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Ms. Merlan, Trump, Twitter, “QAnon”: Who do you blame for the scenes on Capitol Hill?
Oh, in the end it was a powder keg waiting to explode. Trump certainly pushed it, but if you did a little research, it was clear that a whole range of actors had tried to profit from the event beforehand. It’s tempting, of course, to blame Trump for all of this, but it’s not that simple.
A few days before the event and the subsequent assault on the Capitol, Trump expressed in a phone call with Georgia Interior Minister Brad Raffensperger, conspiracy theories about electoral manipulation, which also began in “Q” circles.
Of course, it fuels these conspiracy ideas. And not only that, it seems that he believes it too. Things that he captures on channels like One America News that are disinformation and then spread.
Do you really think the president believes these things and holds them true?
Of course I can’t know what he believes and what he doesn’t. I can’t look inside him. But that’s not the point either. I can only see what it says and the effect it has on people who are receptive to it, regardless of whether it is out of conviction or simply to collect donations. The effects remain the same.
Journalist and author Anna Merlan was born in Mexico City and now lives in Los Angeles. In his work he deals with subcultures and deals, among other things, with conspiracy theories.
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Image: Tod Seelie
Have conspiracy theories like “QAnon” reached critical mass?
Without a doubt, “QAnon” as a move has explosive power. The number of flags and logo shirts could not be overlooked. The worrying thing is that there is less and less of a single person acting as a savior. The basic ideology is increasingly moving toward a point of contact for white sensibilities. At first, it all came down to the idea that Donald Trump was doing a good job; that cleans in Washington and you stay home and wait. Now you have the feeling that looking is no longer enough.
In other words: you have to go out and fight yourself, is direct involvement increasingly important?
I agree. It was always clear that the movement has some potential for violence. This concern has been around for a long time. In 2018, a heavily armed man in Nevada blocked a bridge at Hoover Dam to raise awareness of a “QAnon” conspiracy theory. It was similar in the spring of California, where a man deliberately derailed a train to uncover an alleged coronavirus conspiracy. At the Capitol, what was worrying was the sheer number of people who were actually ready to enter. Although it must be said that they were not only the believers of “QAnon”, but also the extremists and militiamen.
Has susceptibility to such conspiracy theories changed significantly in the last four years under Trump? Or has it risen rapidly in the wake of the pandemic because everyone is locked in and connecting the wrong branches?
Conspiracy theories have long been an integral part of American politics. But the gap between the outermost fringe and the mainstream is much, much smaller today than it was then. I can’t tell if more people are receptive to it, but the potential to deal damage has increased as a result of this reduced distance. And as for Covid: after the pandemic, none of this will suddenly go away. Those who are firmly anchored in the movement did not take Covid seriously anyway and hardly changed their lives. Furthermore, “QAnon” did not become so well known because of the pandemic, but because President Trump’s political situation had deteriorated. You had to create a counter narrative that made it look good.
In the “QAnon” world, President Trump is seen as some kind of chosen one leading the deluded nation into the light. How is the intrusion of the Capitol rated among these “believers”?
