Donald Trump has silently supported QAnon, a baseless right-wing conspiracy theory identified by the FBI as a potential domestic terrorism threat, and claims that his followers ‘love our country’ and ‘love me very much’.
Followers of the QAnon movement believe without proof that Trump is fighting a satanic “deep state” of global elites involved in pedophilia, human trafficking and the harvesting of an acceptable life-saving chemical from the blood of abused children.
Still asked about the theory at Wednesday’s press release, the US president failed to condemn it. “I do not know much about the movement other than I understand that they like me very much, which I appreciate,” he said. “I’ve heard it’s gaining in popularity.”
QAnon supporters share Trump’s concerns about rising crime in democratically-led cities, the president went on to say. “These are people who do not like what is happening in places like Portland and places like Chicago and New York and other cities and states. I’ve heard that these are people who love our country and just do not like to see them. ‘
A reporter followed up, pointing out that QAnon supporters believe that Trump “secretly saves the world from this satanic cult of pedophiles and cannibals.” The president replied flippantly: ‘I have not heard that, but is that meant to be a good thing or a bad thing?
‘If I can help save the world from problems, then I’m ready to do it, then I’m ready to put myself out there, and that’s who we really are. We save the world from a radical leftist philosophy that will destroy this country, and when this country is gone the rest of the world will follow. “
The evasive remarks and implicit support recall Trump’s reaction last week when he praised the author of a magazine article pushing for the equally unpredictable idea that Senator Kamala Harris, a woman of color born in California, may not be suitable for it. vice presidency.
His latest comments were greeted with cheers within QAnon communities online, including leftover Facebook groups scrambling to deal with a crackdown announced by the platform on Wednesday. QAnon followers have long waited for Trump’s recognition and will likely see it as confirmation of their worldview.
Brian Friedberg, a senior researcher at Shvardstein Center for Harvard, Harics, on politics and public policy, who has been following QAnon closely for years, said: ‘This moment was an imperishable one. The only real hope now is for a large group of Republicans with power – and with power among Republicans – to get out of here despite what Trump said today. ”
But Trump’s remarks also deserve fierce condemnation. Tommy Vietor, a former spokesman for Barack Obama’s National Security Council, tweeted: “This QAnon response is a fucking disgrace. It’s a death cult. The FBI identified QAnon as a violent threat to domestic terrorism and Trump pretends not to know what it is, while he absolutely encourages them and encourages more foolish behavior. “
QAnon was identified as a potential threat of domestic terrorism by the FBI last year and has been linked to several attempts at violence. However, last week Trump praised Marjorie Taylor Greene, a QAnon supporter who won the Republican nomination in Georgia’s 14th Congress District, and described her as a “future Republican Star.”
Joan Donovan, research director at the Shorenstein Center, said: “People need to realize that QAnon is not just this foreign conspiracy theory about child abuse and Satanism. It’s incredibly anti-Semitic … It’s driven by tropics about Jewish people and the story of the one world government. ‘
