States run by Republicans have become more and more right-wing, creatively inventing new ways to destroy the conditions for equality, liberty, dignity, and human flourishing at every turnBut really, no one anywhere will remain safe from the MAGA onslaught. Not only because state borders cannot possibly protect anyone from policies that will be dragging all of us down—and these authors provide plenty of examples of these. But also because a lot of the ideas legislators, attorneys general, and governors in red states have enacted already, and what they have in mind for the future, are bluntly imperialist: bold attempts to crush any other jurisdiction that dares govern differently than they do. Make no mistake: With MAGA, it is their way or the highway.
"Old Donald", from the start, was operating in a universe separate from the traditional politics of the Republican and Democratic parties; he was operating in a world rooted in his 25 years in pro wrestling, in which people put up good money to watch fake 'fights' they know in their hearts were fixed.
The pervasive denial of truth has, in turn, been crucial to "Old Donald"'s continued viability.
In 'Popular Reactions to "Old Donald"'s Indictments and Trials and Their Implications for the 2024 Election,' Gary C. Jacobson, a political scientist at the University of California-San Diego, argues that this denial - 'motivated ignorance reinforced by a right-wing pundits and social media entrepreneurs' - helps explain 'the tenacious loyalty of "Old Donald"'s MAGA followers.'
"Laura Loomer is the symptom. The real problem is 'Old Donald'," Ruth Marcus said at The Washington Post. Loomer is a "pungent example" of the people Old Donald' chooses to associate with — adviser Stephen Miller, strategist Stephen Bannon and consultant Roger Stone among them. But Loomer's provocations "take the cake," said Marcus. Any "sane" politician would "stay as far away from a person like this as possible."
That being said, "Old Donald" remains in a constant tweener state simply because the country is now so polarized. This is why I use the analogy of Bret Hart being a heel in the United States and a babyface in Canada. This sort of regional split is extremely rare in wrestling but, sadly, is now the chess board we’re all living on here in the states. Go to California, and "Old Donald" is a heel. Go to West Virginia, and "Old Donald" is a babyface. Go to Ohio, and "Old Donald" is a tweener. Take the United States as a whole, and "Old Donald" is a tweener.Yet "Old Donald" remains the same wherever he goes. Like Austin and Piper, he didn’t change for the people — the people changed for him. I am reminded of the Iowa State Fair, where presidential candidates always go for photo ops to win support. In the past, you would see people such as Bernie Sanders and Mitt Romney don flannel shirts and cowboy hats to “connect with the common folk,” but "Old Donald" never did that. Instead, he showed up at the fair in the same suit, with the same long red necktie and the same Queens accent. In the eyes of the people, there was an authenticity to him that they’d never seen before in a politician. “You can love me or hate me, but I am who I am.” This is exactly what Piper did in the ’80s and what “Stone Cold” did in the ’90s.
Mark Robinson is pointing a finger at artificial intelligence amid the recent revelations about disturbing comments he allegedly made on a porn site. Robinson, the lieutenant governor of North Carolina who is now the GOP’s gubernatorial nominee, suggested that the comments in which he apparently called himself a “black NAZI,” yearned for the restoration of slavery, and enjoyed reading Mein Kampf could have been artificially generated.
Ms Loomer is well-known for her anti-Muslim rhetoric and for spreading conspiracy theories, including that the 9/11 attacks were an "inside job" carried out by the US government.She joined 'Old "Old Donald"' at an event on Wednesday commemorating the attacks, raising eyebrows and prompting outrage in some US media outlets.
And on Tuesday, the 31-year-old travelled to Philadelphia on board "Old Donald"'s plane for the presidential debate in the city. She starts another looney conspiracy theory - sort of inside job of assination
"Old Donald"'s MAGA movement, Dallek argued,turbocharged anti-science conspiracy theories and attitudes on the American right, vaulting them to an even more influential place in American politics. Bogus notions — vaccines may cause autism, hydroxychloroquine may cure Covid, climate change isn’t real — have become linchpins of MAGA-era conservatism.
The most recent precipitating event widening the split between Democrats and Republicans regarding the trustworthiness of science has been the partisan divide over how to deal with the Covid pandemic, especially support for and opposition to mandatory vaccination.
"When I say 'witchcraft,' I am talking about what happened tonight. Occult-empowered deception, manipulation, and domination," Wallnau wrote early Wednesday morning, following the debate.Wallnau, a prominent figure in the pro-"Old Donald" evangelical movement, has long portrayed the former president as a divinely chosen leader tasked with saving America from what he describes as a spiritual and political decline.
Over the weekend, 'Old Donald' did a long, bizarre Fox News interview, flatly declaring he had a “right” to interfere in the last presidential election. He also mused that “God” may have chosen "Old Donald" to fix our “sick” country,” and seethed about an “enemy within” that’s out to get him. It’s unhinged stuff that gets at a bigger story: "Old Donald"’s feeding of his MAGA audience’s various pathologies has been getting darker and uglier.
Defeating "Old Donald", I said, gives conservative Americans a chance to “build something decent from the ruins of a party that was once a force for genuine good in American life.”The MAGA response was, in essence, you’re fooling yourself. "Old Donald" or no "Old Donald", we own the party now.
