He no longer hides. Donald Trump, who had assured that he “did not know” the Qanon movement during the 2020 campaign, is now openly flirting with its conspiracy theses and its codes. On its Truth Social network, but also during its last electoral meeting, this weekend.
The images made the rounds of the American media. On Saturday, Donald Trump ends in Youngstown, Ohio, where he came to support the Republican senatorial candidate, JD Vance. Insecurity, inflation, “fake news”… The former president lists the problems of a “nation in decline”, speaking to melancholic music. Hundreds of his supporters then raise their arms, index fingers outstretched, for several minutes.
Harmless music or Qanon anthem?
In fact, Donald Trump took over the text and music from one of his campaign clips from last month. Asked by the New York Timesits teams claim that it is a royalty-free track, Mirrorsby the American composer Will Van De Crommert, available on the Artlist.io bank. But the same piece, note for note, also exists on Spotify and YouTube under the title wwg1wga, the acronym of the Qanon motto “Where we go one, we go all”. The credits attribute it to artist Richard Feelgood, which seems to be the stage name of a Finn who shared strange videos in which he appears under a bear’s head. Contacted by 20 minutesneither Van de Crommert, nor Richard Feelgood, followed up.
Pure coincidence or deliberate choice by Donald Trump, impossible to determine at this stage. But in the Qanon spheres, the reference, received five out of five, is seen as validation of the movement.
The origin of the raised arm/extended index gesture, which seems to have spread in a few seconds, according to the images, remains mysterious for the moment. Some see it simply as the expression of a quasi-religious fervor. Others echo a gesture by nationalist Nick Fuentes for the “America First” agenda, or even a reference to Qanon’s “one”. On CNN, former Republican elected official Barbara Comstock criticized “a Qanon festival” by the former president.
Qanon conspiracy amplified by Trump on Truth Social
On his Truth Social network, Donald Trump took a new step last week: he shared a “The Storm is coming” meme showing him with a photoshopped “Q” pin on his jacket. The storm refers to the hypothetical moment – constantly postponed – that will see Donald Trump judge or eliminate the usurpers of the Deep State to return to power.
According to an analysis by the AP agency, of the 75 Truth Social accounts that Donald Trump relayed last month, a third regularly share Qanon content. On August 29, he even demanded that the verdict of the polls be annulled and the “legitimate winner reinstated”.