WEBVTT 00:01.900 --> 00:05.400 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% For more on the former president and what appears to be his more overt embrace of QAnon, 00:07.200 --> 00:09.933 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% we turn to Mike Rothschild, author of the book "The Storm Is Upon Us: 00:09.933 --> 00:14.333 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% How QAnon Became a Movement, Cult, and Conspiracy Theory of Everything." 00:14.333 --> 00:17.733 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% Mike Rothschild, welcome to the "NewsHour." Thanks for joining us. 00:17.733 --> 00:22.733 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% So, that overt embrace that some people say that they're seeing at these Trump rallies, 00:24.300 --> 00:26.400 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% what do you see? When you look at the rallies, from the messaging, 00:26.400 --> 00:31.333 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% to the merchandise, is it a more overt embrace of this dangerous conspiracy theory? 00:33.366 --> 00:34.900 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% MIKE ROTHSCHILD, Author, "The Storm Is Upon Us: How QAnon Became a Movement, 00:34.900 --> 00:36.433 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Cult, and Conspiracy Theory of Everything": What I'm seeing at 00:36.433 --> 00:38.600 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% the Trump rallies is absolutely a more overt embrace of QAnon. 00:38.600 --> 00:42.300 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% It looks almost like a church service, with the swaying and the music and the two-way worship. 00:44.800 --> 00:49.500 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% This is a former president who is facing some real jeopardy. His back is really against the wall. And 00:51.566 --> 00:54.966 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% when your back is against the wall, you turn to the people who have always been in your corner. 00:54.966 --> 00:59.233 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% And, for Trump, this is the QAnon movement. These are people who have 00:59.233 --> 01:02.933 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% stuck with him through everything that's happened. Every loss has 01:02.933 --> 01:06.700 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% just reaffirmed their faith in his greatness and his eventual victory. 01:06.700 --> 01:09.300 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% So, when Trump looks at the QAnon movement, 01:09.300 --> 01:14.300 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% he sees a group of people who look at him as an almost messianic figure. And he is 01:16.300 --> 01:19.000 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% reflecting back to them the love that he's -- that he's been given by them. 01:19.000 --> 01:21.000 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% AMNA NAWAZ: There's been a lot of headlines, 01:21.000 --> 01:24.166 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% a lot of attention to pay to some of these elements. There's a song, in particular, 01:24.166 --> 01:29.166 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% that seems to be associated with people who follow QAnon. And Trump actually has used it in a video. 01:31.733 --> 01:35.833 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% It has also been played at rallies, like this one last weekend in Ohio. Just take a quick lesson. 01:37.833 --> 01:40.000 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% DONALD TRUMP, Former President of the United States: We are a nation that has weaponized 01:40.000 --> 01:45.000 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% its law enforcement against the opposing political party like never, ever before. 01:47.900 --> 01:52.233 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% We have got a Federal Bureau of Investigation that won't allow bad 01:53.700 --> 01:56.466 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% election-changing facts to be presented to the public. 01:56.466 --> 02:00.600 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% AMNA NAWAZ: Now, Mike, the Trump team says this has nothing to do with QAnon, 02:00.600 --> 02:03.333 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% the music, but tell me what you're seeing online. 02:03.333 --> 02:08.333 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% How is this music being perceived and received by people who believe in this conspiracy theory? 02:10.433 --> 02:13.233 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% MIKE ROTHSCHILD: So it's important to understand that there are really two songs going on here. 02:13.233 --> 02:18.166 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% The first is the piece that the Trump campaign says they have been using. It's a royalty-free 02:18.166 --> 02:23.166 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% piece called "Mirrors." The second song is by this Richard Feelgood person. And it's called 02:25.100 --> 02:29.100 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% "Wwg1wga," which stands for where we go one, we go all. It's the key QAnon catchphrase. 02:31.000 --> 02:34.533 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% Now, the Trump campaign says they're using "Mirrors." They're not using the 02:34.533 --> 02:39.533 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% QAnon song. The QAnon people say, well, this is our song. It's got its title. This is him 02:41.533 --> 02:44.500 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% acknowledging us. It's him patting us on the head and telling us we're doing a great job, 02:44.500 --> 02:47.066 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% and he's on our team, and we're all going to win together. 