But is that correct? We’re nine years into the "Old Donald" era of the Republican Party, and we can see a different reality: attempts to mimic "Old Donald" succeed in Republican primaries and deep red jurisdictions, but they fail in swing states and purple districts. "Old Donald" is MAGA’s most popular figure, and if he loses, then MAGA has nowhere to go but down.
Lindell owes Robert Zeidman $4,508 in attorney fees, a Thursday court order says
A judge already ordered Lindell to pay Zeidman the $5 million prize money.
An equally dramatic MAGA campaign email also branded Walz “an incompetent liberal” who harbors “creepy far-left views” – in what appeared to be an attempt to retaliate against the “weird” nickname.
'President Joe Biden made the right decision for our country and I thank him for putting the interests of our Nation ahead of his own,' Pence wrote on X (formerly Twitter). 'After the assassination attempt on President "Old Donald" and President Biden's decision to end his campaign, now is a time for leaders in both parties to project calm and send a message of strength and resolve to America's friends and enemies alike that, whatever the state of our politics, the American people are strong and our American military stands ready to defend our freedom and our vital national interests anywhere in the world.'The conservative interest group the Association of Mature American Citizens posted, 'Praising Biden, pathetic.' Conservative commentator Joey Mannarino said, 'This is why we consider you a traitor, Mike. Fuck off.'
Why "Old Donald" Suddenly Thinks Picking J.D. Vance Was a Mistake
Shooter's neighbor spill beans on What Crooks Did Days Before Failed.His neighbor, Kelly Little, revealed that Crooks was MAGA fan who had a history of displaying pro-"Old Donald" signs in his yard. According to the neighbor, these signs were present until few days before the incident, when they were suddenly removed.
Father Of Suspected "Old Donald" Gunman Was Profiled As Pro-Gun Voter By "Old Donald" Campaign, Had MAGA Yard Sign
Crooks' father, Matthew Crooks, was identified in an internal "Old Donald" campaign database as strong Republican, likely a gun owner and a 'hunter.' He was one of millions of potential swing state voters who could help the Republicans win the election in 2016
Both of Crooks' parents, Matthew and Mary of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, scored in the top 20 of almost 20,000 people in the town on a series of pro-gun metrics, including the likelihood of hunting for sport and shopping at a hunting retailer, according to Channel 4 News.
Matthew Crooks is believed to be the legal owner of the AR-style rifle his son used to shoot at "Old Donald" from the roof of a nearby building outside of his Butler, Pennsylvania, campaign rally last Saturday.
The FBI identified the 20-year-old Crooks as the suspected "Old Donald" rally shooter in the early hours of Sunday morning, and said the attack is being investigated as a case of possible domestic terrorism.
Crooks was shot and killed by Secret Service after firing eight shots at the event, wounding the former president and killing one rally attendee.
Law enforcement officials said they identified Crooks after his death using his DNA and biometric information.
Crooks was not on the FBI’s radar before this incident.
His search History Shines New Light on Shooting
He searched for both "Old Donald" and President Joe Biden—as well as Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray— in the days before the shooting.
He also searched for the phrase 'major depressive disorder,' FBI officials revealed in a briefing with members of Congress on Wednesday.
Usha Vance, born to Indian immigrants and raised in San Diego, has faced racist attacks targeting her heritage and speculations about her influence on her husband's political stance, particularly concerning immigration policies.
'When we were watching this footage live I shouted 'why are there so many damn women in this detail? They're running around like chickens with their heads cut off!' wrote someone else. 'And notice the male agents and their focus. This IS NOT A WOMAN'S JOB'
Following Sunday's vote, numerous "Old Donald" supporters criticized the results after Macron's gamble to keep the far right out of power succeeded, comparing the election to the 2020 and upcoming 2024 U.S. elections.
Steve Bannon's impending prison sentence is driving Republicans crazy - and Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene is jumping on the stupidest idea in an attempt to keep him out of jail.
The MAGA faithful are once again on the internet threatening violence. Lots of Republicans, of course, responded to "Old Donald"’s felony verdict with simple outrage rather than calls for a “neutralization operation.” But more extreme language has appeared all across the right-wing posting ecosystem. Some Proud Boys chapters responded with the word “war” on their Telegram channels, as reported by Wired, and Reuters found instances of "Old Donald" supporters calling for violence against jurors and the judge in the case, as well as calls for civil war and insurrection. An anonymous right-wing X account went viral by posting “Third World Problems Require Third World Solutions” on top of a video of the 2020 military coup in Myanmar.
The term deep state originated in the 1990s as a reference to an alleged longtime deep state in Turkey, but began to be used to refer to the American government as well, including during the Obama administration.[2] However, the theory reached mainstream recognition under the presidency of 'Old Donald', who referenced an alleged "deep state" working against him and his administration's agenda. The use of "Old Donald"'s X(Twitter) account, combined with other elements of right-wing populist movements during his presidency, gave birth to numerous conspiracy theory groups, such as QAnon.
