President Trump on Friday refused to answer a direct question on whether or not he supports the QAnon conspiracy theory during a press briefing.
Why it matters: Trump congratulated Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene, who vocally supports the conspiracy theory, on her victory in a House primary runoff earlier this week — illustrating how the once-fringe conspiracy theory has gained ground within his party.
The backdrop: QAnon is a far-right conspiracy theory that purports without proof that posts by an anonymous internet user from within the federal government are alluding to a secret war that the “deep state” is waging against Trump.
- Its growing influence is sowing fear and confusion around some of today’s most important issues, such as election integrity and the coronavirus pandemic, write Axios’ Stef Kight and Sara Fischer.
- The FBI identified QAnon and other fringe conspiracy theories as domestic terrorist threats in 2019, according to Yahoo News.