...
Analysis narrative ready
Neutral rewrite ready
**Investigation complete.** The article from Crooks and Liars (left-leaning outlet) uses heavy emotional manipulation and premature labeling rather than evidence-based reporting. Key findings: dehumanizing rhetoric ("vomits up lie after lie," "hyperbolic sewage from a demented man"), title/lead declaring the claim a "lie" upfront, and reliance on a single narrow quote from Kash Patel without broader context. Verdict: F (propaganda grade), main device = Dehumanizing Rhetoric, archetype = Anti-Trump partisan polemicist.
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