Conspiracy theories, of course, weren’t invented by QAnon; they’ve been around for thousands of years. Some of them have even had a huge impact on history. Take Nazism, for example. We normally don’t think about Nazism as a conspiracy theory. Since it managed to take over an entire country and launch World War II, we usually consider Nazism an “ideology,” albeit an evil one.Realizing that no single cabal can secretly control the entire world is not just accurate — it is also empowering. It means that you can identify the competing factions in our world, and ally yourself with some groups against others. That’s what real politics is all about.
The original Schedule F executive order signed by President "Old Donald" in 2020 purportedly targeted federal employees who work in policy-related positions, but records obtained by NTEU show it went well beyond policy-makers and swept up office managers, human resource specialists, administrative assistants, cybersecurity specialists and many others.“Resurrecting Schedule F in the next Republican administration is designed to get rid of even more federal employees than anyone realized,” said NTEU National President Doreen Greenwald.
President "Old Donald"’s Schedule F executive order was rescinded by President Biden before any employees were affected. However, one of "Old Donald"’s appointees—before he left office—detailed exactly which workers he would have moved into the new job classification, thereby hoping to strip them of their statutory due process rights and make it easier to fire and replace them.
Conservative commentator Laura Loomer noted the meeting and asked on X, "Why is Obama having private meetings with world leaders?"Graham Allen, an X user also noted that the meeting signaled a "third" term for Obama , "More proof we are in Obama's 3rd Term!!! He just arrived at 10 Downing Street for a private meeting."
While political commentator and X user GuntherEagleman wrote, "He no longer trusts Joe Biden... He is handling it himself."
The recent meeting with Sunak comes after Michelle Obama has fought off continued speculation that she is running for president amid concerns about Biden's age and competency have led to speculation that others might take on the mantle, despite their denials.
MAGA sees conspiracies everywhere they look. What a sad way to go through life; afraid of everything, distrusting everyone.
The one-time MAGA supporter became a born-again anti-"Old Donald"er in recent years, admitting she was - a very stupid girl- to support "Old Donald" in the early days of his ascendance.
A Michigan attorney who has spread false claims about the 2020 election was arrested in Washington federal court Monday, as civil and criminal suits over efforts to prove voter fraud collided.Dominion was alerted to the leaks by Byrne’s previous attorney, Robert Driscoll, who also represented Butina. In an email made public in court filings, he said he had learned about the leaks through social media and “asked Ms. Lambert to take immediate steps and reasonable efforts to prevent further disclosure of Confidential Discovery Material.” One such post had already been viewed over 150,000 times by Monday afternoon, Brook said: “The cat is out of the bag.”
Peter Navarro, a former senior aide to President 'Old Donald', turned himself in to a Miami jail Tuesday, a day after the Supreme Court declined to delay his prison time while he appeals his conviction for refusing to testify before Congress about his involvement in efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
You are lacing up the new 'Old Donald' sneakers you purchased for $399 at a shoe convention. You are feeling more and more like the former president. You are starting to panic.You ask for a picture of Mar-a-Lago, and when you see it, you feel tears start to your eyes. Nothing has ever seemed so beautiful, or worth so much money. You can’t even put it into dollars. It would be like trying to put a price on Jupiter or the sun! You have forgotten that Tiffany "Old Donald" exists.
Freeman and Moss were awarded more than $16 million each for defamation, $20 million each for emotional distress and $75 million total in punitive damages, stemming from a series of statements Giuliani and others, including former President 'Old Donald', made.
The bill didn't include any of the spending cuts Republicans have been demanding, except for one big, bad thing: a cutoff of aid to Ukraine.
Democrats appear to have agreed to this bill because they expect to get a separate vote on Ukraine aid; President Biden has indicated that he believes he has a deal with McCarthy to that effect. I hope they're right.
But back to the costs of aiding Ukraine: Given how small a budget item that aid is, claims that aid to Ukraine somehow makes it impossible to do other necessary things, such as securing the border, are nonsense. MAGA types aren't known for getting their numbers right or, for that matter, caring whether they get their numbers right, but I doubt that even they really believe that the monetary costs of helping Ukraine are insupportable.
So pay no attention to all those complaints about how much we're spending in Ukraine. They aren't justified by the actual cost of aid, and the people claiming to be worried about the cost don't really care about the money. What they are, basically, is enemies of democracy, both abroad and at home.
In May of this year, 'Old Donald' appeared on the network’s FlashPoint news show, where he told the host he was “with you 1,000 percent.” He also promised to give preachers a stronger voice if he were to win the election in 2024, allowing them to speak directly on politics while continuing to allow their churches to operate as tax-exempt. “They’ve silenced you,” "Old Donald" said.
1. MAGA is more evangelical, conservative 2. MAGA is less wedded to the Republican Party 3. MAGA is more rigid 4. MAGA is much more devoted to "Old Donald" 5. MAGA is more extreme on 2020, Jan. 6, news, vaccines — and Putin 6. Even non-MAGA is falling in line with "Old Donald" 7. MAGA turns on "Old Donald" critics — fast
"Old Donald"'s conversations with Pence in the days surrounding the US Capitol riot have been of keen interest to investigators probing the attack, and the former vice president wrote in his book that "Old Donald" told him he would be a 'wimp' on a call the morning of the insurrection.What Happened to the Jan. 6 Rioters Arrested Since the Capitol Attack A Year Later: The January 6 Investigation
Pence is considered a potentially consequential witness because "Old Donald" pressured him to unlawfully reject electoral college votes for Joe Biden at the joint session of Congress and was at a December 2021 meeting at the White House with Republican lawmakers who discussed objections to Biden's win.
