September 12, 2020

Pence Has Canceled His Upcoming Appearance at a Fundraiser Hosted by QAnon Enthusiasts

Andrew Harnik/AP

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Donald Trump’s campaign told the Associated Press on Saturday that Vice President Mike Pence would no longer be attending a Trump campaign fundraiser in Montana that was being organized by supporters of the QAnon conspiracy theory. 

Pence’s team reportedly did not provide a reason for the switch. The AP revealed on Wednesday that the event was being organized by two QAnon supporters, Cayrn and Michael Borland, in Bozeman, Montana. The couple had shared Q-related memes and retweeted pro-QAnon accounts on social media. 

The conspiracy theory claims, without evidence, that a cabal of elite liberal pedophiles is locked in a battle with President Donald Trump who is trying to stop them, but is being thwarted by the “deep state.”

The Borlands have donated over $220,000 to Trump’s reelection campaign, according to the AP. This isn’t the first time the President has received money from far-right supporters with problematic beliefs. The Trump campaign has also taken thousands of dollars in donations from at least one neo-Nazi and other extremist individuals, according to the Popular Information newsletter.

Trump has also not shied away from the conspiracy theory, not-infrequently retweeting QAnon accounts. When asked about Q in a White House Press Briefing, the president declined to reject it. Instead, he praised its adherents.

General Michael Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser, similarly pulled out of a QAnon event last August, after Mother Jones reported on its ties to QAnon. After appearing to keep some distance between him and theory, Flynn seemed to warm up to Q. On July 4th, he posted himself taking pledge to the group. 

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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