(Robert Yoon in Associated Press 8/27/23): Trump is flooding the airwaves with distortions, misinformation and unfounded conspiracy theories about his defeat. The Trump campaign and its backers pursued numerous legal challenges to the election in court and alleged a variety of voter fraud and misconduct. The cases were heard and roundly rejected by dozens of courts at both state and federal levels, including by judges whom Trump appointed. One was on a federal panel that declined a request to stop Pennsylvania from certifying its results, saying, "Ballots, not lawyers' briefs, decide elections." The U.S. Supreme Court also rejected several efforts in the weeks after Election Day to overturn the election results in various battleground states that Biden won.
ACLU Analysis 6/21/22: The Great Replacement conspiracy is a relatively new version of a conspiracy that has roots going back to the founding of America. In a nutshell, this conspiracy states that immigration policies, particularly those impacting non-white, non-European immigrants, are designed to increase the non-white, non-European population in an effort to undermine (or replace) the political and cultural power of America’s white majority. Unfortunately, xenophobic political parties are nothing new in the United States. The rhetoric commonly used by Great Replacement supporters centers on defending America from an "invasion" of immigrants looking to "take over."
"Do you throw the Presidential Election Results of 2020 OUT and declare the RIGHTFUL WINNER, or do you have a NEW ELECTION? A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution," Trump wrote in a post on the social network Truth Social and accused "Big Tech" of working closely with Democrats. "Our great 'Founders' did not want, and would not condone, False & Fraudulent Elections!"
White House spokesman Andrew Bates said Saturday that Trump's remarks are "anathema to the soul of our nation, and should be universally condemned. You cannot only love America when you win. The American Constitution brings the American people together--regardless of party--and elected leaders swear to uphold it.
While Trump did not add any commentary to the post, it is not the first time he has tried to sow doubt about the legitimacy of a political opponent's right to serve in the White House. Trump rose to political prominence in part by pushing the false and racist claim that then-President Obama was not born in the U.S. During the 2016 GOP primary, he claimed Sen. Ted Cruz, one of his rivals at the time, was ineligible for the White House because he was born in Canada.
TRUMP: I know nothing about QAnon.
Q: I just told you.
TRUMP: What you tell me, doesn't necessarily make it fact. I do know they are very much against pedophilia. They fight it very hard. But I know nothing about it. If you'd like me to study the subject--
Q: They believe that there's a Satanic cult run by the deep state.
TRUMP: I'll tell you what I do know about. I know about Antifa--
Q: Republican Senator Ben Sasse said, "QAnon is nuts and real leaders call conspiracy theories."
TRUMP: He may be right.
Q: Why not just say, "it's crazy and not true?"
TRUMP: I just don't know about QAnon. What I do hear about it, is they are very strongly against pedophilia. And I agree with that very strongly.
Q: But there's not a Satanic pedophile cult being?
TRUMP: I have no idea. I know nothing about them.
TRUMP: I know nothing about it. That was a retweet. That was an opinion of somebody. I'll put it out there. People can decide for themselves. I don't take a position. I do a lot of retweets. The media is so fake, and so corrupt, if I didn't have social media. I don't call it Twitter, I call it social media. I wouldn't be able to get the word out.
Snopes 7/13/20: One of the conspiracy theories that have plagued attempts to keep people informed during the pandemic is the idea that the coronavirus was created in a laboratory. Scientists who have studied the virus agree that it evolved naturally and crossed into humans from an animal species, most likely a bat. How exactly do we know that this virus, SARS-CoV-2, has a zoonotic animal origin and not an artificial one? The answers lie in the genetic material and evolutionary history of the virus, and understanding the ecology of the bats in question.
The theory was initially propagated by The Federalist website on Sep. 27. The article claims that in "Aug. 2019, the intelligence community secretly eliminated a requirement that whistleblowers provide direct, first-hand knowledge of alleged wrongdoings."
Facts First: This is false. The whistleblower submission form was revised in Aug. 2019, but the revision did not change the rules on who can submit a whistleblower complaint. The inspector general of the intelligence community said that having firsthand knowledge of the event has never been required in order to submit a whistleblower complaint.
[pp. 15-17 of the manifesto, "The Great Replacement"]:
Q: What are your views?
A: I am on Ethno-nationalist Eco-fascist.
Q: Who do you support?
A: Those that wish a future for white children, and to ensure the existence of our people.
Q: Are you an islamophobe?
A: No, I am not afraid of islam, only that, due to its high fertility rates, it will grow to replace other peoples and faiths.
Q: Are you an anti-semite?
A: No, A jew living in israel is no enemy of mine.
Q: Are you a supporter of Donald Trump?
A: As a symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose? Sure. As a policy maker and leader? Dear god no.
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