Landing on the following exchange, among so many others between Trump and Ingraham nearly a week ago, to illustrate how bizarre the President’s utterances have become, is virtually arbitrary. But it does cast doubt on the viability of Trump’s ‘strategy’ of portraying his Democratic opponent as mentally unfit.
Ingraham: Who do you think is pulling Biden’s strings? Is it former Obama officials?
Trump: People that you’ve never heard of. People that are in the dark shadows. People that are –
What does that mean? That sounds like conspiracy theory? Dark shadows, what is that?
No. People that you haven’t heard of. They’re people that are on the streets. They 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 thugs. Wearing these dark uniforms, black uniforms, with gear and this and that. They’re on a plane.
Where is — ?
I’ll tell you sometime. But it’s under investigation right now. But they came from a certain setting. And this person was coming to the Republican National Convention. And there were seven people on the plane like this person. And then a lot of people on the plane to do big damage. They were coming –
Planning for Washington?
Yes. This was all, this is all happening.
But the money is coming from somewhere?
The money is coming from –
How can it be tracked?
— from some very stupid rich people that have no idea that if their thing ever succeeded, which it won’t, they will be thrown to the wolves like [you’ve never seen before.]
NBC’s Ben Collins traces this ‘rumor’ back to June 1, with a baseless Facebook post, which prompted numerous Trump followers — alert to the peril — to swing into action, arming themselves and setting out to counter the threat.
They may have regarded themselves (in Richard Hofstadter’s words) as “capable of perceiving the conspiracy before it is fully obvious to an as yet unaroused public.”
More frightening is that Trump, to whom the United States Intelligence Community reports, appears to have been taken in by the ‘rumor’ as well.