An unsettling amount of Trump supporters believe Democrats are involved in "a satanic pedophile ring," according to a national survey conducted by Yahoo News/YouGov.
The poll reveals about 48 percent of the president's base has heard of the unfounded conspiracy theory propagated by the QAnon. However, when specifically asked about the movement's underlying claims, 50 percent said they believe high-ranking Democrats were involved in elite child-sex trafficking rings that included practices of satanic worship; and about 52 percent of Trump supporters said they believe the president is working to dismantle those rings.
By comparison, a whooping 82 percent of Joe Biden supporters said they do not believe the baseless conspiracy theory; 5 percent said they do, and about 13 percent said they were unsure. The poll also shows that about 31 percent of registered voters have been exposed to online messages about the conspiracy. Thirty-eight percent of Trump supporters said they received emails from friends and family about the claim; only 24 percent of Biden supporters said the same.
Trump was questioned about the QAnon conspiracy theory last week during NBC's town hall with Savannah Guthrie. Trump predictably claimed he didn't know much about the movement, which has been deemed a potential domestic terrorist threat.
"Let me ask you about QAnon," Guthrie said to Trump. "It is this theory that Democrats are a Satanic pedophile ring and that you are the savior of that. Now, can you just once and for all state that that is completely not true and disavow QAnon in its entirety?"
"I know nothing about QAnon ... You told me but what you tell me doesn't necessarily make it fact, I hate to say that," the president responded. "I know nothing about it. I do know they are very much against pedophilia. They fight it very hard but I know nothing about it."
