The Republican Party is not in a position to now take a hard line on conspiracy theories

January 28, 2021 ☼ gopnutjobstrumplies

Source: The Washington Post - Link

Donald Trump told the country that he suspected that President Barack Obama was born outside the United States. He never had any evidence to that effect beyond the same rumors that were sliming their way through far-right websites like so many slugs, but he made the claim repeatedly and earnestly, relishing in the attention it brought.

Donald Trump warned the country that the Ebola virus would pour over our borders if elected leaders did not follow his advice on quarantining and restricting those infected with or potentially affected by the virus. He latched onto the issue as the 2014 midterm elections approached, mirroring what was being argued on Fox News day in and day out. The election faded, and so did the clamor.

Donald Trump began his campaign for the presidency by claiming that the Mexican government was sending criminals across the border — rapists, drug dealers. It was an echo of right-wing rhetoric, and, even when challenged, Trump refused to back down, reframing his complaints as though they were simply about the risk of crime associated with immigration. That this, too, was false didn’t derail his insistence that it wasn’t. The attention generated by his business partners ending their relationships with the Trump Organization quickly gelled the political support of a large part of the Republican primary electorate.

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