David Bridges
You can take the man off of Twitter, but you can’t take the urge to post out of the man
Former President Donald Trump spent Tuesday morning feverishly sharing content from supporters on his social media platform Truth Social, posting or re-posting more than 60 times since early Tuesday morning, including content from QAnon accounts and the far-right message board 4chan.
In the face of a DOJ probe over his post-presidency handling of classified documents, Trump has sought reassurance from his most loyal followers, including accounts like “Patriotic American Alpha Sauce” and “ULTRA-MAGA 4LIFE” who post memes lauding the former president.
Trump using Truth Social to push QAnon content isn’t new. Alongside jabs at Biden and prominent Democrats, Trump has amplified QAnon-promoting accounts at least 70 times since joining and actively using Truth Social,” Media Matters Senior Researcher Alex Kaplan tweeted on Monday.
Among his Tuesday morning posting spree, Trump “re-truthed” the text of a message from Q, the conspiracy deity claiming to be a high-ranking government official with “Q” level security clearance, and whose adherents believe Trump will save America from a cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophiles.
Trump has thrown red meat at QAnon believers of his base in the past. The signs and slogans of the conspiracy are not an uncommon sight at Trump rallies and events. The former president refused on multiple occasions to denounce QAnon, which has been deemed a potential terror threat. As recently as earlier this month, Trump posted a video of himself to Truth Social that featured a song affiliated with QAnon.
The flurry of posts and re-posts Tuesday morning document the former president’s online stream of consciousness, which extends beyond QAnon to everything from accusations of corruption within the FBI, to misappropriated George Orwell quotes, to poop jokes about President Biden.
On Monday, Trump who has been attempting to shore up his political base for a potential third presidential bid, called for an immediate re-do of the 2020 election or his instatement as the rightful president of the United States. His possibly illegal campaign-style activities have been overshadowed in recent weeks by the Justice Department’s investigation into the classified documents he hoarded at Mar-a-Lago and whether he may have violated the Espionage Act. The Justice Department is expected to release a receipt of the materials seized in an August raid of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home on Tuesday.
Cameron Steel
