NATIONWIDE – President Donald Trump on Wednesday spoke out for the first time publicly on supporters of his who subscribe to the baseless QAnon conspiracy theory.
“I heard that these are people that love our country,” Trump said during a White House press conference, making no effort to distance himself from the fringe movement.
QAnon is largely a pro-Trump conspiracy theory that has been around since 2017 and has crept from the darker corners of the internet to mainstream politics.
Trump did say that he doesn’t know much about the movement, “other than I understand they like me very much” and “it is gaining in popularity.”
QAnon is a far-right conspiracy theory popular among some supporters of President Donald Trump that posits there is a secret “deep-state” plot against the president and his supporters.
Specifically, the conspiracy theory is said to involve a cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophiles who rule the world and control politicians and the media. For the past two years, followers have poured over clues left by someone thought to be a high-ranking government official known only as “Q.”
An FBI bulletin in May warned that QAnon extremists are now regarded as a domestic terrorism threat.
Facebook and Twitter have removed many, but not all, QAnon accounts. The president has retweeted QAnon-promoting accounts, and QAnon shirts and hats have been spotted frequently at his rallies.
In addition to condemnation from the campaign of Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush criticized the president on Twitter, writing: “Why in the world would the President not kick Q’anon supporters’ butts? Nut jobs, rascists [sic], haters have no place in either Party.”
That criticism was echoed by Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor to George W. Bush Karl Rove Wednesday. Speaking to Fox News, Rove said Trump would be wise to distance himself from the movement.
"Big mistake. This is a group of nuts and kooks and he ought to disavow them. They might like him, but they like him because they think he is fighting an incredible war against forces of [pedophilic] evil, and it’s just ridiculous -- disavow them, get done with it,” he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.