A strange conspiracy theory has surfaced after President Donald Trump was lightly bumped in the face by a reporter’s boom mic.
The incident occurred on Friday (March 14) while the 78-year-old President was answering questions at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.
As he spoke, the microphone—equipped with a fuzzy windscreen commonly referred to in the industry as a “dead cat”—brushed against his mouth and dragged across his face, causing him to instinctively lean back and close his eyes
Conspiracy Theories Circulate
Rather than chalking it up to an accidental slip, some social media users have speculated that the moment was intentional—even sinister.
While some users on X (formerly Twitter) criticized the Secret Service for not preventing what was essentially a light tap on the nose, others suspected foul play and demanded an immediate investigation.
“Was the microphone poisoned? Hitting Trump with the mic was done on purpose,” one X user wrote. “I hope secret service checks for mic being embedded with substances in the future and not allow such mics anymore close to him.”
Though the idea of a tainted microphone might seem far-fetched, plenty of others echoed similar concerns.
“The problem with this video is not that President Trump was “accidentally” hit in the face with a boom mic,” another added. This is a failure of the @SecretService to protect him. He handled it well, but that boom mic could’ve had poison (arsenic) on it.”
A third wrote: “Can you imagine hitting the face of President Trump with the MIC that can be laced with poison? The reporter needs to be investigated. This type of actions just give the Democrats an idea to kill Trump.”
Another tweeted: “This was 100% on person and to be honest, this enrages me. Also @POTUS what was on that mic… that could of been poison. They went for your mouth. Omg this makes me so mad. You fought for us and I’ll die for you.”
“The @SecretService should investigate the incident and test the mic for poisonous substances,” another wrote.
Others suggested the mic could have been tainted with “biological agents”, “fentanyl”, and “chemical solutions”.
Call For Reporter To Be ‘Arrested’
As expected, video footage of the incident quickly went viral, sparking a heated debate.
“That look after the incident,” one person tweeted, referring to Trump’s side-eye.
“Omg I bet the person holding the microphone was super embarrassed,” another wrote, with a third adding: “Her life will change forever after this unfortunate decision. She will find out that actions have consequences.”
Some, however, were convinced the act was deliberate, with a few even demanding the reporter’s arrest.
“She needs to be arrested! It was on purpose,” one X user wrote, with another agreeing: “Arrest her NOW”.
“That looked deliberate,” tweeted another, with one person adding: “That definitely was on purpose.”
Another concerned person tweeted: “Secret Service better tighten up. Why wouldn’t this be a possible dry run for something more serious… chemical to germ related?”
In reality, this was almost certainly just an unfortunate accident—but that hasn’t stopped the wild theories from spreading.