Eric Trump Posts QAnon Meme, Boosting Conspiracy Fueling Antismitism

Eric Trump shared a QAnon meme on his Instagram promoting Donald Trump’s Tulsa, Oklahoma rally. (The rally, located in the same city where the 1921 Tulsa Massacre occurred, was originally scheduled for Juneteenth. It was the first public campaign event Trump has held since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic). The FBI declared QAnon a potential domestic terror threat in 2019

The now-deleted Instagram post Eric Trump shared. At the bottom is the sign “WWG1WGA,” a shortened version of a common QAnon motto: “where we go one, we go all.”

QAnon is a conspiracy theory that started on the right-wing extremist message board 4chan by an anonymous poster named “Q” who claimed to have secret knowledge of high-level government plans. The conspiracy’s basic premise is that Trump is secretly executing an ingenious plan to take down the “deep state” by ridding the government and media of his enemies, who, according to QAnon believers, are pedophiles, George Soros, elites in Hollywood, and a similar vague cast of characters. The conspiracy has adapted to explain different national and global events, always with the assurance that the events are part of Trump’s master plan. Like most conspiracy theories, QAnon fuels antisemitism: In addition the the George Soros dog whistle, the notion of a secret group of people (usually Jews) conspiring to undermine the country is a core component of antisemitic ideology. In Q mythology, Trump is the strong, brilliant leader fighting victoriously to free the people of America from this powerful, mysterious cabal.

Eric Trump later deleted the Instagram post, but he is not the first or the only member of the Trump family to amplify Q messaging. Trump himself has retweeted QAnon accounts, including sharing tweets that have QAnon hashtags in them. Trump’s official presidential campaign has produced video advertisements featuring QAnon signs and flags.

QAnon’s creep into the Republican mainstream has further accelerated with the influx of QAnon believers running for public office. One Georgia candidate in particular, who refuses to answer questions about her association with a former KKK leader and his current white supremacist organization, is almost certain to win her race.