White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows dismissed questions on Sunday about President Donald Trump’s embrace of QAnon days after the president said followers of the conspiracy theory “love our country.”
“We do not even know what it is,” Meadows told Fox News Sunday after host Chris Wallace asked if President QAnon would dismiss what the FBI has called a potential threat to domestic terrorists.
“It’s not a central part of what the president is talking about,” he added. “I do not even know a thing about it. I do not even know if it is credible.”
“If it’s a hate group, I can tell you this president is not for hate,” Meadows told Fox News Sunday. “This is what we need to do. I do not see it as a legitimate thing that we need to address and so, we will not address it.”
Once thought of as fringe, the conspiracy was QAnon, based on the idea that Trump’s political opponents have a satanic pedophile solitaire and that he has plans to arrest and execute them since the 2016 election gained constant traction. That growth has become much faster in recent months, especially as a source of pandemic traffic information.
The plot is linked to several violent, criminal incidents, including kidnapping and murder. The FBI in 2019 said the wild theories “will most likely motivate some domestic extremists.”
On ABC’s “This Week,” Meadows was also asked why President QAnon would not condemn.
“I had to Google it to find out what it is,” Meadows said. “You talked about it more, George, then someone in the White House talked about it.”
“If you look at the top 20 priorities, QAnon is not up to it,” Meadows added. “It’s probably not in the top 50. It’s time we get serious about questions and move on. I do not see this being a central debate that one will decide who the next president of the United States may be or where we have to deploy the FBI. “
On Wednesday, Trump said he had heard followers of the conspiracy “are people who love our country.”
When an NBC News reporter warned him about the belief of QAnon followers that he was fighting to stop a riot of pedophiles, Trump said he had not heard that, but asked, “Is that meant to be a bad thing? “
“If I can help save the world from problems, I’m ready to do it, and I’m ready to put myself out there,” Trump said. “And we are, in fact. We are saving the world from a radical leftist philosophy that will destroy this country. And if this country is gone, the rest of the world would follow.”
The president said he did not know much about the movement “other than I understand that they like me very much, which I appreciate” and “that it is gaining in popularity.”
On the State of the Union channel on CNN over Trump’s remarks, acting department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf QAnon questioned as not a “major” threat, but said he would “absolutely” condemn the move.
Several Republicans have cited the president’s remarks.
In a statement, Sen said. Ben Sasse, R-Neb, “Q-Anon is notes – and real leaders call collusion theories collusion theories.”
Trump’s embrace of the theory came the week after Marjorie Taylor Greene, a congressional candidate who embraced QAnon, won the Republican primary in her district. Trump congratulations Greene on her victory, called her a “future Republican Star.”
