When we look back at the years in politics 2020, there will certainly be a whole lot to talk about it, and we haven’t even made it to the election quite yet.
Of all the storylines involved in this bizarre year, however, none has been quite as unique as the Qanon phenomenon, in which Americans often espousing the beliefs of the far right believe that a high level Trump administration insider is leaking information to them online via a long running series of cryptic questions.
The FBI has suggested that followers of Q could somehow be dangerous, with many wondering where and how the entire fiasco got started.
Now, at least one Republican congressman is suggesting that his own party publicly disavow the alleged conspiracy theory.
Rep. Adam Kinzinger on Sunday emphasized the importance of President Donald Trump and other leaders calling out QAnon — a set of far-right conspiracy theories that allege the existence of a “deep state” against Trump.
The Illinois Republican, who posted a video on YouTube explaining QAnon on Sunday morning, said it’s time for other lawmakers to definitively and emphatically denounce the theories.
The issue has come to the forefront of American politics after a Georgia politician named Marjorie Greene noticed a primary victory last week after full-throatedly endorsing the Qanon theory.
This is what prompted Kinzinger to speak out.
“I think up to maybe about a week ago there wasn’t a reason to denounce it because it didn’t need the attention, but now that it’s made mainstream — we have a candidate that embraces it that won a primary,” he said.
In a briefing last week, Trump sidestepped a question about Greene’s support for QAnon. Kinzinger said it’s time for the president and leading lawmakers to disavow it.
“The president hasn’t fully denounced it or denounced it at all,” he said. “Now it’s time for leaders to come out and denounce it.”
Followers of Q are certainly an enthusiastic bunch, to put it diplomatically, and there is little doubt that they would spin a shunning – even by Trump himself – as all a part of the plan, imploring others to once again “trust the process”.
