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September 2, 2020

Trump Spreads Conspiracy Theories About Biden, "Dark Shadows" & Thugs on Airplanes
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In an apparent nod to the far-right QAnon conspiracy theory, President
Trump has claimed Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is being
secretly controlled by people in the "dark shadows." Trump made the
comment during an interview with Laura Ingraham of Fox News.

President Donald Trump: "I don't even like to mention Biden, because
he's not controlling anything. They control him."

Laura Ingraham: "Who do you think is pulling Biden's strings? Is it
former Obama officials?"

President Donald Trump: "People that you've never heard of. People that
are in the dark shadows. People that are" -

Laura Ingraham: "What does that mean? That sounds like conspiracy
theory: 'dark shadows.' What is that?"

President Donald Trump: "No, people that you haven't heard of. There are
people that are on the streets. There are people that are controlling
the streets. We had somebody get on a plane from a certain city this
weekend, and in the plane, it was almost completely loaded with - with
thugs wearing these dark uniforms, black uniforms, with gear and this
and that. They're on a plane."

Laura Ingraham: "Where was this?"

President Donald Trump: "I'll tell you sometime, but it's under
investigation."

President Trump provided no evidence to back up his claim about thugs on
planes. He initially claimed the plane was headed to the Republican
National Convention. On Tuesday, he told reporters the plane was going
from Washington to "wherever." NBC reports Trump's claim is very similar
to a conspiracy theory started in June by a man in Idaho that went viral
within far-right circles on social media.


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