Trump's comments on assassination attempt before Joe Rogan's conspiracy theory

Donald Trump shared his thoughts on his assassination attempt, with Joe Rogan believing there might have been a conspiracy behind the attempt.

During a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024, Trump was shot by a shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, who supposedly hit the 79-year-old in the ear. Crooks was killed by the Secret Service following the assassination attempt, but the fact that the 20-year-old was able to get within shooting distance of the president left Rogan unimpressed.

In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, Trump shared his thoughts on the incident during his appearance at the Republican National Convention. His speech lasted more than 10 minutes and touched on a variety of topics.

"... I started to, like this, turn to my right, and was ready to begin a little bit further, turn, which I'm very lucky I didn't do, when I heard a loud whizzing sound and felt something hit me really, really hard on my right ear," he stated, per NPR. "I said to myself, 'Wow, what was that? It can only be a bullet,' and moved my right hand to my ear, brought it down.

"My hand was covered with blood. It was just absolutely blood all over the place. I immediately knew it was very serious, that we were under attack. And in one movement, proceeded to drop to the ground. Bullets were continuing to fly. I was very brave. Secret Service agents rushed to the stage and they really did, they rushed to the stage."

He added: "The amazing thing is that prior to the shot, if I had not moved my head at that very last instant, the assassin's bullet would have perfectly hit its mark. And I would not be here tonight. We would not be together.

"I'm not supposed to be here tonight. Not supposed to be here. ... And I'll tell you. I stand before you in this arena only by the grace of Almighty God." That said, Rogan believed that not all the facts line up with Trump's story and the validity of the attempt.

"The more you read about it, the more you're, like, 'What is going on?'" Rogan told comedian and guest Sam Morril. "They knew that there was a suspicious person 10 minutes before Trump went on stage; they still let him go on stage. They saw him on the ------- roof and they didn't engage. They saw him on the roof with a rifle. They wouldn't put Secret Service agents on the roof because they said there was a slope to the roof, and it would be dangerous.

"Dude, it's so crazy, and the fact that they had such poor security guarding him. Like, they did such a terrible job." Rogan reiterated that he is not claiming the assassination attempt was staged, but rather that the government can do what it pleases.

"And when they organize assassinations, one of the things they like to do is have some ------- loser kill the president and then they kill the ------- loser, and that's a wrap. This kid kind of, like, stops all the leads," he continued.

In the same vein, Rogan questioned why the Secret Service elected not to detain or apprehend Crooks before he had a chance to shoot. That, in itself, raised red flags for the UFC commentator who noted that the government could specifically choose who it wants to carry out attacks.

"If I was some shadowy intelligence agency that did these, you know, undercover operations that are a little sketchy, I'd find kids like [the shooter]," Rogan posited. "That's your moneymaker. That's how you do it. If you've got a plan and you want to do something, you get some guy that's basically got nothing going on in life and then you know you mentor him, become friends with him.

"Maybe that guy's dad is an alcoholic who beats [him]. You know, maybe his mom is a ------- junkie. Who knows? Maybe his life is terrible, and you can provide mentorship and you can provide, you know, just camaraderie. Something [to make the potential shooter say], 'Wow, I wish I was a secret agent.'

"And then you tell this guy, you tell this kid, 'Hey, you could help America. We can work you into the program. You could be one of us.'"