Dem
51
GOP
49
On Wednesday, we ran down some of the kooky conspiracy theories that were circulating among Republicans in the hours after Hunter Biden was found guilty on all counts. This presaged an uptick in conspiratorial lunacy since then. Let's take a look at a few examples.
First up is what might be called v2.0 of the Biden verdict conspiracy theories. On Wednesday, there were plenty of right-wingers willing to say that the verdict was actually proof of corruption in the Department of Justice, with various "explanations" of how, in effect, Hunter was being used as a sacrificial lamb in order to protect Joe. Some conspiracists have now moved on to grander fantasies. The latest is that the guilty verdict will give the President an excuse to drop out of the race, so that the Democrats can replace him with... Michelle Obama.
Beyond the fact that there's zero evidence for any of this, it also makes zero sense. Obama has no interest in running for president. If she was going to do it, either because she's lying about not wanting to be president, or because she was willing to take one for Team Blue, she would have run in 2020. And even if there was a grand plan to make a switch, why would a Hunter Biden conviction be necessary? Joe Biden could announce he's dropping out at any time, with any of a dozen excuses. Then, Obama could announce her availability the next day (or could arrange for Democratic leaders to "draft" her). If both the President and the former first lady are on board, that's all that's needed.
And now, conspiracy theory #2, which is actually a retread of a conspiracy theory about Michelle Obama. Candace Owens—who, we should note, shows increasing evidence of being mentally unwell—is flogging the claim that French First Lady Brigitte Macron was born a man. Not only that, but Owens alleges that Macron lived as a man for 30 years, fathered three children, and that the person who is known as Macron's brother is actually Brigitte, pre-transition. Owens shared this on Piers Morgan Uncensored. Morgan is never going to be confused with Karl Marx or Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), but even he found the whole thing ludicrous, eventually voicing his opinion that not only is the claim offensive, but that Owens doesn't really believe it, and is only saying it to get clicks and views.
And finally, a conspiracy theory that is also a retread, although this time it's a retread of a conspiracy theory about... Paul McCartney. Many readers will be familiar with the allegation that McCartney died in a car crash in 1966, and was replaced by an impersonator thereafter. An impersonator who, by the way, was nonetheless capable of writing "Let it Be," "Hey Jude" and "Penny Lane," incidentally. Anyhow, for a very long time, there were plenty of people who were absolutely convinced that "Paul is dead."
This exact same conspiracy theory attached itself to Joe Biden a couple of years ago, and it's come roaring back to life on social media in the last couple of days. The claim is that Biden died about a year into his term (possibly of cancer) and that he's since been replaced by somewhere between two and fourteen impersonators. Here is an example of the sort of "evidence" being marshaled in service of this theory:
You know, we saw the movie Dave, too, and thought it was pretty good. But, c'mon. First of all, from looking at the background, it's clear the two clips were lit differently. Plus, when you digitize video, all kinds of things can happen. Oh, and it's hardly outside the realm of possibility that these images were digitally manipulated by the fellow who posted them. Though we will admit that, at the very end of "Strawberry Fields Forever," it DOES sound like John Lennon is saying "I... buried... Joe."
Obviously, it's no secret that the Trumpublican wing of the Republican Party, which is most of the Party these days, will do anything to accommodate their Dear Leader (see the two items immediately preceding this one). It's also no secret that the Trumpublican version of reality often has little to do with actual reality (see this item, plus the two immediately preceding). However, yesterday just served as a particularly good reminder of these facts. It's also a reminder of why polls of Trump voters don't really matter, because those 70 million or so people are voting for him no matter what. There's no getting through to them, and there's no breaking the spell Trump has over them until he retires or dies (and even then, it's only maybe). In 2024, it's what happens with the non-Trumpy Republicans (an endangered species) and the independents that will be decisive. (Z)