Twitter deletes thousands of Qanon accounts 1:12
(CNN) –– This Wednesday, the president of the United States, Donald Trump, did something incredibly dangerous.
When asked by a reporter about QAnon, a conspiracy group that the FBI has labeled a potential domestic terrorism threat, Trump had this to say:
Well, I don't know much about the movement, other than understanding that they like me a lot, something that I appreciate. But I don't know much about the movement. I've heard it's gaining popularity and from what I hear it's people watching the streets of Portland… When they see what happened in New York City in the last six or seven months, but it was starting even four years ago when I came here. Almost four years, can you believe it?
“These are people who don't like to see what happens in places like Portland, and places like Chicago, New York, and other cities and states. And I've heard that these are people who love our country and they just don't like to see that. "
- READ: ANALYSIS | QAnon is conspiratorial, dangerous, and growing. And we are tackling it wrong
Trump's comments come just days after he praised Laura Loomer - a right-wing extremist who has proudly accepted being called "Islamophobic" - on Twitter for her victory in a Republican primary in Florida's 21st district. And just a week later, Trump congratulated, again via Twitter, on Marjorie Taylor Greene's runoff victory in Georgia's 14th district. Greene has openly supported QAnon and, among other things, has warned of an alleged "Islamic invasion" in the wake of the 2018 elections.
What, specifically, is Trump associating with when he says nice things about QAnon, you ask.
It is an unsubstantiated conspiracy theory organized around the idea that "Q," an alleged high-level government official who some believe is Trump himself, is posting clues on internet message boards about a number of massive "deep state" conspiracies in the country. Q's followers believe, among other things, that Trump was drafted into the military to run for president in 2016 because he himself was not committed to the world's secret power agents and could break their hold on society. U.S. They also consider that people like Hillary Clinton will be detained in a mass arrest for alleged crimes against society. (Although QAnon is not responsible for the Pizzagate conspiracy - the terrible and incorrect idea that Clinton and his friends were involved in a pedophile ring at a pizzeria in Northwest Washington - there is considerable overlap between the two groups of beliefs).
- MIRA: Born into the dark side of the Internet, QAnon now infiltrates American life and politics
Those beliefs - and the threats of violence on the internet that are common among QAnon supporters - led Facebook on Wednesday to implement a series of restrictions on thousands of pages and Instagram accounts linked to the conspiratorial group.
QAnon is also much more than just a harmless bunch of internet "trolls" playing their own political version of "Dungeons and Dragons." In June 2018, a man armed with a rifle blocked traffic at Hoover Dam demanding the release of an alleged "secret" report from the Office of the Inspector General that would uncover the government's "deep state" secret society. That was a fairly promoted theory on the QAnon message boards.
Trump has been "flirting" with QAnon for some time, although he had not offered such public endorsement before Wednesday. He has retweeted MANY accounts linked to QAnon, and followers of the movement always check his tweets and public pronouncements for evidence that he is sending them signals.
The simplest explanation for Trump's willingness to host a group like QAnon? He likes anyone who likes him. He said it on Wednesday: "Well, I don't know much about the movement, other than understanding that they like me a lot, which I appreciate."
Conspiracy theories about covid-19 spread to Europe 1:12Trump has a long history of being willing to stand behind whoever backs him, no matter how controversial the individual or group views. Hell, Trump even wavered in flatly rejecting the endorsement of KKK leader David Duke during the 2016 campaign.
"I don't know anything you're talking about white supremacism or white supremacists," Trump initially argued when asked if he would reject Duke's support. "So I do not know. I don't know, did he support me or what is happening? Because I don't know anything about David Duke; I don't know anything about white supremacists. " Later, Trump blamed a faulty headset for not being able to hear the question correctly. Yes of course.
Even if you accept that Trump really has no idea about QAnon and what the group believes, and is simply saying nice things about people who highlight good things about him - and that is BY FAR the most charitable explanation here -, that does not forgive what he does here or lessen the danger of his words.
The presidency is the most powerful office in the country, and perhaps in the world. The words of a president can shake the markets. The words of a president can change the course of an election. And the words of a head of state, in this case, can provide not only protection but also encouragement for a group that, again, has been designated as a potential threat of national terrorism by none other than the FBI.
The president of the United States has now said that he believes that a group of violent conspiracy theorists are "people who love our country" and are a kind of antidote to protests and violence in the main cities of the country.
That's impressive, even for Trump. And it's extremely dangerous because it emboldens people who have already shown their willingness to act violently on their crazy conspiracy theories. Extremely dangerous
QAnon conspiracy theories
