Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, on Friday denounced President Donald Trump's refusal to condemn the far-right conspiracy QAnon as indicative of an "alarming pattern" in politics.
Romney's statement targeting Trump echoed one he issued earlier in the week that criticized people across the political spectrum for refusing "to forcefully and convincingly repudiate" divisive and conspiratorial groups.
"The president's unwillingness to denounce an absurd and dangerous conspiracy theory last night continues an alarming pattern: politicians and parties refuse to forcefully and convincingly repudiate groups like antifa, white supremacists and conspiracy peddlers,'' Romney said in his statement tweeted Friday.
''Similarly troubling is their silence regarding anti-vaxxers, militias, and anarchists. Rather than expel the rabid fringes and the extremes, they have coddled or adopted them, eagerly trading their principles for the hope of electoral victories. As the parties rush down a rabbit hole, they may be opening a door to a political movement that could eventually eclipse them both."
QAnon is a right-wing conspiracy theory that contends Trump is secretly fighting against a global, satanic child sex-trafficking ring led by Democrats and Hollywood elites.
Trump has repeatedly claimed he doesn't know much about QAnon, which was tagged by the FBI as a domestic terrorist threat in 2019. But he bragged that ''I understand they like me very much'' in August, Axios reported, posting video of the remarks.
On Thursday night, Trump asserted to NBC’s Savannah Guthrie:
''I don't know anything about QAnon.''
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