Brian Kilmeade had a sharp response Monday to the online theory that Saturday’s assassination attempt against President Donald Trump was “staged” to boost his approval ratings.
The claim surfaced after the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner incident at the Washington Hilton. Trump was targeted during one of Washington’s biggest media and politics events, and the internet reacted fast. By Sunday, the word “staged” had reportedly become a major topic on X, with more than 300,000 posts by midday.
Kilmeade addressed the theory directly on ‘Fox & Friends.’ He said he was glad Trump had started giving the public more information, even if that did not stop conspiracy chatter from spreading. “I love the fact the president started giving the facts out. It doesn’t stop the conspiracy theories, but hopefully it squelches them,” Kilmeade said.
Then he repeated the claim he had been hearing online. “All of a sudden I’m hearing, ‘Well the whole thing is, was it staged? Was it staged so the president’s approval ratings can go up?’”
Co-host Lawrence Jones cut in with his reaction: “It’s unbelievable.”
Kilmeade went further. “It’s insane,” he said. “Nothing could possibly have been staged.”
Fox Hosts Said Security Has To Change
The segment quickly moved from conspiracy talk to security concerns around Trump and other federal officials.
Jones argued that the country needs a better plan for protecting presidents and cabinet members at events outside federal buildings. The White House ballroom, he said, still needs to be built, but that would not solve every issue.
“Every single event that the president or cabinet members are gonna be [at] are not gonna be government events,” Jones said.
He pointed to the Correspondents’ Association dinner as an example because it is run by a private organization.
“Can we only protect federal buildings at this point?” Jones asked. “What a disgrace as a country. I mean, we just got to do better.”
Ainsley Earhardt Compared It To Airport Security
Ainsley Earhardt also weighed in, arguing that stronger security may inconvenience people, but the stakes are too high to dismiss.
“I mean, you have these crazy people, and you have to protect our president against this,” she said.
She compared possible security upgrades to the airport restrictions Americans still deal with after the September 11 attacks. Small liquids. Ziploc bags. Hairspray limits. Longer waits. Annoying, yes. Familiar to every traveler, also yes.
“All that stuff just to make sure we’re safe on the airplanes, and is it a pain in the rear end? Yes, but is it worth it? Yes,” Earhardt said.
The Fox panel’s message was clear. They saw the “staged for approval ratings” claim as absurd. The security problem, they argued, needs serious attention.
