RNC chair: QAnon is ‘something the voters are not even thinking about’ – Business Insider

Ronna McDaniel, the chair of the Republican National Committee, dismissed the QAnon movement Sunday, saying it’s an issue Americans aren’t familiar with and don’t care about. 

QAnon is a baseless far-right conspiracy theory that claims President Donald Trump is secretly fighting a “deep state” cabal of satanic pedophiles and cannibals.

“It’s something the voters are not even thinking about,” McDaniel said on ABC News’ “This Week” Sunday, when asked if she’d condemn QAnon.

“It’s a fringe group,” she added. “It’s not part of our party. The vice president said, ‘I dismiss it out of hand.’ The president said, ‘You know what, I don’t know anything about this group.’”

“But of course you’re going to ask me about that,” McDaniel said to “This Week” host George Stephanopoulos. “Because it has absolutely nothing to do with this election. Antifa is burning down cities right now.”

Last year, the FBI designated QAnon as a domestic-terrorism group, saying it’s filled with “conspiracy theory-driven domestic extremists” and citing it as a growing threat. 

McDaniel suggested that voters are not concerned about QAnon and would rather focus on developments concerning the upcoming coronavirus stimulus package. 

—This Week (@ThisWeekABC) October 18, 2020

A poll released last month from Pew Research said 47% of respondents had heard of or read about QAnon, more than double the number of people who said the same back in March.  Of the 47% who indicated they were familiar with QAnon, almost three-quarters of respondents said it’s “very bad” for the country. 

About 60% of people who said they were familiar with QAnon said they think Trump supports people who promote the movement. 

QAnon has gained strength in the public eye this year. Dozens of local and national political candidates — as well as other people in positions of power like police officers — have either been linked to the movement or promoted its beliefs.

There is a growing list of Republican politicians who have either backed or avoided denouncing QAnon. Some, including Sen. Kelly Loeffler of Georgia and the president, have received and accepted support from the group. 

Most recently, Trump refused to denounce the QAnon movement while speaking to NBC News’ Savannah Guthrie Thursday night during a town hall. He also praised the group multiple times. 

“I know nothing about it,” he said when asked if he would disavow the group and its support. “I do know they are very much against pedophilia. They fight it very hard. But I know nothing about it.”

On Friday, Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, called Trump’s refusal to condemn the fringe group “alarming.” Romney is McDaniel’s uncle.

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