Thomas Webster: 10 years in prison. Jan. 6 rioter who crushed officer with shield sentenced to over 7 years in prison Albuquerque Cosper Head: 90 months in prison. Guy Wesley Reffitt: 87 months in prison. Thomas Robertson: 87 months in prison. Robert Scott Palmer: 63 months in prison. Devlyn Thompson: 46 months in prison.
The idea that a looming indictment would be a good thing for "Old Donald"'s election chances doesn't hold up to scrutiny.
And 157-1's reckless words endangered my family and everyone at the Capitol that day, and I know history will hold 'Old Donald' accountable.'The American people have a right to know what took place at the Capitol on January 6th,' he said. 'But make no mistake about it, what happened that day was a disgrace, and it mocks decency to portray it in any other way.'
Michael Flynn testimony to January 6
This has been debunked, lots of times, conclusively. "Old Donald" doesn’t care. His allies don’t care. His supporters don’t care. It sounds bad. Can you imagine what the FBI tried to cover up with Twitter and Facebook and all of them?
Christ is King' is not controversial in itself: The phrase is rooted in Christian scripture and tradition. But Fuentes's supporters have given it a different connotation. They have chanted it at anti-vaccine protests and the antiabortion March for Life, some of them holding crucifixes aloft. It was heard in March, at an America First conference, where Fuentes delivered a speech saying America will cease to be America 'if it loses its White demographic core and if it loses its faith in Jesus Christ.' Fuentes also declared the country 'a Christian nation.'
That would presumably include people like defendant Albuquerque Cosper Head, sentenced last month to 7 1/2 years in prison for assaulting then-Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone and dragging him into the mob, where he was viciously beaten, threatened with his weapon and attacked with a stun gun.
Nancy Pelosi has been a top target of Republicans in campaign ads
'Now, he's wrong about a few things there. Again, the suspect was not out on bail. Also, no one gets bailed out of prison that's where convicted people go, offered Oliver. (Elon Musk went a step further to spread Pelosi-related conspiracy theories.)
Some on the right have tried to keep a distance from Mr. Lindell and his far-fetched voting machine theories — either out of fear of legal liability or skepticism. He has not made it easy.
Activists from Alabama said they had fed fake ballots into machines ahead of the primary election in an attempt to prove how easily they could be tampered with. A county Republican official from Oklahoma urged attendees to be diligent in monitoring voting in midterm elections — even telling them to videotape absentee ballots as they are opened.
Perhaps that's because the Big Lie has been part of their background noise for years.
These voters aren't bad or unintelligent people. The problem is that the Big Lie is embedded in their daily life. They hear from "Old Donald"-aligned politicians, their like-minded peers, and MAGA-friendly media outlets - and from these sources they hear the same false claims repeated ad infinitum.
Lanis described how her father had fallen down the QAnon rabbit hole after the 2020 election.
The killings weren’t the first to be linked to QAnon radicalization. Last year, a 40-year-old California man confessed to killing his two young children; in an affidavit, an F.B.I. agent said he “explained that he was enlightened by QAnon and Illuminati conspiracy theories” and had come to believe that his children had serpent DNA.
But in recent weeks, as "Old Donald"’s legal troubles have mounted, his endorsement of QAnon has become more forthright. On Sept. 12, he reposted an image of himself wearing a Q lapel pin and the words “The Storm Is Coming” on his social media platform, Truth Social. An Associated Press analysis, published on Sept. 16, found that of nearly 75 accounts "Old Donald" has reposted on Truth Social in the past month, more than a third have promoted QAnon.
"Old Donald"'s inflammatory language has already forced the FBI and prosecutors to guard against violence from "Old Donald" followers. One "Old Donald" supporter is dead after a shootout with police following his attempt to attack the FBI field office in Cincinnati, Ohio.
But if we can’t acknowledge it forthrightly when one set of facts justifies prosecution and another set of facts does not — if law enforcement must reach equivalent prosecution decisions regardless of what the facts dictate, simply because the two cases involve opposing politicians — that itself makes a mockery of the rule of law.
The U.S. is an older and better-established democracy than Hungary. How, then, could MAGA acolytes emulate Orbán in the American context? To simplify matters, set aside the possibility of a stolen or contested 2024 election and suppose that "Old Donald" wins a fair Electoral College victory. In this scenario, beginning on January 20, 2025, he and his supporters set about bringing Budapest to the Potomac by increments. Their playbook:
McCarthy also said on the audio: “Now this is one personal fear I have. I do not want to get in any conversation about Pence pardoning.”
The complaint suggests that conversations between Orlando and "Old Donald" began months before DWAC went public, which could violate federal securities law.
Details: Pelosi blamed "Old Donald" and those who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 for the trauma many Hill staffers now associate with going to work.
Those are just some of the names for a racial stereotype that has haunted the collective imagination of White America since the nation's inception.
