Right-Wing Conspiracy Theorists Think Democrats Could Have Intentionally Infected Donald Trump With COVID-19
Chris McDonald hosts his own YouTube show, spreading far-right conspiracy theories. In a Thursday night midnight special, he addressed Donald Trump’s diagnosis with COVID-19, saying that it’s a bad time for the president to be quarantined, and that he “wouldn’t put it past” Democrats to have intentionally infected Trump in order to sway the election. DeAnna Lorraine, a former congressional candidate who now hosts on InfoWars, is spreading the same conspiracy.
In a short clip archived by Right Wing Watch, McDonald explains his views, ending by dropping the term “assassination attempt.”
Right-wing conspiracy theorist Chris McDonald says he "wouldn't put it past" the Democrats to have intentionally infected Trump with COVID-19 in order to cancel the remaining presidential debates. https://t.co/IiI7h2Vyjg pic.twitter.com/8iJS8RodYJ
— Right Wing Watch (@RightWingWatch) October 2, 2020
I’m telling you you mark my word, they’re going to try to cancel these next two debates, and the reason I know President Trump won the debate, despite
all this Tuesday night, is that the first thing out of the left’s mouth for Wednesday morning is ‘let’s cancel the two debates.’ Now think about this. They’re screaming don’t debate Wednesday. Two days later, your president comes up with COVID-19…it don’t seem right to me and I’m not — I don’t have any proof but it sure does, it just stinks.
In the full hour-and-a-half-long episode, he makes other references to the theory, answering people from the live comments, saying at one point that he would usually not suggest Democrats could do something as “wicked and evil” as deliberately spreading COVID-19, but “this bunch…I wouldn’t put it past them.”
Former congressional candidate DeAnna Lorraine also floated theories that “the left” might have given Trump COVID-19, saying that he was fine until “they” set up a debate mic and podium for him. She suggested that somehow Joe Biden’s negative test reinforced the idea that something underhanded was going on, and asked why Republicans keep getting the virus and prominent Democrats don’t. (Some Democratic leaders have gotten the virus.)
I’m just going to say what we’re all thinking.
Trump was fine until the debate, where they set up microphones & podiums for him.
Incubation period is usually 2-3 days.
He tests positive a couple of days after the debate.
I put nothing past the left. NOTHING.#TrumpHasCOVID
— DeAnna Lorraine 🇺🇸 (@DeAnna4Congress) October 2, 2020
Something doesn’t add up. https://t.co/a53JSxuqBd
— DeAnna Lorraine 🇺🇸 (@DeAnna4Congress) October 2, 2020
The Messiah of The Left: pic.twitter.com/Lb2W7AtFDy
— DeAnna Lorraine 🇺🇸 (@DeAnna4Congress) October 2, 2020
She didn’t settle for a single conspiracy theory, though, going on instead to float the idea that “the Chinese” were attempting an assassination by virus.
Could Trump catching COVID-19 technically be viewed as an assassination attempt on our President by the Chinese?
— DeAnna Lorraine 🇺🇸 (@DeAnna4Congress) October 2, 2020
Lorraine did not appear to consider whether the politicization of mask-wearing and social distancing could be a factor.