President Donald Trump never takes any responsibility for any of his actions, and, as usual, he’s blaming the Biden administration again — something he does weekly over some issue or another — for the shooting of two West Virginia National Guard members in Washington, D.C., Wednesday afternoon.
However, he didn’t get away with it and was brutally fact-checked by CNN in an epic takedown.
But it’s his comments later and those of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that have the internet up in arms, speculating that Trump plans to use the tragedy for his own personal and sinister scheme.
The president wasted no time in addressing the nation just hours after the shooting that critically injured the two Guard members, calling it “a monstrous ambush-style attack.”
“This heinous assault was an act of evil, an act of hatred, and an act of terror. It was a crime against our entire nation. It was a crime against humanity,” Trump raged in his speech.
He also bashed former President Joe Biden, claiming that Biden let the suspect, identified as 29-year-old Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, into the U.S.
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The suspect, who was shot four times, according to news reports, came into the U.S. under the Operation Allies Welcome program during the summer of 2021 under the Biden administration as the U.S. was pulling out of Afghanistan. He settled in Washington state and applied for asylum in December 2024.
But here’s the rub. Lakanwal was actually approved for asylum and allowed to stay in the country in April of this year under Trump, according to CNN.
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The program was an effort to help and protect Afghans who were either vulnerable as the Taliban regained control of the country or had helped the U.S. military during the decades-long war which began after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the U.S. in 2001.
And NBC is reporting, according to relatives, that Lakanwal, an Afghan Army veteran, did in fact serve with American troops in Afghanistan at a base in Kandahar.
Trump wasted no time in ordering the deployment of 500 more National Guard troops to Washington, Hegseth announced, and that sent social media spiraling down a conspiracy rabbit hole.
“Is this a set up by Trump? To call a national emergency?” this Threads user speculated.
Another chimed in guessing, “Trump has no respect for the military so I think it’s a modus operation by the government. Then he can declare martial law.”
“Wow, that makes it worse!” said one user who learned that the suspect served alongside U.S. troops.
Threads user Eric Gipson used a video clip of Hegseth talking to reporters about the shooting to make the point that Trump is using the incident as justification for sending more U.S. troops into American cities.
“We will secure our Capitol. We will secure our cities,” Hegseth, a former Fox News weekend anchor, proclaimed while also insisting there’s been a significant drop in crime in the nation’s capital since the Guard was deployed there in September.
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Gipson pointed out, “Here’s the first piece of evidence folks. Note two things.1) The massive overreaction and immediate politicization of the ‘shooting’.2) Using this as a pretext to go into ‘other cities’ not involved in any way. Both of these are tell tail signs of a false flag.”
“Trump could’ve said no get out [about Lakanwal] but instead he approved it now the illegal National Guard they’re there for no reason pay the price, Trump is poison. Putin and Epstein Are his kryptonite,” this Threads user commented.
Trump sent troops into Los Angeles in June in response to demonstrations against his draconian immigration enforcement actions against mostly Hispanic people in the L.A. region.
He‘s also tried to send federal troops into Portland, Chicago, and Memphis, but court rulings have either stayed the deployments or blocked them.
And Trump made the false claim this week on Nov. 25 that there have been no murders in Washington in months.
The Metropolitan Police Department reports crime was already decreasing in the nation’s capital before Trump sent in federalized troops, with homicides down by 29 percent compared against last year and total violent crimes down by 28 percent. And news outlets are reporting that MPD counts 62 homicides since May in Washington, including one last week.