Trump Embraces QAnon Conspiracy Theories

Donald Trump is, finally, openly embracing the wacko QAnon conspiracy theory. Tuesday, on his Truth Social platform, he reposted an image of himself wearing a Q lapel pin overlaid with the words “The Storm is Coming.” For QAnon looons, the “storm” refers to a Trump final victory, when he will regain power and his opponents will be tried (and probably executed) on live television.

At a JD Vance campaign rally on Saturday, Donald Trump spoke over QAnon-themed background music while his supporters raised their right index fingers to the sky in a creepy salute. Sure, it might mean “We’re Number 1” or “America First,” or signal the “One Way” of Christian Nationalism, but The Daily Beast’s Will Sommer, author of a forthcoming book on QAnon, tweeted that it could symbolize the QAnon rallying cry ‘Where we go one, we go all.’”

That rally music?  It was either the QAnon anthem “Wwg1wga” or a copyright-free clone of it. Trump had used it in a video on his Truth Social last month.

More:

“Trump openly embraces, amplifies QAnon conspiracy theories,” David Klepper and Ali Swenson, Associated Press

“Trump asks QAnon to stand back and stand by,” Phillip Bump, Washington Post

“Trump’s Gone Full QAnon. There’s No Point in Denying It Anymore.” Jared Holt, Daily Beast

“What’s with the creepy one-fingered salute by Trump supporters?” Imogen Champagne, Crikey.com.au

“Is Trump fans’ ‘weird’ one-finger salute at rally a QAnon tribute?” Gustaf Kilander, The Independent via Yahoo News

“Trump’s Latest Rally Was Even Weirder Than Usual,” Chas Danner, New York Magazine

“Trump’s New Recruits: He’s embracing the QAnon conspiracy theorists,” Tom Nichols, The Atlantic

Update:

“Trump Endorsed QAnon Because He’s Stuck,” Juliette Kayyem, The Atlantic

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Cult-Like Online Conspiracy Theory Groups

Dr. Janja Lalich explains the cult-like nature of many online conspiracy theory groups, how people get caught up in them, and what can be done to help those who have fallen into them. A Wired video.

Related:

“Why people believe Covid conspiracy theories: could folklore hold the answer?” Anna Leach and Miles Probyn, The Guardian

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GOP: It’s Official, They’re Fascists.

Meeting in Salt Lake City on Friday, the Republican National Committee (RNC) passed a resolution declaring that the actions of the Insurrection of January 6, 2021, including the violent attempt to overthrow the elected government of the United States and the defilement of the Capitol building, were “legitimate political discourse.” The resolution (co-authored by Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel) was passed by voice vote, without debate, so individual Republican leaders could avoid personal (and legal) responsibility for this outrage against two centuries of American democratic values. They’re not just fascists, they’re weasels.

More:

“Republican party calls January 6 attack ‘legitimate political discourse,’” Martin Pengelly, The Guardian

“GOP leaders approve resolution that says Jan. 6 was ‘legitimate political discourse,’” Bryan Schott, Salt Lake City Tribune

“G.O.P. Declares Jan. 6 Attack ‘Legitimate Political Discourse,’” Jonathan Weisman and Reid J. Epstein, New York Times

Updates:

“Murkowski criticizes RNC calling Jan. 6 attack ‘legitimate political discourse,'” Caroline Vakil,The Hill

“‘Legitimate Political Discourse’ Is Now an Official Republican Party Description of the Jan. 6 Attack on the Capitol,” Ryan Bort, Rolling Stone

“McConnell rebukes RNC, calls Jan. 6 ‘violent insurrection,'” Mary Clare Jalonick,  Associated Press

“‘Legitimate political discourse’: Three words about Jan. 6 spark rift among Republicans,” Josh Dawsey and Felicia Sonmez, Washington Post

“McConnell breaks with RNC: Jan. 6 ‘violent insurrection,'” Jordain Carney, The Hill

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Republican Hypocrisy on January 6th

Many Republican leaders — including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI 8 ) — were horrified by the Capitol attack of last January 6th, and rightly blamed Donald Trump for instigating it. Somehow, they forgot.

A video by the Republican Accountability Project, which will run on Fox News today.

More:

“Republicans Promised to Banish Jan. 6 Insurrectionists. A Year Later, They’ve Purged Jan. 6 Critics,” Tim Dickinson, Rolling Stone

“Republicans condemned Trump after the Capitol attack. Now, they are opening the door to him as the future of the party.” JM Rieger, Washington Post

Related:

“How Trump Kept His Grip After Jan. 6,” Blake Hounshell and Leah Askarinam, New York Times

Update:

“GOP commemorates denialism day,” David Siders, Politico

 

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January 6th

America’a red-hatted MAGAheads will be celebrating January 6th, but not as the Feast of the Epiphany (which features swarthy, undocumented Magi immigrants) or as a national day of prayer and mourning for the near-death of American democracy last year. The right-wing paranoid and election-denying alt-right, GOP coup plotters, Proud Boys, QAnon, Boogaloo Bois, Oath Keepers, Trump loyalists, white nationalists and Infowars fanatics and their ilk will commemorate their deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol last year, when they attempted to overturn the presidential election, as directed by the election’s clear loser.

