Trump says QAnon conspiracy theorists 'like me very much' and 'love our country'
Courtney SubramanianWASHINGTON – President Donald Trump on Wednesday claimed he didn't know much about the right-wing conspiracy theory QAnon but offered praise for its believers, adding that he heard they "like me very much" and "love our country."
"Well I don't know much about the movement, other than I understand they like me very much, which I appreciate," Trump told reporters during a White House briefing. "These are people that don't like seeing what's going on in places like Portland, Chicago and New York and other cities and states. ... I've heard these are people that love our country and they just don't like seeing it."
The QAnon conspiracy theory is based on unfounded claims that there is a "deep state" apparatus run by political elites, business leaders and Hollywood celebrities who are also pedophiles and actively working against Trump.
When a reporter explained the theory, including the belief that Trump is secretly saving the world from a satanic cult of pedophiles and cannibals, the president responded: "Is that supposed to be a bad thing? If I can help save the world from problems I'm willing to do it, I'm willing to put myself out there."
"And we are actually, we're saving the world from radical left philosophy that will destroy this country," he added.
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The once fringe movement has led to some violent incidents, while social media platforms including Twitter and Facebook have taken action to suspend accounts and groups associated with QAnon.
Trump has previously sidestepped questions about the theory, which is promoted by some of his supporters, but has retweeted accounts that promote the QAnon conspiracy at least 185 times, according to Media Matters for America, a progressive watchdog group.
The president has even extended his support to GOP candidates who promote the theory. Trump hailed Marjorie Taylor Greene, a GOP House candidate in Georgia who is a QAnon supporter and made national headlines for making racist remarks, as a “future Republican Star."
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany dismissed the idea that the president supported the theory earlier on Wednesday, telling reporters at a separate briefing that she "never heard of that from the president."
When asked whether the president supports Greene and other controversial candidates he's tweeted about, McEnany said Trump "routinely congratulates" Republicans who are nominated for Congress.
"He hasn’t done a deep dive into the statements by these two particular women. I don’t know if he’s even seen that, but he supports the Muslim community," she said of Greene and Laura Loomer, another GOP candidate the president has endorsed who was banned from Twitter for making anti-Muslim remarks.
More:What is QAnon? What to know about the far-right conspiracy theory
After Greene and several Republican candidates who espouse QAnon won congressional primaries earlier this month, Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., declared the theory "had no place in Congress."
"Qanon is a fabrication," Kinzinger wrote on Twitter, after Greene won a Republican primary runoff election in Georgia.
More:Republican lawmaker slams far-right conspiracy theory QAnon. Trump's team fires back.
Trump campaign press secretary Hogan Gidley told singer Clay Aiken on his podcast earlier on Wednesday that he had not discussed the conspiracy theories with the president “other than to say it’s junk.”
Andrew Bates, a spokesman for Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said Trump's comments about QAnon are "giving voice to violence."
"Donald Trump just sought to legitimize a conspiracy theory that the FBI has identified as a domestic terrorism threat. Our country needs leadership that will bring us together more than ever to form a more perfect union. We have to win this battle for the soul of our nation," Bates said.
The online movement started in the fall of 2017 on internet message boards, with posts from a self-proclaimed government insider who calls himself “Q" and shares cryptic tips that followers then decode to learn the ways in which the "deep state" controls the world,
There are a wide range of conspiracy theories that QAnon supporters believe.
Many falsely believe that mainstream U.S. media outlets receive an email at 4 a.m. every morning dictating what to cover. The furniture retailer Wayfair was recently the target of an unsubstantiated QAnon belief that the company was trafficking children through listings of products with inflated prices.
Contributing: Michael Collins, Ryan Miller, Nicholas Wu and Jason Lalljee