lent credibility to QAnon conspiracy theorists?

QAnon is a series of conspiracy theories centered around an anonymous figure, “Q,” who claimed to be a senior government official that has provided cryptic messages about the Trump administration and its enemies. One of its central claims is that Trump had secretly been working to remove a cabal of Democratic pedophiles from government, which shares likeness to the debunked Pizzagate conspiracy. Many of its assertions have been proven to be false, and the FBI has determined that it could pose a domestic terrorism threat. Nevertheless, Trump and his campaign have repeatedly lent credibility to QAnon by featuring its followers on Twitter and at rallies.

Image result for trump q anon

Into 2020, Trump refused to condemn or disavow the conspiracy theory, saying he didn’t know much about it except that believers supported him.

Q-Anon has been linked to Russian organizations working to amplify disinformation.

Business Insider – A Trump campaign ad featured QAnon signs weeks after the FBI warned conspiracy theories are a domestic terrorism threat
Business Insider – Trump just retweeted a ‘QAnon’ conspiracy-theory hashtag to his 68 million followers
The Washington Post – Hours after an FBI warning about QAnon is published, a QAnon slogan turns up at a Trump rally
Reuters – Russian-backed organizations amplifying QAnon conspiracy theories, researchers say
Wikipedia – QAnon

crammed five typos into one tweet?

In trying to reproduce a quote from a Fox News guest, Trump tweeted,

Special Council is told to find crimes wether crimes exist or not. I was opposed to the the selection of Mueller to be Special Council, I still am opposed to it. I think President Trump was right when he said there never should have bee a Special Council appointed because…..,

He misspelled “counsel” three times, and included “wether” and “the the” in his tweet. The tweet was immediately mocked across social media.

He soon after deleted and remade the tweet, though it still used “council” instead of “counsel.”

Regarding the claims that there was no justification to create the Special Counsel, the Department of Justice’s inspector general later found it both justified and without political bias.

Trump has also misspelled his officials’ name, his wife’s name, and his own name.

The Independent – Donald Trump may have ‘best words’, but spelling mistakes are commonplace among President and team
The Wrap – Trump Just Deleted ‘Special Council’ Tweet With 5 Typos
Real Clear Politics – Jeffrey Toobin vs. Dershowitz: Why Have You Been Carrying Water For Trump?; “This Is Not Who You Used To Be”

attacked Obama repeatedly for playing too much golf?

Trump tweeted over two dozen times deriding Obama’s for playing golf. Nonetheless, by his third year, Trump had spent 1 in 5 days in office playing golf, accumulating over $100 million in travel costs, nearly as much as Obama spent for all travel costs over both terms.

Despite all the tweets attacking Obama, there was one oddly friendly one:

Trump Twitter Archive

claimed the death toll in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria was a Democrat conspiracy?

Trump claimed that the death toll in Puerto Rico following the devastating disaster was an inflated figure advanced by Democrats to make him look bad. Confused by how the count rose from the day of the hurricane, he did not seem to understanding that more victims were found in the following days, and that the death toll also included those who died as a consequence of the aftermath, like through lack of power or clean water. Even as the death toll continued to rise, Trump’s administration continually delayed aid funding, though he has also asserted that he’s the best thing that ever happened to the island.

The final death toll has been pegged at 2,975. 2,977 died across the attacks on 9/11 and 2,403 in Pearl Harbor.

The Hill – Trump says Puerto Rico death toll inflated by Democrats: ‘3000 people did not die’
The Wall Street Journal – Trump Denies Heavy Death Toll in Puerto Rico From Hurricane Maria
NPR – Trump Denies Almost 3,000 Died In Puerto Rico, Falsely Claims Democrats Inflated Data

tweeted an image of himself as Rocky Balboa?

The day before Thanksgiving, the President of the United States tweeted a photoshopped image of his head superimposed on the body of fictitious boxer Rocky Balboa.

The tweet wasn’t completely random; Rocky IV, in which the titular character fights Russian Khal Drogo, was released 34 years earlier on November 27, 1985.

