Trump dodges question about whether he backs GOP candidate’s belief in QAnon

President Trump on Friday would not say whether he agreed with Georgia congressional candidate Marjorie Taylor Greene’s support of the QAnon conspiracy theory after hailing her as a “future Republican star.”

Trump was asked during a briefing about his tweet congratulating Greene on her primary victory and specifically whether he agreed with her views on QAnon, which posits that Trump will expose and arrest a “deep state” cabal of Democrats and elites who control the government and run sex trafficking rings.

“She did very well in the election. She won by a lot. She was very popular,” Trump said. “She comes from a great state. And she had a tremendous victory, so absolutely I did congratulate her.”

Trump ignored a follow-up question about QAnon specifically and moved on to another reporter.

The conspiracy theory has been blamed for violent incidents, and social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook have taken action in recent weeks to suspend groups and accounts associated with the theory.

The president on Wednesday offered his full-throated support for Greene, who has also made incendiary comments about Muslims and Black people.

“Congratulations to future Republican Star Marjorie Taylor Greene on a big congressional primary win in Georgia against a very tough and smart opponent,” Trump tweeted. “Marjorie is strong on everything and never gives up — a real WINNER!”

Greene won the GOP primary in Georgia’s 14th District to replace outgoing Rep. Tom Graves (R). She defeated neurosurgeon John Cowan in a runoff after neither candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote in the June 9 primary. Greene won with 60 percent of the vote on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press.

She has garnered national attention after Politico unearthed past racist, anti-Semitic and Islamophobic comments she made, including comparing Democratic donor George Soros to a Nazi, saying the 2018 midterms were like an “Islamic invasion of our government” and asserting that African Americans “are held slaves to the Democratic Party.”