MS NOW hosts call out left-wing false flag claims about WHCD shooting

MS NOW hosts called out “disturbing” conspiracy theories spread by left-wing commentators who claimed the White House Correspondents’ Dinner attack was a “false flag.”

“One of the things that bothered me when I woke up this morning was that people on the internet were saying that this was a fake sign, that in fact we were all acting together to say this was staged,” MS NOW host Eugene Daniels said on “The Weekend.”

He continued, “And I think for all of us in the room, having to jump on the floor, having to text our family and friends and tell them we’re okay, calling our mothers like so many people in this country have been doing for decades, it’s frustrating and troubling to see people saying those kinds of things, and it shows that there are problems in this country that we need to try and fix.”

WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS’ IDENTITY OF THE SUSPECT IN THE DINNER SHOOTING HAS BEEN RELEASED, THE FBI HAS TAKEN HIS HOME IN CALIFORNIA IN ESCROW.

Daniels, the former White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) president, mentioned that gunshots were heard at the annual media event, which was President Donald Trump’s first appearance in either of his presidencies. Before the event began, Trump, First Lady Melania Trump and several administration officials were escorted out and the dinner was abruptly halted.

As details of the incident emerged, some far-left commentators, including Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, suggested that the attack was pre-planned.

“[S]They yell at whcd and all these cultists INSTANTLY start talking about Trump’s ballroom,” Piker wrote to x.

“Trump is fine after another alleged assassination attempt and demands: ‘LET THE SHOW CONTINUE’. ‘SHOW’?” former MSNBC host Katie Phang wrote on BlueSky.

“Simply put…If you believe last night’s nonsense…If you accept this utterly ridiculous story and ignore the 27 crazy and incomprehensible inconsistencies…You are stupid, stupid, STUPID,” he writes. Don Winslow wrote.

AFTER EYEWITNESS DESCRIBED THE ‘TERRIBLE’ SCENE, TRUMP WAS PRAISED FOR ‘THE STRENGTH’

U.S. First Lady Melania Trump and U.S. President Donald Trump attend the White House Correspondents’ dinner at the Washington Hilton in Washington, DC on April 25, 2026. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

Daniels denied the attack was fake and emphasized the importance of journalists working to keep the public informed about updating details.

Fellow MS NOW host Jonathan Capehart claimed that most “fake sign” claims generally come from the “MAGA world” but noted that he’s seeing more conspiracy theories about the shooting on left-wing social media accounts.

FORMER NYPD INSPECTOR WARNES SOCIAL MEDIA POSSIBLY HELPING POLITICAL VIOLENCE ‘METASTAX’ WHCD FEAR

“I’m also hearing from my social media pages from people on the left who think this was staged, that this was a misleading sign, that this was something that was done on purpose. And Eugene, hearing you speak, if it’s coming from the right and the left, these conspiracy theories tell me there’s a sense of lack of trust in this country,” Capehart said.

MS NOW hosts Eugene Daniels and Jonathan Capehart called out conspiracy theorists who claim the WHCD attacks are fake. (Mandel NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Fox News Digital has reached out to WHCA and the White House for comment.

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Authorities identified the suspect as 31-year-old Cole Allen of Torrance, California, adding that he created a manifesto outlining his intentions and shared anti-Trump and anti-Christian rhetoric on social media. Senior federal law enforcement sources confirmed to Fox News that he planned to target Trump administration officials at the event.

Fox News’ Amanda Macias contributed to this report.