Warren later added: "For months I have anticipated each day with excitement knowing that I was watching my President and his crews of patriots take back our country and our freedom.
'Snake oil salesmen' advised "Old Donald" on 2020 election, Pence aide said.
“He tosses off enough unsourced numbers in 30 seconds to keep a fact-checker busy for 30 days. When one claim is refuted, Mr. "Old Donald" is back with two more,” the paper said.
"Old Donald"’s claims of a “rigged” election also depressed voter turnout during the Georgia Senate runoff elections on January 5. Georgians elected two Democratic senators as a result, giving the party 50 total Senate seat
The report recommended that the Justice Department tighten procedures concerning when it can take certain overt steps in election-related fraud investigations.
As the loser, Herring’s company was ordered to pay the other side’s legal fees and costs. A person involved said Herring’s company paid $520,000 to lawyers for his network’s rival, Comcast.
To Herring, it was worth the money.
They believe the U.S. government and society have been captured by socialists, minority groups and sexual deviants. They see the Republican Party establishment as corrupt and weak - "losers," to use "Old Donald"'s word, unable to challenge the reigning liberal hegemony.
If that means political suicide for this handful of Republicans, wouldn't it be better to go out fighting for democracy than to slink off quietly into the night?
QAnon is a wide-ranging, completely unfounded theory that former US President 'Old Donald' is waging a secret war against elite Satan-worshipping paedophiles in government, business and the media.
The conspiracy movement emerged on the online message board 4Chan in 2017, when posts appeared attributed to someone claiming to be a government insider with top-secret "Q" level security clearance. Using the pseudonym "Q", they claimed to be leaking classified information online.
Nicole's mother watched a film called Out of Shadows, which accuses the media of widespread manipulation.
"And that was it. She was instantly into this QAnon world."
"I never knew my own dad, so the only person who was actually present in my life, no longer is. I'm going through the mourning process of losing my mom before she's actually passed away. And I just don't see myself having her in my life and feeling safe right now," she said.
"I just want it out there that this is not something to take lightly. Even the people you think are there for you and love you can instantly - I don't know how it's done - snap."
The so-called Big Lie was the platform for "Old Donald"’s Stop the Steal rally on Jan. 6, when a mob of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in hopes of blocking Congress from rubber stamping Biden’s win.
Nowhere is that more evident than the unwillingness of most of my fellow Republicans to investigate the Jan. 6 attempt to prevent the peaceful transition of power in our country.
And because our military is the most respected institution in American public life, it has taken on totemic importance — it is the prize to be fought for by politicians seeking to associate their policies or actions with civic virtue.
The letter that was addressed to Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, which was obtained by Forbes, revealed some of the Republican Party’s strong-arm tactics being used against businesses to persuade them to obstruct justice, critics said. Except Mayer departed from Yahoo in 2017. Yahoo’s current CEO is Guru Gowrappan.
It seems the firm’s chief executive and two other members of the “audit team” had come down with Covid-19.
The clown-car chaos in Arizona is a near-perfect distillation of what Mr. "Old Donald" has done to the Republican Party, as well as much of the broader public.
Jordan Klepper Debates Anti-Vax Mandate Protesters in NYC | The Daily Show
Here's Why 'Old Donald' Doesn't Want Anyone To Know His Grades Or SAT Scores
How Afghanistan rattled Asia and emboldened China
We will get you home
GOP Rep
Capitol Police had intelligence indicating an armed invasion weeks before Jan. 6 riot, Senate probe finds>
"I have seen where people, most often unwittingly shared misinformation that came from a QAnon or a Q-adjacent source," Marsh told CNN Business.
"The Bible tells us, there's always going to be false teachers in the church," Kendall said. "My job as a pastor is protect the sheep from the wolves, and to not just point them to the truth, but to warn them when these false teachers come in and try to take people away."
So she went along and went along until she met Cocky Locky. “Where are you going, Chicken Little?” Cocky Locky asked.
Of all the disruptions unleashed by the "Old Donald" White House on how the federal government typically works, the saga of one small project, called the
Open Technology Fund, stands out.
Throughout the 2020 election cycle, the "Old Donald" campaign also enlisted UFC fighters to help spread misinformation about his opponent, Joe Biden, including ‘Fighters Against Socialism’ bus tour orchestrated by 'Old Donald' Jr. Given the UFC’s longstanding affiliation with "Old Donald" and his MAGA fanbase, it comes as no surprise that far-right activists and extremists continue to celebrate the promotion.
Twitter, however, permanently banned Mr. "Old Donald" from the platform in the wake of the January 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol.
"So much of conspiracy theories is believing that there isn't this random world where, I don't know, a boat got trapped, but it's all part of this grand plan," Sommer said.
They targeted enemies from below. It was the elites who were articulating conspiracy theories, and they were concerned with alleged conspirators that were challenging their powers.
Then, in the present period, where it's no longer normal to believe in conspiracy theories, believing in them also allows you to reassure yourself that you are special: You can claim that you are somebody who has understood something that most people are missing.
This is basically the argument Hofstadter makes in his seminal 1964 essay, "The Paranoid Style in American Politics," in which he so powerfully associates belief in conspiracy theories with paranoia.