Variety – Trump Tweets Doctored Photo of Himself With Rocky Balboa’s Body
ABC7 News – President Trump tweets picture of himself as ‘Rocky’

retweeted an image of a dead body as part of an attack on Nancy Pelosi?

The graphic photo was of a dead Iranian protester, slung over a fence. It read,

Question: Who in America supports this mullahs’ crime? ‘Answer : Nancy Pelosi #NancyPelosiFakeNews #IranProtests2020 #IranPortests’

The photo was removed shortly after for violating Twitter rules.

As part of the anti-Pelosi Twitter storm, Trump also retweeted an image of Pelosi and Chuck Schumer in Iranian dress in front of an Iranian flag.

Independent – Trump appears to tweet image of dead body
Newsweek – TRUMP RETWEETS DOCTORED PHOTO OF NANCY PELOSI WEARING HIJAB IN FRONT OF IRANIAN FLAG TO HIS 70 MILLION FOLLOWERS
CBS News – Trump retweets fake image of Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer in front of Iranian flag

claimed that he “saved Pre-Existing Conditions”?

Since the Affordable Care Act was instituted, also known as Obamacare, insurance companies have been prohibited from refusing coverage on the basis of pre-existing conditions. Trump has railed against Obamacare since his campaign, and has tried to weaken its provisions since taking office. He repeatedly attacked John McCain for being the deciding vote in preventing the repeal of the ACA. Despite this, Trump tried to claim via tweet that he was the person who saved the pre-existing conditions provision, and promised to protect it.

Trump’s confusion regarding healthcare is not a new phenomenon, as he had previously remarked how “nobody knew that healthcare could be so complicated.”

Politico – Why McCain screwed the GOP on Obamacare repeal — again
The New York Times – To the Contrary, Trump Has Tried to Weaken Protections for Pre-existing Conditions
US News & World Report – AP FACT CHECK: No, Trump Didn’t Save Preexisting Conditions
Newsweek – TRUMP CLAIMS HE ‘SAVED’ PRE-EXISTING HEALTH CARE CONDITIONS, BUT HIS ADMINISTRATION WANTS TO KILL THEM

said that his tweets are sufficient notice to Congress for military strikes?

After a senior Iranian official was killed by drone strike, Congressional members balked at how the White House had failed to brief them on the attack. Trump said via tweet that no notice is required (in direct contradiction with the 1973 War Powers Act), but that his Twitter posts would serve as notice to Congress.

He has similarly failed to brief Congress for strikes, including when he told Russia and Turkey of an impending attack on an ISIS leader before anyone in Congress.

Business Insider – Trump claims his ‘Media Posts’ on Twitter now count as official notification to Congress about any plans to attack Iran
Stars and Stripes – Trump claims his tweets are sufficient notice to Congress that US might strike Iran

tweeted “I love Hispanics!” with a photo of himself eating a taco bowl?

The tweet using Cinco de Mayo to advertise Trump Tower Grill quickly became popular on social media. Trump is also known for his love of fast food and eating steak well done with ketchup.

NPR – #MemeOfTheWeek: Donald Trump’s Taco Bowl
Politico – Trump tweets picture of him eating taco bowl, says, ‘I love Hispanics’
CNN – Pictured with taco bowl, Trump proclaims, ‘I love Hispanics!’

threatened to bomb Iranian cultural sites?

Amid escalating tensions between the United States and Iran following the drone strike of a senior official, Trump threatened to destroy a variety of targets including “some at a very high level & important to Iran & Iranian culture.” The deliberate destruction of cultural sites constitutes a war crime. The Pentagon immediately contradicted Trump by ruling out any such targets.

The threat is in line with similar rhetoric that Trump has employed before, such as the need to target the families of terrorists or reinstate torture techniques.

BBC News – Trump says US ready to strike 52 Iranian sites if Tehran attacks
The New York Times – Pentagon Rules Out Striking Iranian Cultural Sites, Contradicting Trump

More assuredly to come soon

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