A woke CBS reporter has claimed that he got post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after the attempt on President Trump’s life in Butler, Pennsylvania, in 2024, saying in an interview that his diagnosis stemmed from the behavior of Trump’s supporters.
For background, on July 16, 2025, CBS correspondent Scott MacFarlane told interviewer Chuck Todd that he was diagnosed with PTSD “within 48 hours” of the attempted assassination of President Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024. However, MacFarlane clarified that his diagnosis stemmed not from the tragic death of retired firefighter Corey Comperatore, nor from the president being nearly killed.
Speaking to Chuck Todd, MacFarlane said that for those attending the rally, “It was such a horror because you saw an emerging America.” Continuing, MacFarlane said that the event was not a “horror” because of the shooting, saying, “I got diagnosed with PTSD in 48 hours. I got put on trauma leave, not because I think of the shooting, but because you…saw it in the eyes, the reaction of the people.”
MacFarlane went on to say that he had been traumatized by the Trump supporters because, based on how they looked, he knew “they were coming for us.” Meanwhile, Todd nodded along, saying, “I know.” MacFarlane continued, “If he didn’t jump up with his fist, they were going to come kill us.”
After a clip from MacFarlane’s interview with Todd went viral online, conservatives mocked him for his tone-deafness. Matt Walsh wrote on X, “There have always been pathetic weaklings like Scott MacFarlane in the world. But they at least used to have the decency to be ashamed of themselves for it.” Walsh added, “Now they stand up and proudly declare, ‘Hey, everyone, I’m a pathetic weakling!’ It’s bizarre.”
In response to Walsh’s post, commenters speculated that MacFarlane may not have been entirely honest about his diagnosis. The account The Voice of the Signal wrote, “He’s lying. I cannot believe he really got PTSD from the crowds being upset; if he did, let’s see the receipt. Just an opportunity to try to tarnish our movement.” The account added, “But it’s so pathetic and preposterous, it won’t work.”
Moreover, in a savage rebuke of MacFarlane, Jeffrey Clark, Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), wrote on X, “Scott MacFarlane is the biggest crybaby I’ve ever heard tell of.” He continued, “He got PTSD after the Butler PA assassination attempt on Donald Trump, because people in the crowd gave him some stray dirty looks?! Give me a break.”
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Continuing, Clark told MacFarlane to “Grow a pair,” adding, “Instead, try on for size the mainstream media trying to constantly destroy you — as they did to me — for four years and counting, getting death threats, having people come to your house, receiving threatening letters and voicemails, having to fear for the safety of your family.”
Watch a clip from MacFarlane’s interview:
Featured image credit: video screengrab