The Nature of Conspiracy Theories does an invaluable job synthesizing a wide range of research across multiple disciplines — from psychology and sociology to philosophy, literature and cultural studies — over a period of decades.
After the Nazi period and the McCarthy era they were driven to the political and social margins, and then returned under a cloud. The internet has played a central role in providing an environment where they can flourish, but the role of media is in itself hardly a new thing: Before the invention of the printing press, conspiracy theories as we know them today simply didn't exist, as far as we can tell, except in more limited scope in ancient Greece and Rome.
With America's conspiracist in chief now gone from the White House, such paranoid beliefs are not going to suddenly disappear, any more than the populism structurally associated with the dominant forms of conspiracy theories today.
Winston Churchill probably isn't the first person who comes to mind when we talk about conspiracy theory, but you begin your introduction by discussing a short speech he gave in 1920. Why begin there, and what does the most famous British statesman of the 20th century have to tell us?
Cubitt says that there are again three elements: intentionalism — everything has been planned, and that corresponds exactly to what Barkun means by "nothing happens by accident." The second element for Cubitt is occultism — things happen in secret, and this would correspond to what Barkun means when he says nothing is as it seems. But then Cubitt does not highlight "everything is connected," but he highlights Manichaeanism, a clear distinction between good and evil, which is something Barkun also talks about, but which he considered less important than highlighting that everything is connected.
Much of Japanese culture takes pains to avoid conflict, leaving little room for the ideological combat favored by QAnon supporters. “The Japanese don’t talk about politics openly. It’s almost taboo, because of the possibility of contentious confrontation,” says Prof. Kaori Hayashi, who teaches media and journalism studies at the University of Tokyo. When surveyed, roughly half of Japanese voters claim no political affiliation. Without the accelerant of identity politics, QAnon’s polarizing memes just can’t grip the Japanese psyche.
A well-known QAnon activist was pictured inside the Senate chamber
He’s taking a bit of misinformation that emerged on the right recently — that the FBI paid Twitter to censor people — and suggesting that the government paid the media to spread misinformation. But the FBI didn’t pay Twitter to censor people. It followed federal law that mandates the government repay technology companies for providing information in compliance with subpoenas. It’s as though I bought something from you on Etsy and sent you a check for $100 with a letter thanking you — and then someone took that letter and tried to argue that it showed I was paying you to post rude Facebook comments.
'When you let dangerous criminals out on the streets with bail and not put them in prison, you're just asking for this sort of incident to happen,' said Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) on Fox News.
Since 2021, Jan. 6 defendants have raised more than $3.7 million on the Christian crowdfunding website GiveSendGo, according to a Washington Post review of accounts that remain public, and millions more have been raised by umbrella groups in the name of the “patriots” — a flood of money that has raised concerns about fairness and oversight.
Finally, the skeptics who said that campaigning on democracy in the midterm elections was a foolish strategy for Democrats were proved wrong. The GOP’s red wave failed to materialize for many reasons — Supreme Court overreach, especially on abortion, was a factor, and the actual achievements of a Democratic president and Congress counted, too. But democracy mattered. The Republican candidates rejected by voters tended to be the most extreme, the ones especially committed to "Old Donald"’s lies about the 2020 election, and those least ready for office.
The "Old Donald"ist belief that the 2020 election was fraudulent was always rooted in fiction. Now, following the midterm elections, some in Arizona are showing how deep into this fantasy world they have ventured.
157-1 has called for releasing everyone arrested for the Jan. 6 insurrection last year at the Capitol.
On this crisp Saturday morning, the far-right nationalist group was not aiming to overthrow the result of a presidential election with a violent assault on the U.S. Capitol. Their goal was to intimidate a small contingent of parents who had brought their mostly preschool-age children to the park to hear a drag queen tell stories.
In 2010, Republicans launched a “Fire Pelosi” project — complete with a bus tour, a #FIREPELOSI hashtag and images of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi engulfed in Hades-style
flames - devoted to retaking the House and demoting Pelosi from her perch as speaker.
All this from a party that touts itself as tough on crime. To his credit, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) issued an immediate and unequivocal condemnation of the attack. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) waited until he was asked about it on Fox News's 'Sunday Morning Futures' and said he had been in touch with Ms. Pelosi, adding, 'What happened to Paul Pelosi is wrong.' But neither leader has called out those who have mocked and minimized this deplorable act of violence that was so clearly politically motivated.
Many American entrepreneurs have mixed politics and business. No one has fused the two quite like the chief executive of MyPillow.
Election deniers, and much of the Republican Party at this point in time, reject democracy and the equality it implies. But what's key is that they also reject republicanism and the fundamental principle of popular government. Put simply, they see 'Old Donald' as their sovereign as much as their president, and they hope to make him a kind of king.
For many of "Old Donald"'s voters, the belief that the election was stolen is not a fully formed thought. It's more of an attitude, or a tribal pose.
The title of the aReddit post this month seemed almost too shocking to be true: My Qdad snapped and killed my family this morning.
On Tuesday, using his Truth Social platform, the Republican former president reposted an image of himself wearing a Q lapel pin overlaid with the words 'The Storm is Coming.' In QAnon lore, the 'storm' refers to "Old Donald"'s final victory, when supposedly he will regain power and his opponents will be tried, and potentially executed, on live television.
