MENTALIST OZ PEARLMAN’S career is built on the claim that he can pry secrets from your mind by reading body language cues. He can’t—but after Saturday’s assassination attempt on Donald Trump, he is the target of a conspiracy theory that believes his “powers” are real and were used to help stage the attack.
Depending on who you ask, the practice of “mentalism” is either an insidious con or a harmless entertainment.
Pioneered by Victorian vaudevillains like Anna Eva Fay and Claude Alexander Conlin, it differs from traditional magic in one crucial way: where a magician is open about using stagecraft, such as sleight of hand, a mentalist falsely claims to have special knowledge of the human mind and body language, expertise that allows them to perform feats of psychological manipulation, subtly influencing a subject’s behaviour while prying loose guarded secrets.
Trying to trick your audience into believing you have special abilities may be unethical according to magicians like Penn & Teller, because, unlike traditional magic, mentalism goes beyond the scope of the trick and aims to non-consensually distort people’s fundamental perception of reality, as psychics do when they claim to be able to speak with the dead.
Take Oz Pearlman, who follows in the footsteps of British counterpart Derren Brown by claiming he can “read people” to glean their thoughts, like in this viral clip where he revealed Joe Rogan’s ATM PIN live on Rogan’s podcast (it’s unclear how Pearlman carried off this seemingly impossible feat, but YouTuber Stevie Baskin reckons he may have asked Rogan to write his pin on a gimmicked notebook before the show, or hired a private detective to spy on Rogan—tactics reportedly used by mentalists in lieu of special mind powers):
Now Pearlman is at the centre of a growing conspiracy theory that he used his (fake) powers to help stage the assassination attempt of Donald Trump during the White House’s 2026 annual press banquet. And he may have only himself to blame.
Exhibit one: Here is video of Pearlman executing the prestige of a trick for a bemused Donald and Melania Trump, split seconds before the first shot was fired:
Exhibit two: In an interview with CNN days before he was scheduled to perform at the event, Pearlman was asked whether the president’s unpredictability would make it difficult for the mentalist to decipher his mind. Pearlman’s answer (emphasis mine):
“In fact, I think that there’s a lot of telegraphing of moves. So when you say unpredictable, I disagree vehemently. I think there’s a playbook that’s been played throughout that’s so easy to spot. And so I don’t believe what you just said whatsoever. I think it’s very easy to spot the patterns. And the more you study him and his actions, his behaviours, his mannerisms, I think are all going to play to my advantage in the room if I get the chance.”
Exhibit three: Check out these posts—some with thousands of likes and shares—from just a few of the countless X users who believe Pearlman somehow used his (fake) abilities to help stage the assassination attempt, possibly in cooperation with Israeli intelligence:
Question for the jury: Who is responsible for this conspiracy theory—the former Wall Street bro named after a pretend wizard, or his audience (be they unwitting marks or unscrupulous conspiracy influencers)?”
Shooting the Messenger 