Washington Post takes heat for story fretting pro-Trump billionaires shaped 'shooting narrative'

'This is not a narrative. It is the truth,' Craft Ventures executive David Sacks wrote in a post slamming the paper

RNC begins following Trump assassination attempt at Pennsylvania rally

Fox News' CB Cotton reports the latest on the investigation into Trump's assassination attempt. The 'Outnumbered' panel discussed the latest on the attack as the RNC begins in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 

The Washington Post is taking heat for a story that said "pro-Trump billionaires have helped shape shooting narrative," following the attempted assassination of former President Trump.

"The right-leaning business community on X, including Elon Musk and hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman, used their megaphones to endorse Trump and fuel storylines about Saturday’s attack," the Washington Post report said.

Trump was nearly assassinated on Saturday after a bullet grazed his ear during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The WaPo story also named David Sacks and Shaun Maguire, venture capitalists, who slammed the report on social media.

"I’m not sure what ‘narratives’ they’re referring to, but I know what I saw, and I know what the crowd in Butler witnessed live," Craft Ventures executive Sacks wrote in a lengthy X post.

The assassination attempt against Donald Trump and a Washington Post headline

The Washington Post reported on Sunday that pro-Trump billionaires helped shaped the "shooting narrative." ((Photo by Rebecca DROKE / AFP) (Photo by REBECCA DROKE/AFP via Getty Images)/Screenshot/WashingtonPost)

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"This is not a ‘narrative.’ It is the truth. Trump stood defiant in the face of an assassin’s bullet. There is no way to fake courage like that," he added.

Sequoia founder Shaun Maguire also criticized the report with, "AKA ‘Elon, Sacks, Ackman etc are combating our lies with the truth and we don’t like it. Please stop.'"

Musk responded to Sacks' post as well. 

"ONE HUNDRED PERCENT," he wrote, agreeing with Sacks' criticisms. 

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Trump Sacks Biden

Donald Trump, David Sacks, Joe Biden

The Washington Post did not respond to a request for comment.

Sacks, a prominent Silicon Valley Trump supporter, will be speaking at the Republican National Convention this week. He held a fundraiser for the former president at his home last month.

Trump has also received support and endorsements from Musk and other mega-wealthy Americans after his Manhattan criminal trial where he was found guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. 

"I just donated $300k to Trump. I’m prepared to lose friends," Maguire wrote on X in May.

Musk also signaled his support for Trump at the time and gave his full endorsement Saturday after the attempt on the former president's life.

"I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery," Musk wrote on X.

Hanna Panreck is an associate editor at Fox News.

Authored by Hanna Panreck,Kristine Parks via FoxNews July 15th 2024