Donald Trump refuses to denounce QAnon at NBC town hall

The president kept saying he didn't know what it was.
 By 
Tim Marcin
 on 

At a town hall on Thursday evening, President Donald Trump absolutely refused to denounce the dangerous, cult-like QAnon conspiracy theory.

"Let me ask you about QAnon: It is this theory that Democrats are a satanic pedophile ring and that you are the savior of that," NBC News' host Savannah Guthrie said to Trump. "Can you just once and for all just state that that is completely not true?"

Trump repeatedly refused to denounce the unfounded conspiracy theory.


You May Also Like

"I know nothing about QAnon," he said. "I do know they are very much against pedophilia. They fight it very hard. But I know nothing about it."

The president then went on a rant about Antifa, saying he did know about them. Guthrie then mentioned that even Republican Sen. Ben Sasse said QAnon was a "nuts" conspiracy theory and that real leaders would acknowledge that.

"He may be right, I just don't know about QAnon," Trump insisted.

Guthrie pressed Trump bringing up the fact that he retweeted a baseless QAnon conspiracy theory that former President Barack Obama had Navy SEALs killed over some strange plot involving an Osama bin Laden body double.

"That was a retweet," Trump said. "That was an opinion of somebody and that was a retweet. I'll put it out there."

Guthrie wasn't having it.

"I don't get that," she said. "You're the president. You're not like someone's crazy uncle who can just retweet whatever."

close-up of man's face
Tim Marcin
Associate Editor, Culture

Tim Marcin is an Associate Editor on the culture team at Mashable, where he mostly digs into the weird parts of the internet. You'll also see some coverage of memes, tech, sports, trends, and the occasional hot take. You can find him on Bluesky (sometimes), Instagram (infrequently), or eating Buffalo wings (as often as possible).

Mashable Potato

Recommended For You

Supreme Court denies case seeking copyrights for AI-generated art
The exterior of the US Supreme Court building.

Jimmy Kimmel uses a 10-year-old tweet to roast Trump
A man in a suit stands on a talk show stage. An old tweet from Donald Trump is visible at the bottom of the screen.

'SNL UK' cold open mocking Keir Starmer gets shared by Donald Trump
A worried man sits behind a desk.

Stephen Colbert torches CBS during monologue on Trump's billion-dollar peace board
Stephen Colbert presents The Late Show.

More in Life
How to watch Chelsea vs. Port Vale online for free
Alejandro Garnacho of Chelsea reacts

How to watch 'Wuthering Heights' at home: Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi's controversial romance now streaming
Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi embracing in still from "Wuthering Heights"

How to watch New York Islanders vs. Philadelphia Flyers online for free
Matthew Schaefer of the New York Islanders warms up

How to watch Mexico vs. Belgium online for free
Israel Reyes of Mexico reacts

How to watch Brazil vs. Croatia online for free
Vinicius Junior #10 of Brazil leaves

Trending on Mashable
NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for April 3, 2026
Connections game on a smartphone

Wordle today: Answer, hints for April 3, 2026
Wordle game on a smartphone

What's new to streaming this week? (April 3, 2026)
A composite of images from film and TV streaming this week.

Google launches Gemma 4, a new open-source model: How to try it
Google Gemma

The biggest stories of the day delivered to your inbox.
These newsletters may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. By clicking Subscribe, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Thanks for signing up. See you at your inbox!