“Trumpworld wants distance from QAnon even as the ex-president winks at it,” by Politico’s Tina Nguyen and Meridith McGraw: “Trump and his aides have made efforts to keep QAnon from becoming a prominent feature of Trump events for years. There had been a longstanding (though not always successfully executed) policy at Trump rallies to remove any signs or slogans relating to non-Trump causes, and QAnon merchandising fell into that blanket policy. ‘If we let in one Q shirt out of hundreds of shirts,’ the negative press would be astounding, said one person close to Trump. ... Trump associates also told POLITICO that they had attempted to weed out any QAnon influences — both adherents and postings — getting close to him. The attempts at creating distance from QAnon have been complicated, however, by the former president, who has refused to disavow the movement even when described to him as a conspiracy.”

Source: Washington Post July 12, 2021 15:33 UTC