02:47.066 --> 02:52.033 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% What this really is, is, it's that messianic stance. It's them looking 02:53.966 --> 02:56.900 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% at him as this savior figure, and Trump looking at them and saying, 02:56.900 --> 02:58.966 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% well, these people love me, I'm going to give it back to them. 02:58.966 --> 03:03.800 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% So it's a two-way relationship of everybody kind of patting each other on the back and 03:05.733 --> 03:07.900 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% giving each other the thumbs-up and saying, hey, we're going to win this thing together. 03:07.900 --> 03:11.700 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% And the rest of us are just trying to figure out what is really going on here. 03:11.700 --> 03:16.600 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% AMNA NAWAZ: We have to underscore here we are talking about a baseless and dangerous 03:16.600 --> 03:21.600 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% conspiracy theory, one that fueled the January 6 insurrection, one that the FBI and Department of 03:23.533 --> 03:26.800 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% Homeland Security have issued warnings about because of potential violence from members. 03:26.800 --> 03:30.900 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% So, help us understand why this overt embrace now. I mean, 03:30.900 --> 03:34.533 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% are we talking about a significant and powerful voting bloc here? 03:34.533 --> 03:37.500 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% MIKE ROTHSCHILD: I think it's important to separate 03:37.500 --> 03:41.100 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% actual Q believers from the mass of Republicans. 03:43.100 --> 03:46.633 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% Q is a very specific thing. It has its own branding, its own iconography. And a lot of 03:48.633 --> 03:50.733 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% Republicans, even a lot of very Trump-devoted Republicans, will say, I'm not one of those Q 03:50.733 --> 03:55.166 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% people. I don't believe in that stuff. That's not me. But they believe in all the same things. 03:55.166 --> 03:59.766 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% They believe the election was stolen. They believe that violence might be necessary to get Trump back 03:59.766 --> 04:04.666 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% in office. They believe the pandemic was a hoax. It's all the same thing. So, ultimately, the 04:04.666 --> 04:09.666 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% branding and the iconography of QAnon doesn't mean as much as it used to, because this is a movement 04:11.733 --> 04:15.000 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% who had -- that has very violent tenets. It's based on a bedrock of mass arrests and executions. 04:16.966 --> 04:20.766 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% And it's being embraced by the mainstream Republican Party, even if they have dropped 04:22.733 --> 04:24.733 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% some of that branding and some of those catchphrases. So they -- these people 04:24.733 --> 04:29.166 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% have really embraced what QAnon stands for, even if they haven't directly embraced QAnon. 04:31.100 --> 04:33.033 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% AMNA NAWAZ: So, Mike, when you have someone with the power and platform 04:33.033 --> 04:37.500 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% of former President Trump overtly embracing this conspiracy theory, 04:37.500 --> 04:39.633 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% now, there's a lot of talk about what can be done about it. 04:39.633 --> 04:43.233 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% How do you respond to it? How should journalists cover it? How can 04:43.233 --> 04:47.366 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% companies and authorities and officials respond to it? What do you say to that? 04:47.366 --> 04:49.200 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% MIKE ROTHSCHILD: Well, we have to take it seriously. 04:51.166 --> 04:54.333 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% This is a movement that is -- that revolves around violence. And it's not the kind of 04:54.333 --> 04:58.800 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% thing that a former president or any real elected official would embrace. They would 04:58.800 --> 05:02.800 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% want nothing to do with this. These would be the crazy people. We don't talk about that. 05:02.800 --> 05:07.800 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% The president has now thrown his hat in with a very violent fringe group, 05:09.800 --> 05:13.233 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% and it has to be taken seriously. It has to be respected. We can't just write it 05:13.233 --> 05:17.933 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% off as some crazy Internet stuff. This is now mainstream politics. This is the 05:17.933 --> 05:22.100 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% leader of the Republican Party, the presumptive nominee for 2024. 05:22.100 --> 05:26.100 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% AMNA NAWAZ: That is Mike Rothschild, author of the book "The Storm Is Upon Us: 05:26.100 --> 05:30.300 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% How QAnon Became a Movement, Cult, and Conspiracy Theory of Everything." 05:30.300 --> 05:31.600 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% Mike, thanks for your time. 05:31.600 --> 05:32.733 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% MIKE ROTHSCHILD: Thank you.