If the Senate confirms Kash Patel as President-elect Donald Trump’s FBI director, perhaps he will get to the bottom of a case international conspiracy involving “a secret cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophiles who kidnap, abuse and ritually murder thousands of children.” At least that’s what QAnon followers, whose bizarre beliefs are guided by the oracular messages of one or more individuals nicknamed “Q,” might hope, given Patel’s comments. openings for them.

Patel, for his part, says he “disagrees with a lot of what this movement says.” He nevertheless considers it an important component of the MAGA constituency, appeared on numerous pro-QAnon shows and has promoted the sect in social media posts.

Patel’s attitude is perhaps unsurprising, since QAnon portrays Trump as a savior fighting against the evil forces that make up the “deep state,” which reportedly includes prominent Democrats, Hollywood bigwigs, the media and other left-wing organizations. Stripped of its most outlandish elements, this is essentially the story Patel tells in his 2023 book. Government gangsterswhich describes a “deep state” conspiracy against Trump that Patel likens to a plan to overthrow democracy and the Constitution.

“The Q thing is a movement,” Patel said podcast host Mary Grace in November 2022. “A lot of people are latching on to it. I don’t agree with a lot of what this movement says, but I agree with a lot of what it says this movement.”

Patel took a similar stance during a June 2020 interview with BardsFM. “I agree with some of what he does, and I disagree with some of what he does,” he said. saidreferring to the pseudonymous source of QAnon theories. “If it allows people to come together and focus on the truth and the facts, I’m all for it.”

When a News from the Patriot Party the host claimed, during a June 2022 show, that “Q was so right about so many things,” Patel admitted. “I agree with you,” he said. said. “He did it. And you have to take that after Q accumulated and change it a little bit. That’s all I’m saying. He should be recognized for all the things he’s accomplished, because it’s difficult to create a movement.

The minor adjustments that Patel had in mind would likely include dropping demands such as fictional video which allegedly showed Hillary Clinton and her aide Huma Abedin “ripping off a child’s face and wearing it as a mask before drinking the child’s blood in a satanic ritual sacrifice.” Patel might also want to excise the belief that Trump, sipping from a bottle of water during a speech during his first year as president, displayed “a secret sign that he (was) about to bring down an elite trafficking ring sexual abuse of children. Come to think of it, this whole idea of ​​an “elite child sex trafficking ring” run by progressive Satanists, which is central to the teachings of QAnon, I may have to go.

Such quibbles didn’t stop Patel from effusively congratulating his hosts during a September 2022 appearance on The MG showa QAnon podcast. “You are the best”, Patel said. “I love being a part of your program.” What makes them the “best”, it seems, is that they have the right enemies, who are mostly the same. enemies that Patel identifies in Government gangsters.

This book includes a list of 60 names of current and former government officials, ranging from President Joe Biden to disgruntled Trump appointees such as former Attorney General Bill Barr, whom Patel identifies as part of the “deep state.” meaning they committed unspecified acts. crimes” as “conspirators” determined to oppose Trump’s agenda, which Patel confuses with the fate of the republic. Patel notes that the list is limited to people who have served in the executive branch, so it does not include “other highest-level corrupt actors,” such as Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Rep. Eric Swalwell (D – California), and “the entire fake news mafia press”.

Despite the overlap between QAnon and the MAGA movement, a reasonably cautious Trump supporter might be hesitant to ally himself with people who espouse blatantly crazy ideas about how the world works. In 2018, NBC News (part of the “Deep State,” as Patel defines it) reported that moderators of a pro-Trump Reddit forum had “banned Qanon posts and automatically deleted any new posts about the theory,” which they “now view as an embarrassment to their community.”

The article cited other signs of right-wing discomfort with QAnon. “Rick Wiles, host of the Christian survival radio show ‘Trunews,’ recently called Qanon a ‘big lie,'” NBC News noted. “Evangelical preacher Lance Wallanau, who recently called Rush Limbaugh a ‘secular prophet,’ said people must be ‘a special kind of idiot’ to believe the theory.” Cartoonist Scott Adams, “a staunch Trump supporter,” warned that QAnon made MAGA supporters look like “a bunch of idiots.” Even Information wars Founder Alex Jones, who “once promoted the theory”, had told listeners they should “put a fork in the Qanon avatar”, which he said “is now an overgrown source of misinformation”.

Although Patel also says he doesn’t buy everything QAnon sells (only “a lot”), he has been much less reluctant to welcome its adherents into the fold. In June 2022, Patel, who serves to the board of directors of the Trump Media & Technology Group, owner of Truth Social, said the platform aimed to “incorporate ‘QAnon’ into our overall messaging system to capture audiences.”

This goal is consistent with Patel’s appearances on podcasts like The MG show and with thanks Truth Social to QAnon. “Having a beer with @Q right now…” Patel said in a February 2022 article, referencing the author of this Truth Social account. In July of that year, he released a self-congratulatory “Fight With Kash.” picture which included a flaming Q symbol.

A recent CNN report highlighted Patel’s alliances with QAnon, including his camaraderie with The MG show. This week, MG Show welcomes Jeffrey Pedersen and Shannon Townsend disparaged “CNN’s failed attempt to portray Kash Patel as a QAnon figure.” But last week they welcomed “the exciting news of Kash Patel’s excellent appointment to the FBI”, noting that Q had distinguished him as “a name to remember” in a 2018 article.

Given that Patel has repeatedly expressed reservations about QAnon beliefs, it would not be accurate to describe him as “a QAnon figure.” Still, it would be fair to say that he expressed admiration for the movement, and QAnon followers returned the favor. The basis of this affinity is a shared allegiance to Trump and a similar Manichean view that divides the world between noble Trump supporters and malicious critics whose opposition to him counts as prima facie evidence of their involvement in a criminal conspiracy which would call for investigation and investigation. pursuit.

A spokesperson for Patel called CNN reports “a pathetic attempt at guilt by association.” But the association in this case is one that Patel deliberately and repeatedly chose, which does not reflect well on the judgment of the man who Trump says should lead the government’s top law enforcement agency federal. And the reason for this association is even more troubling for anyone expecting a man in this position to be guided by the fundamental principles of justice and respect for the rule of law.