Social media users tore into satire outlet The Onion after it shared an X post making light of the assassination attempt on former President Trump that killed one person at his rally in Pennsylvania in July.
To mock Trump’s mid-debate statement that people don’t leave his rallies, the satire site joked that the former president was correct, stating, “They’re carried out in body bags. The line was a clear reference to the death of Pennsylvania firefighter Joey Comperatore, who was killed by the stray rounds that missed the former president at the fateful rally.
X users missed the humor of the post.
“Shame on you. This is evil,” prominent conservative activist Libs of TikTok wrote.
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Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention embracing the coat and helmet of former Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Department chief Corey Comperatore, who was killed at his rally in July. (REUTERS/Mike Segar)
The Onion’s Tuesday night post was a satirical fact check of an exchange that Vice President Kamala Harris and Trump had during the presidential debate over the former president’s rallies. At one point during the match-up, Harris resorted to taunting Trump by telling him that people leave his rallies early.
Trump disputed her jab, and countered by talking about how large the crowds at his rallies are.
The Onion capitalized on this back-and-forth with a satirical fact-check. Its account stated, “FACT CHECK TRUMP: ‘People don’t leave my rallies.’ TRUE: They’re carried out in body bags.”
In addition to Comperatore’s death, two other rallygoers were injured in the assassination attempt. Trump narrowly survived as a round from suspect Thomas Crooks’ AR-15 hit him in the ear, barely missing his skull.
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Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump, debates Democratic presidential nominee, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, for the first time during the presidential election campaign at The National Constitution Center on September 10, 2024, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Other X accounts condemned The Onion for making light of the tragedy to mock Trump.
MRCTV Managing Editor Brittany Hughes commented on the post, writing, “Mocking the dead firefighter with a loving family to own the cons. Classy.”
Conservative filmmaker and commentator Robby Starbuck told The Onion to “Delete this. People are grieving you evil ghouls.”
The Spectator contributing editor Stephen Miller posted a sarcastic response, stating, “It’s funny because an innocent person was shot and killed during an assassination attempt on Trump the intended target.”
Kyle Mann, the editor-in-chief of fellow satire site “The Babylon Bee,” replied to The Onion, stating, “See, the joke is a fireman got killed for supporting Trump. Get it?”
Conservative account “EducatëdHillbilly” asked, “Is this an assassination joke?”
The Onion did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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Gabriel Hays is an associate editor for Fox News Digital.
