Trump pushes antifa conspiracy in Buffalo case
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump sparked another uproar Tuesday with a morning tweet endorsing the baseless conspiracy theory that a 75-year-old protester in Buffalo, seen on video being pushed to the ground by police last week, could have been part of a setup coordinated by anti-fascist demonstrators.
Trump’s speculation — which originated on a conspiracy theory website and wasn’t supported by any evidence — came as the president already is struggling to manage both a deadly pandemic and racial unrest across the nation. The missive demoralized some aides and allies, who were frustrated, if not particularly surprised, by Trump’s latest incendiary suggestion.
Worried that the president’s handling of the protests is hurting him politically, White House officials have been deliberating whether to have Trump deliver a speech as early as the end of this week confronting the current moment of national turmoil, and they largely have viewed his tweet as an unhelpful distraction.
One of the officials said that, ideally, Trump won’t make a speech until the White House has settled on clear policy preferences or a broad framework to address the concerns of the protesters and Trump’s law-and-order agenda. Any legislative solutions probably would be driven by the Republican-controlled Senate, the official added.
Twitter, which recently has taken a more aggressive stance in policing the truth of Trump’s tweets, said this one hadn’t violated its policies because it was “speculative.”
Two Buffalo police officers have been charged with assault in the episode after footage showed them shoving Martin Gugino to the ground and blood pooling on the sidewalk below his head. Gugino has been transferred out of intensive care but remains hospitalized.
“I watched, he fell harder than was pushed,” Trump said in his tweet. “Was aiming scanner. Could be a set up?”
Trump cited a report by One America News Network, a tiny conservative cable outlet that reported on speculation appearing on a blog called the Conservative Treehouse.
A post on the blog suggests Gugino appeared to be using a police scanner on his phone, which it said is a common tactic of antifa, the loosely organized anti-fascist movement Trump has blamed for violence at protests of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis police custody.
Trump said Gugino “could be an ANTIFA provocateur,” writing that he was “pushed away after appearing to scan police communications in order to black out the equipment.”
Kelly Zarcone, a lawyer for Gugino, said Trump’s characterization has no basis in fact and questioned the president’s motives.
“Martin has always been a peaceful protester because he cares about today’s society,” she said in a statement. “He is also a typical Western New Yorker who loves his family. No one from law enforcement has suggested otherwise so we’re at a loss to understand why the president of the
United States would make such a dark, dangerous and untrue accusation against him.”
The White House didn’t respond to requests for an on-therecord comment. But one White House official privately defended Trump, saying his tweet only said Gugino “could be” an antifa protester and that some of Gugino’s social media posts seem sympathetic to that cause.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, called Trump “cruel & reckless” for his latest postings.
“The president is tweeting conspiracy theories about the Buffalo incident based on no evidence, no proof,” Cuomo tweeted. “Was the blood coming out of his head staged? Were our eyes lying to us? No. The man is still in the hospital & the president is disparaging him.”