During an NBC town hall event in Miami, President Donald Trump was asked to repudiate the far-right (and frankly bonkers) QAnon conspiracy theory. But he didn’t do that, and instead even praised the movement.

If you’re still a bit in the dark about what the QAnon theory purports, I’ll shed some light. Those who believe this theory contend that Trump is waging an unseen battle against a deep state of Satan-worshipping pedophiles. Believers purport Democratic leaders, entertainers, and business leaders are taking part in this, writes Kristin Doerer, for Right Wing Watch.

This theory was once widely viewed with considerable skepticism by the Republican Party, but now it’s entered the mainstream and flooded the GOP with only slight resistance, even though the FBI now considers it as a potential reservoir for domestic terrorism. And the theory has already been linked to deadly violence.

Even though Trump has shown his white supremacist colors, you’d think even he’d denounce something this dangerously stupid. But he doesn’t. Even when Savannah Guthrie, host of the town hall, asked him to clarify some of his statements from the late September debate with Joe Biden. She was asking him specifically about his failure to denounce white supremacy and his statement where he told the Proud Boys hate group to “stand back and stand by.”

But Trump merely responded to her questions by saying “I denounce white supremacy, okay?” Then he claimed, falsely that he did so during the first debate.

That’s when Guthrie asked him about QAnon and explained that followers of this theory believe “that Democrats have a satanic pedophile ring and you are the savior of that,” she told him. Then she asked, “Can you just once and for all state that this is not true and disavow QAnon in its entirety?”

You’d think that would be enough for Trump, but apparently, it wasn’t. He responded:

“I know nothing about QAnon, I know very little.”

“I just told you,” Guthrie said.

“You told me, but what you told me doesn’t necessarily make it a fact, I hate to say that,” Trump fired back. “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.”

Immediately after this weird exchange, Right Wing Watch tweeted that “Nobody in QAnon World is ‘fighting’ pedophilia at all. They are simply accusing everyone they don’t like of *being* pedophiles. There is a difference.”

Nobody in QAnon World is "fighting" pedophilia at all. They are simply accusing everyone they don't like of *being* pedophiles. There is a difference. https://t.co/XhUogbhxyt

— Right Wing Watch (@RightWingWatch) October 16, 2020

Trump also refused to denounce the QAnon theory. In August, a reporter asked him: “Mr. President, at the crux of the theory is this belief that you are secretly saving the world from this Satanic cult of pedophiles and cannibals. Does that sound like something you are behind or a believer in?”

“Well, I haven’t heard that,” Trump responded. “But is that supposed to be a bad thing or a good thing? I mean, you know, if I can help save the world from problems, I’m willing to do it. I’m willing to put myself out there.”

QAnon has spread like cancer across a massive network that has rapaciously swallowed up social media platforms. Commentators on these forums have acquired huge numbers of followers while pushing the theory, and Trump is central to this because he’s the hero waging the battle. It’s infiltrated parts of the evangelical community, Seven Mountains Dominionism, mixed martial arts, and even some wellness communities. Which is creepy.

But the theory is also gaining steam in political circles, now that dozens of QAnon believers all ran as Republicans for Congress and several, including nutter Marjorie Taylor Greene who’s running for a GOP Senate seat in Georgia, stands a good chance of winning.

There’s nothing Trump loves more than attention, especially if it paints him as the good guy. So the fact that he doesn’t condone this odious theory makes sense. These people make up a large percentage of his supporters, who seem to love him without reservation. Trump is always the star of his own show, no matter what he’s doing. If he loses the election, he’ll still be the star of his own show. We just won’t have to deal with it anymore.