Drag icon Jinkx Monsoon appears to have struck a chord with a posting she made regarding the assassination attempt on Donald Trump.

Armed with an AR-15, a shooter took aim at Trump on Saturday evening while he was on stage at a rally in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. The former President appeared to narrowly avoid death, sustaining an injury only to his upper ear.

Security officials bundled Trump from the podium but allowed him time to stand clear and pump his fist in the air. The shooter, later identified by the FBI as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was shot and killed within moments of the attack.

An audience member attending the rally was also killed during the incident.

The assassination attempt shocked America and the wider world. Lawmakers from across the political spectrum, including President Joe Biden, have condemned all forms of “political violence”.

“This is horrible. All of it.”

Monsoon does not support the violence against Trump. However, the former Drag Race winner said she was astounded that it takes someone shooting at Trump to wake up to the threat of gun violence or to find some compassion for the victims of violent crime.

“To be very clear: I don’t expect anyone to be happy about all this. This is horrible. All of it,” she wrote on Instagram.

“I just don’t get what you’re getting out of sucking up to them now? I don’t know why *that should redirect your moral compass.

“I’m not upset to see people abhorring violence. I’m upset that they’re volunteering these feelings *now. Where were you when we were being *murdered? Where are you now as we continue to be murdered?

“Posting sympathies to an ear and a bunch of n*zis. That’s where.”

The post has been liked 130,000 times in less than 24 hours — which is higher than anything else Monsoon has posted in recent months. Monsoon turned off comments beneath the post.

Queer scapegoats

In another posting from yesterday, Monsoon said she had noted an increase in violence toward queer people recently. She linked it to increased attacks against the LGBTQ+ community by lawmakers. Monsoon suggests that political violence is not just violence leveled at politicians, but emboldened by them toward more marginalized groups.

“I’m seeing people sending sympathy for someone who hasn’t shown an ounce of sympathy for ANYONE except n*zis,” she added. “Also, who asked you to post? Do you post every time a queer or trans person is found dead in increasing numbers? No? But this felt important to post about? Cool. We’re dying, but keep showing sympathy for a man responsible for our deaths. Thanks, ‘allies’.”

(Screenshot)

Monsoon won the fifth series of RuPaul’s Drag Race in 2015. Since then, alongside regular cabaret appearances, she has carved out a career as an actress. She performed on Broadway in Chicago (the first drag queen to take on the role of Mama Morton) and more recently Little Shop of Horrors. Last year she performed in drag as a villain in the long-running sci-fi show Doctor Who.

Following Saturday’s assassination attempt, Donald Trump made his first public appearance yesterday at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. He arrived in the room with a large bandage on his ear. He used the opportunity to announce his Vice Presidential pick as Ohio Senator JD Vance.

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