Trump, GOP fuel conspiracy theories: Eating pets, a rigged debate and QAnon

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

60% : When Trump says something, he added, "I take his word.
53% : By the end of the week - with some of his allies squirming - Trump was pushing the idea, too.
44% : Their approach has been on vivid display lately, from the debate stage in Philadelphia to other high-profile public appearances to social media - where false information has spread quickly and Trump has been posting a stream of artificial intelligence-generated images of himself with pets supposedly under threat.
43% : Trump on Friday defended Loomer as "strong person" with "strong opinions."
42% : "Led by Trump, Republicans have increasingly embraced groundless allegations that were once relegated to the political fringes, ensuring they are part of the party's message to voters in the final, critical months of this year's election.
40% : The former president also recently shared posts with explicit nods to QAnon, a baseless conspiracy theory that has gained particular traction among his supporters and casts Trump as a savior fighting shadowy forces - often Democrats or societal elites - who sex-traffic children.
29% : Trump "has a history of saying things that people discounted initially," Scott said.
29% : "With polls showing Trump holding a clear advantage on immigration, some Republicans have suggested that there are numerous other, more effective avenues for raising the issue.
29% : "I don't control Laura," Trump said.
29% : Some have claimed without evidence that Democrats are illegally registering undocumented immigrants to vote; Trump said at Tuesday's debate that "people are trying to get them to vote, and that's why they're allowing them into our country.
28% : Hours later, he wrote in a post on Truth Social: "I disagree with the statements she made but, like the many millions of people who support me, she is tired of watching the Radical Left Marxists and Fascists violently attack and smear me."Even as some Republicans suggested that Trump instead focus his attention on substantively discussing matters where the party has a clear political advantage, many GOP leaders dodged questions about the Haitian immigrant claims, and a few prominent Republicans placed the blame on Trump and his history of pushing false, fringe notions into the mainstream.
28% : But Trump repeated it in Tuesday night's presidential debate, saying immigrants in Springfield are "eating the dogs" and "eating the cats.
27% : Trump defended Loomer at a Friday news conference.
24% : After Trump repeated the unsubstantiated smear from the debate stage, a bomb threat used "hateful language" toward Haitians and targeted city hall and other buildings in the city, including an elementary school, according to the mayor.
22% : Asked at the news conference about her comments about 9/11 as well as recent racist remarks about Harris, Trump said he would try to learn more and issue a statement.
20% : Trump, Erickson said in another post, "gets what he deserves ... surrounded by crazy people who say crazy things.
18% : Trump on Friday brushed off concerns about his decision to amplify the false claims about Haitians.
14% : As the pet-eating claims jumped from social media to Vance to Trump himself, some Republicans aired their frustrations publicly.
12% : "If you're on the ballot this fall, you have to be nervous about this type of distraction," said former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson, who unsuccessfully challenged Trump in the 2024 primaries.
7% : When it comes to Loomer, Trump has praised and amplified her on social media throughout his campaign, at one point sharing her false statement that Harris's birth certificate shows she is "lying about being Black."
6% : Even some of Trump's staunchest allies in Congress were aghast at Loomer's appearances with Trump, with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) saying he hopes "this problem gets resolved."

*Our bias meter rating uses data science including sentiment analysis, machine learning and our proprietary algorithm for determining biases in news articles. Bias scores are on a scale of -100% to 100% with higher negative scores being more liberal and higher positive scores being more conservative, and 0% being neutral. The rating is an independent analysis and is not affiliated nor sponsored by the news source or any other organization.