US President Donald Trump has praised the supporters of QAnon, a convoluted, pro-Trump conspiracy theory, and suggested he appreciates their support of his candidacy.
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At a news conference at the White House on Wednesday, Trump courted the support of those who put stock in the conspiracy theory, saying, "I heard that these are people that love our country." It was his first public comment on the subject.
QAnon has ricocheted around the darker corners of the internet since late 2017 but has crept into mainstream politics. The baseless theory centres on an alleged anonymous, high-ranking government official known as "Q" who shares information about an anti-Trump "deep state" often tied to satanism and child sex trafficking.
Trump insisted he had not heard much about the movement, "other than I understand they like me very much" and "it is gaining in popularity".
Trump has retweeted QAnon-promoting accounts and QAnon supporters flock to his rallies.
An FBI bulletin last May warned that conspiracy theory-driven extremists had become a domestic terrorism threat. The bulletin specifically mentioned QAnon.
Pressed on QAnon theories that Trump is allegedly saving the nation from a satanic cult of child sex traffickers, Trump claimed ignorance but asked: "Is that supposed to be a bad thing?"
Trump's comments came a week after he endorsed Marjorie Taylor Greene, who won her GOP House primary in Georgia last week. Greene called the QAnon conspiracy theory "something worth listening to and paying attention to" and called Q a "patriot". Trump praised her as a "future Republican Star".
A spokesman for Democrat Joe Biden, Trump's opponent in the November 3 election, said the Republican president was "again giving voice to violence".
"After calling neo-Nazis and white supremacists in Charlottesville 'fine people' and tear gassing peaceful protesters following the murder of George Floyd, Donald Trump just sought to legitimise a conspiracy theory that the FBI has identified as a domestic terrorism threat," a Biden campaign spokesman said.
Australian Associated Press
