Trump Peddles Pelosi Attack Conspiracy — And Has Been Saying Worse in Private
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“If there’s even a little truth to what’s being said, it’s crazy.”
Former President Donald Trump promoted baseless claims about the attack against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband Paul Pelosi in an interview with conservative radio host Chris Stigall. Trump told Stigall on Tuesday that “weird things going on in that household,” and repeated the unfounded idea that a window in the Pelosi home was “broken from the inside to the out. It wasn’t a break-in, it was a break-out.”
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Trump also falsely suggested that Pelosi may have known the intruder, replying “Yeah, yeah, it’s a lot of bad stuff” when Stigall said the 911 call indicated they may have had a relationship.
Trump’s Tuesday morning comments weren’t the first time the ex-president flirted with groundless conspiracy theories regarding the hammer attack. Since this past weekend, Trump has credulously gossiped with some people close to him about an assortment of Paul Pelosi-related rumors and so-called theories, including that the attack was “fake” and a false-flag to change the subject before the critical 2022 midterms, according to a source with knowledge of the matter.
Conspiracy theories and mockery of the attack on Pelosi were heavily promoted by prominent conservative pundits, including Donald Trump Jr., Rep. Clay Higgins, and the hosts of Fox News’ Fox & Friends. The hashtag “PelosiGayLover” trended after newly christened Twitter owner Elon Musk posted a link to an article from the Santa Monica Observer, a notorious right-wing rag known for peddling false information, claiming the attacker was actually Pelosi’s same-sex lover. There’s nothing to substantiate the claim, but that has not stopped Trump from privately inquiring in the past few days about the viral gay-lover conspiracy theory, the source tells Rolling Stone.
Trump’s assertion that the broken glass at the Pelosi’s home indicates someone was trying to “break out” is easily debunked. Fans of crime dramas may be shocked to learn that forensic glass analysis is a little more complex than “glass inside” or “glass outside.” According to an affidavit released by San Francisco investigators, the glass on the Pelosis’ home was apparently laminated, making it more difficult to shatter. Alleged attacker David DePape told investigators that breaking through the door was a “difficult task that required the use of a hammer,” as the glass was designed to not easily break.
The former president’s penchant for indulging bigoted conspiracy theories and unfounded false-flag rumors was a hallmark of his career and his presidency. Almost immediately after the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol riot occurred, the then-president began asking other government officials to look into false claims that antifa covertly instigated violence that day to make Trump and his anti-democratic supporters look bad, The Daily Beast reported at the time.
Pelosi was attacked in his home early Friday morning by the 42-year old DePape, who told authorities he intended to kidnap and potentially harm Speaker Pelosi. The speaker was not home at the time of the attack, resulting in a protracted confrontation between Paul Pelosi and DePape, who ultimately attacked Pelosi with a hammer. According to a statement released by the speaker’s office, Pelosi underwent surgery to “repair a skull fracture and serious injuries to his right arm and hands,” and that his “doctors expect a full recovery.”
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