Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo set off a firestorm of criticism on social media Sunday for a conspiracy theory she pitched during an interview with failed, one-term former President Donald Trump.
Trump began the lying by asserting that the government official who shot Capitol insurrectionist Ashli Babbitt “was the head of security for a certain high official. A Democrat. It’s gonna come out.”
That was all Bartiromo needed to start spewing bullshit, claiming (with zero substantiation) that she had asked Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) for “answers,” but had been rebuffed by the senator.
Maria Bartiromo strongly hints that someone associated with Chuck Schumer shot Ashli Babbitt. Completely irresponsible stuff. pic.twitter.com/CDEvkpK64N
But as many on Twitter pointed out, both Trump and Bartiromo are both clearly trying to incite more violence. One Twitter user noted:
“This is incredibly sick stuff. Maria Bartiromo’s show has become the go-to platform for the most malevolent garbage the MAGA crowd wants to circulate.”
Others also lit up Bartiromo (who pretends to be a journalist) for her irresponsible remarks:
Maria Bartiromo not only blamed the Democrats for Ashli Babbitt’s death but a Jewish Democrat at that, doubling down in anti Semitic rhetoric promulgated by conspiracy theory Republicans! https://t.co/3c7Udh5XWv
Maria Bartiromo needs to be arrested if something happens to that officer. https://t.co/I0uSYMdGXz
— Only two choices, Biden or Fascism! Ebony Noor ✊🏿 (@DarlingEbony) July 11, 2021
Maria Bartiromo is one sick puppy. She called an insurrectionist a wonderful young woman today and described her climbing through a jagged just broken window in the off-limits Capitol as an everyday routine action. This is disgusting!
This is incredibly sick stuff. Maria Bartiromo’s show has become the go-to platform for the most malevolent garbage the MAGA crowd wants to circulate. https://t.co/kV9H6vs3sK
If you thought you’d heard all of the crazy crap about the 2020 election and how failed, one-term former President Donald Trump will soon be “reinstated” to the presidency, the bizarre just turned surreal thanks to a meme circulating on social media that suggests the U.S. military is “ready to act” as soon as the Arizona election audit is complete and put the Donald back in the White House.
According to PolitiFact, the meme in question (which has made the rounds on Facebook most recently) also included a video with this line which is read by a narrator:
“This stuff is coming out and showing what actually happened with the 2020 election. So, this is what’s happening but the deep state on the other hand, they are panicking. The storm is on its way.”
“The text on the post leaves the impression that a military unit is preparing or has been asked to take some action when the results of the Maricopa audit are released. But we found no evidence of that.
“The statement on Facebook was posted as the monthslong review of 2.1 million ballots cast in the 2020 presidential election was winding down in Maricopa, the state’s largest county. The ballot review was organized by state Senate Republicans, with encouragement from former President Donald Trump.”
Donald Trump is not going to be reinstated as president. Not now and not ever. And the U.S. military only takes orders from one person: The legitimate commander-in-chief, President Joe Biden.
As the conspiracy theory that former President Donald Trump will be reinstated in August continues to gain traction on right-wing media and among some ardent Trump supporters, it’s also causing considerable concern among the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that it could touch off acts of domestic terrorism.
According to Politico, John Cohen, the top counterterrorism official at DHS, told members of the House Homeland Security Committee this week that the agency is watching chatter among “reinstatement” theorists carefully:
“In the briefing, Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) asked Cohen how DHS is following the spread of disinformation and conspiracy theories, as well as the way that discourse can fuel violence. She specifically brought up the conspiracy theory claiming Trump will be reinstated as president in August — a theory Trump himself has reportedly promoted.
“Cohen replied that DHS is not aware of any specific, credible threats of violence linked to the conspiracy theory about Trump being reinstated. But he added that DHS is following discussion of the topic online among extremist communities. And he said department officials are highly concerned about it because it fuels the false narrative that the election was rigged — a narrative that may trigger a violent response from extremists.”
This is what we’ve come to in the United States: Lies are spread on Fox News, Newsmax, and One America and then work their way into the morass of disinformation and virulent hatred that festers in online communities.
Perhaps the most fervent spreader of lies that Trump will be returned to the White House later this year is MyPillow founder and CEO Mike Lindell, who continues to move the goalposts when one deadline passes without the failed, one-term president being coronated as national potentate. Reportedly, even Trump is buying Lindell’s fact-free pronouncements:
“Lindell told The Daily Beast that Trump probably reached that conclusion because he has been promoting it.”
“If Trump is saying August, that is probably because he heard me say it publicly.”
The reinstatement lie has also gained traction among a large number of Americans, with almost one-third saying in a recent poll that they also believe Trump will be back as head of state sometime this year.
It remains to be seen how conspiracy theorists will react if Trump is indicted, which seems likely, but there have been warnings that action may also touch off acts of terrorism from Trump supporters.
Apparently, we now live in a country where millions of our fellow citizens are too damn lazy to search for the truth and too stupid to believe it when it’s right in front of them.