Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden recommended that believers of the QAnon conspiracy theory seek mental health treatment.
He was asked about the fringe movement in a press conference from Wilmington, Delaware, on Friday.
“I’ve been a big supporter of mental health. I’d recommend people who believe it should take advantage of it while it still exists under the Affordable Care Act,” Biden said.
QAnon is a conspiracy theory tied to a right-wing fringe culture that claims “deep state” satanists are working to undermine President Trump, among other things. The tangle of theories and subtheories sprung from someone, who claimed to be a high-ranking intelligence officer in the Trump administration, posting in anonymous internet forums called “Q.” The “Q’s” cryptic predictions have repeatedly been false.
Last month, Trump declined to renounce support from QAnon or call the group’s beliefs false.
“I don’t know much about the movement other than I understand they like me very much, which I appreciate. But I don’t know much about the movement. I have heard that it is gaining in popularity,” Trump said. “I’ve heard these are people that love our country, and they just don’t like seeing [riots]. So, I don’t know really anything about it other than they do supposedly like me.”
Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican nominee in the race for Georgia’s 14th Congressional District, has faced criticism for her previous engagement with QAnon theories and has since distanced herself from the movement.