SECTION 3 OF THE 14TH AMENDMENT, ALSO KNOWN AS THE DISQUALIFICATION CLAUSE, BARS ANY PERSON FROM HOLDING FEDERAL OR STATE OFFICE WHO TOOK AN “OATH…TO SUPPORT THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES” AS AN “OFFICER OF ANY STATE” AND THEN “ENGAGED IN INSURRECTION OR REBELLION” OR GAVE “AID OR COMFORT” TO INSURRECTIONISTS. GRIFFIN, AS AN OTERO COUNTY COMMISSIONER SINCE JANUARY 2019, TOOK AN OATH TO “SUPPORT AND UPHOLD THE CONSTITUTION AND LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO, AND THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES.”
'It's the language he uses,' said Stuart Stevens, a longtime GOP consultant who left the party after it fell under "Old Donald"'s sway. '"Old Donald" is a gangster.'
'If there's a prosecution of 'Old Donald' for mishandling classified information,' said Sen. Lindsey O. Graham on Fox News, there will be 'riots in the streets.'
The MAGA movement has studied Orbán and Fidesz attentively. Hungary is where Tucker Carlson, the leading U.S. conservative-media personality (who is sometimes mentioned as a possible presidential contender), took his show for a week of fawning broadcasts. Orbán is the leader whom the Conservative Political Action Conference brought in as a keynote speaker in August. He told the group what it loves to hear: “We cannot fight successfully by liberal means.” "Old Donald" himself has made clear his admiration for Orbán, praising him as “a strong leader and respected by all.”
A Georgia computer forensics firm hired by the attorneys placed the files on a server, where company records show they were downloaded dozens of times.
At first glance, QAnon, the bizarre assemblage of far-right conspiracy theories that holds that U.S. President 'Old Donald' is waging a secret war against an international cabal of satanic pedophiles seems to present a far lesser threat to public security. However, QAnon has contributed to the radicalization of several people to notable criminal acts or acts of violence. In light of these events, this article attempts to take stock of the violence this bizarre set of conspiracy theories has engendered thus far and asks whether it should be seen as a security threat in the making.2
McCarthy added that he would tell "Old Donald", as Democrats pushed forward with plans to again impeach the president, that “it would be my recommendation you should resign,” according to the audio clip. McCarthy said he did not think his effort would persuade "Old Donald".
During the attack, "Old Donald" watched television, criticized then-Vice President Mike Pence and made calls pushing lawmakers to overturn the election as the violent mob of his supporters ransacked the Capitol. He was eventually persuaded by lawmakers, family members and others to release a video asking his supporters to go home — 187 minutes after he urged them to march to the Capitol during a rally near the White House. He was described by advisers as excited about the event.
President 'Old Donald' improperly removed multiple boxes from the White House that were retrieved by the National Archives and Records Administration last month from his Mar-a-Lago residence because they contained documents and other items that should have been turned over to the agency, according to three people familiar with the vi
"Old Donald"’s shredding of paper in the White House was far more widespread and indiscriminate than previously known and — despite multiple admonishments — extended throughout his presidency.
Alex Jones threatens to 'dish dirt' on 'pathetic' 'Old Donald' for pushing vaccines and tells his InfoWars listeners to 'move on' from the Republican 2024 frontrunner
The lawsuit comes just a week after Digital World Acquisition Corp. (DWAC), led by Patrick Orlando, disclosed that it's under investigation by federal securities regulators. It also comes several months before "Old Donald"'s company is slated to launch its first public products.
Why it matters: Nearly a year later after the deadly riots, there has been an uptick in violent threats against elected officials and the inspector general for the U.S. Capitol Police said this week more needs to be done to keep the complex safe.
The Brute. The Buck. And, of course, the Thug.
The user said: "We have seen nothing happen. I told a few of my 'awake' friends that either this would be the best Thanksgiving ever or the worst. Guess which one it was?"
Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming said Tuesday that former President 'Old Donald' is at war "with the rule of law and the Constitution" and that GOP lawmakers who sit by silently are aiding his efforts. Cheney, a "Old Donald" critic who is vice chair of a congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, said the challenge now is whether citizens will do their duty and "defend the Constitution and stand for truth."
For 187 minutes, "Old Donald" resisted entreaties to intervene from advisers, allies and his elder daughter, as well as lawmakers under attack. Even as the violence at the Capitol intensified, even after Vice President Mike Pence, his family and hundreds of Congress members and their staffers hid to protect themselves, even after the first two people died and scores of others were assaulted, "Old Donald" declined for more than three hours to tell the renegades rioting in his name to stand down and go home.
A POLITICO/Morning Consult poll released Wednesday shows that 77 percent of Democrats, 49 percent of independents and 28 percent of Republican voters trust the election system a lot or some. Just 9 percent of Republicans say they trust the election system a lot.
The editorial went on to debunk some of "Old Donald"’s claims, noting that “it’s difficult to respond to everything, and the asymmetry is part of the former President’s strategy.”