The Capitol Police seem more prepared for a lunatic onslaught this January 6th, so there may be decentralized right-wing assaults on other federal, state, and local government buildings and officials. There will certainly be plenty of right-wing attacks on the truth.

More:

“A Roundup of January 6 Anniversary Commemorations in DC,” Damare Baker, Washingtonian

“Right-wing and liberal vigils planned in D.C. on anniversary of Capitol riot,” Ellie Silverman, Washington Post

“At time of Capitol prayer service Jan. 6, Trump will deliver remarks doubling down on the ‘Big Lie,’” David Siders, Politico

“Bannon, Trump to counterprogram Dems for Jan. 6 anniversary,” Jonathan Swan, Axios

Updates:

“Ingraham, Graham talked Trump out of Jan. 6 press conference,” Axios

“Trump cancels Jan. 6 news conference at Mar-a-Lago, blames news media and House committee investigating attack on Capitol,” Felicia Sonmez and Josh Dawsey, Washington Post

Related:

“Every Day Is Jan. 6 Now,” New York Times editorial

“A year after Jan. 6 attack, Capitol Hill neighborhood still feels the effects.” Joe Heim, Washington Post

“A look back at Americans’ reactions to the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol,” John Gramlich, Pew Research Center

“We’ve reached the ‘Yeah, it was pretty much an attempted coup, so what?’ stage of the Jan. 6 probe,” Aaron Blake, Washington Post

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The warning signs before the Capitol riot

Logan Jaffe of ProPublica and Robert Evans of Bellingcat describe the warning signs they observed weeks, months, and even years before a mob of violent Trump supporters broke into the Capitol. A Vox video by Liz Scheltens.

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QAnon Isn’t a Conspiracy, It’s a Religion

Why are Qanon True Believers impervious to facts? As prophecized, after 2020, Qanon became a cult, wholly based on belief, and you can’t argue with religious faith.

And this Cult of Q is growing. A recent poll by the Public Religion Research Institute and the Interfaith Youth Core found that 15 percent of Americans say they think that the levers of power are controlled by a cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophiles, a core belief of QAnon supporters. 15 percent of Americans, 30 million people, means QAnon has more followers in America than Judaism, Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism combined.

More:

“QAnon Now as Popular in U.S. as Some Major Religions, Poll Suggests,” Giovanni Russonello, New York Times

“Understanding QAnon’s Connection to American Politics, Religion, and Media Consumption,” Public Religion Research Institute

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Democrats Focus on Marjorie Taylor Greene like a ‘Jewish Space Laser’

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R, GA-14), the congresswoman from QAnon, has denied the reality of the Sandy Hook and Parkland school shootings, so naturally her fellow Republicans have put her on the House Education Committee. She also also thinks California’s wildfires were caused by secret Jewish space lasers, so maybe Republicans will put her on the Forestry Subcommittee, too. Democrats, appalled by this and her other conspiracy beliefs about 9/11 and international Zionist plots, and her rabid racism and Islamophobia, are calling for a vote to expell Ms. Taylor Greene from the House. This is milder treatment than the congresswoman has suggested for Democrats: execution.

Ms. Taylor Greene

More:

“Parents of Sandy Hook victims slam Taylor Greene’s appointment to Education Committee,” Lexi Lonas, The Hill

“GOP Congresswoman Blamed Wildfires on Secret Jewish Space Laser,” Jonathan Chait, New York Magazine

“How Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, promoter of QAnon’s baseless theories, rose with support from key Republicans,” Michael Kranish, Reis Thebault and Stephanie McCrummen, Washington Post

“The Republican establishment’s long dalliance with the conspiracist right,” Zack Beauchamp, Vox

“QAnon Fears That Greene’s Obsession with Jewish Space Lasers Is Distracting Her from Battling Baby-Eating Cannibals,’ Andy Borowitz, The New Yorker

Update:

“McConnell says ‘loony lies’ spread by Marjorie Taylor Greene are a ‘cancer’ on G.O.P.,” Catie Edmondson, New York Times

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The Instagram aesthetic that made QAnon mainstream

The Instagram aesthetic that made QAnon mainstream. A Vox video by Christophe Haubursin.

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Twitter’s Insurrection Night Massacre

After it became clear that Donald Trump had used Twitter to organize and incite the murderous mob attack on the U.S. Capitol, Twitter finally suspended his disinformation-spewing account permanently.

Twitter also disabled 70,000 QAnon-linked accounts used to propagate the conspiracy theories behind the MAGA Capitol insurrection. People those conspirators followed were unhappy.