Trump refuses to disavow QAnon conspiracy theory during town hall

Donald Trump refused to denounce QAnon – a rightwing conspiracy theory that the FBI believes is a potential domestic terror threat – during an NBC town hall on Thursday night.

Asked by the NBC host Savannah Guthrie if he would denounce the theory and “just say it’s crazy and not true”, Trump responded: “I don’t know about QAnon.”

Guthrie suggested to Trump that he did actually know about the conspiracy theory, which has been widely covered in the press and has found support among many of Trump’s supporters.

“What I do hear about it, they are very strongly against pedophilia,” Trump said.

QAnon adherents believe that a cabal of Satan-worshipping Democrats, Hollywood celebrities and billionaires runs the world while engaging in pedophilia, human trafficking and the harvesting of a supposedly life-extending chemical from the blood of abused children. The conspiracy theory has roots in antisemitic tropes.

After Trump’s comment, Guthrie again pressed him to clarify that he did not believe in the conspiracy theory.

As Trump continued to equivocate, and the pair talked over one another, Trump said: “So cute.”

Later Guthrie asked Trump why he had retweeted a QAnon Twitter account which claimed, baselessly, that Joe Biden had had a navy Seal team killed.

“That was a retweet! People can decide for themselves!” Trump said.

Guthrie responded: “I don’t get that. You’re the president, not someone’s crazy uncle.”

The Trump town hall, in Miami, was scheduled after Trump refused to commit to a virtual presidential debate. Biden held a town hall at the same time on ABC.

Several Republican candidates running for Congress in November have backed QAnon – and in turn been endorsed by Trump.

Additional reporting by Julia Carrie Wong