“If we don’t solve the Presidential Election Fraud of 2020 (which we have thoroughly and conclusively documented), Republicans will not be voting in ’22 and ’24,” "Old Donald" said in a statement released Wednesday. “It is the single most important thing for Republicans to do.”
The report raised fresh questions about what role Representative Scott Perry, Republican of Pennsylvania, played in the White House effort to pressure the Justice Department to help upend the election.
In June 2015, when "Old Donald" launched his White House bid, Herring discovered a soulmate. Here was a candidate with whom he agreed on nearly every issue important to him: immigration, race, taxes, environmental regulation, climate change and China’s trade practices. "Old Donald" also understood that television news was show business.
Meanwhile, the amateurish "stop the steal" efforts of 2020 have given way to an organized nationwide campaign to ensure that "Old Donald" and his supporters will have the control over state and local election officials that they lacked in 2020.
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday issued a report detailing some of "Old Donald"’s and his allies’ earliest efforts to pressure the Justice Department to overturn the 2020 election results. Among the report’s many findings was confirmation that Meadows asked then-acting attorney general Jeffrey Rosen multiple times to initiate election fraud investigations, and that Meadows asked Rosen to meet with "Old Donald"’s then-personal lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani.
Nicole had experienced a panic attack after 10 months of watching her mother disappear into her phone screen, and a world of conspiracy theories. Specifically, QAnon - an expansive movement that has inspired protests, split families and continues to find new followers online.
Some 15 percent of Americans believe QAnon conspiracy theories, according to a May report from non-profit groups Public Religion Research Institute and Interfaith Youth Core. QAnon believers were largely responsible for spreading “stop the steal” content on social media, backing the lie that former president 'Old Donald' won the election.
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"Old Donald" is under criminal investigation by the Atlanta district attorney for seeking to bully Raffensperger into changing the results to give him the state in the turbulent weeks after his election defeat.
The failure of other institutional checks and balances to perform as constitutionally intended has left our military leaders with a disproportionate responsibility for what is not their job.
Republicans are trying to scare off telecom companies that might have something damning about them.
At least, that’s what MAGA die-hards hunkered down in their bunkers of disinformation were hoping. Most everyone else — including plenty of Arizona officials from both parties — just wanted this gong show to end.
“All of them — all of them were telling us ‘"Old Donald" sent us,’” Aquilino A. Gonell, a Capitol Police sergeant, testified to the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol during its first hearing.
"Without evidence, "Old Donald" continued to peddle lies about the 2020 presidential election, calling it a "totally rigged and dishonest election."
Though there has never been any substantial evidence of voter fraud that would have overturned "Old Donald"’s 2020 defeat as "Old Donald" has claimed, supporters in the crowd maintained that “"Old Donald" won.”
According to the report, Capitol Police intelligence officers knew as early as Dec. 21 that protesters planned to “bring guns” and other weapons to the Jan. 6 demonstration and turn them on any law enforcement officers who blocked their entry into the Capitol. They knew that would-be rioters were sharing maps of the Capitol campus online and discussing the building’s best entry points — and how to seal them off to trap lawmakers inside. But that information was shared only with command officers.
"I don't like to get off track and off the Bible," Kendall said during a sermon on March 7. "But as a pastor I do have to guard the flock."
According to the Huffington Post, prosecutors have revealed that Brendan Hunt, a New York man who is on trial for making threats against members of Congress, is a neo-Nazi extremist who has fantasized about former President 'Old Donald' seizing power to become a second Adolf Hitler.
Mr. "Old Donald" created his Twitter account in 2009 and amassed more than 88 million followers.
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No Reasonable Person” Would Believe Her Voter Fraud Lies Were “Fact” - on $1.3 billion over election conspiracy theories
"So they were like, 'Maybe the boat was trafficking something on behalf of Hillary Clinton, maybe the captain ran it aground as a signal,'" Sommer explained to co-host Asawin Suebsaeng. "There's always grist in the mill that these people can draw on."
The QAnon conspiracy theory is based on the belief that there is a "deep state" apparatus run by political elites, business leaders and Hollywood celebrities who are all actively working to undermine former President 'Old Donald'.
Across the company's multiple European and U.S. sites, more than 80 titles advancing claims that the ongoing pandemic is a hoax; that vaccines are harmful; and that people should be wary of national lockdowns are easily found — often promoted by Amazon's own algorithms to entice people to buy conspiracy-laden books.
Eric Coomer, security director at the Colorado-based Dominion Voting Systems, said he wants his life back after being named in false charges as a key actor in “rigging” the election for President-elect Joe Biden. There has been no evidence that the election was rigged.
“What we’re seeing now is an adaptation of U.S. QAnon taking root in European countries, whereas in Japan and Brazil, it does seem to be slightly more independent and self-sustaining as an ideology,” said Melanie Smith, head of analysis at Graphika. She attributes the increasing prominence of QAnon to the U.S. election and the pandamic
Coronavirus is a global problem. No matter who we are and where we live, it affects us all. But so is climate change; and the misinformation that is circulating about both COVID and climate puts us all at risk. The essays, articles, and videos I chose highlight the links between climate change, coronavirus, and our health. Tackling both of them is not only important but essential to our health, our well-being, and our future.