Presidential politics mainstreamed conspiracy theory speech

Evidence

Trump’s presidency also brought conspiracy theorists into the mainstream. In December 2015, as part of his campaign, Trump appeared on Alex Jones’s Infowars radio show. Jones was already infamous for claiming the victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting were “crisis actors.” Despite the despicable nature of Jones’s rhetoric, Trump praised him on air, saying, “Your reputation is amazing.” Trump would go on to repeat Infowars staples on the campaign trail, including the baseless claim that Obama secretly supported the Islamic State. — W. David Marx, Blank Space, 449

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: A single speech turned an unknown politician into a presidential nominee — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 400; Pat Robertson mainstreamed an Illuminati conspiracy theory through national stature — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic…, 294; Fringe conspiracy talking points migrated directly into a presidential campaign via its candidate — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 20 (+4 more)