San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
PENCE DROPS CAMPAIGN EVENT HOSTED BY QANON BACKERS
Fundraiser in Montana removed from vice president’s schedule; no reason provided
Vice President Mike Pence has canceled plans to attend a Trump campaign fundraiser in Montana following revelations that the event’s hosts had expressed support for the Qanon conspiracy theory.
President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign told The Associated Press on Saturday that Pence’s schedule had been changed, but the campaign did not provide a reason or say whether the fundraiser might be held at a later time. The change comes after the AP reported Wednesday that hosts Cayrn and Michael Borland in Bozeman, Mont., had shared Qanon memes and retweeted posts from Qanon accounts.
The baseless conspiracy theory alleges Trump is battling an entrenched bureaucracy and sex trafficking ring run by pedophiles.
Three Republicans seeking election in Montana also had been scheduled to attend the fundraiser: U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, who faces a November challenge from Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock; U.S. Rep. Greg Gianforte, a Republican running for governor; and state auditor Matt Rosendale, a candidate for the U.S. House.
Pence, Daines and the other Republican candidates are still scheduled to hold a campaign rally Monday afternoon in Belgrade, near Bozeman. Pence will host a rally earlier in the day in Wisconsin, an event that was added as a substitute for the fundraiser, the
Trump campaign said.
Daines campaign spokesperson Julia Doyle said the first-term senator does not know the Borlands nor “does he know what Qanon even is.”
She referred to the Trump campaign questions on whether the event would be rescheduled.
Gianforte, who faces Democratic Gov. Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney in November, also does not know the Borlands or what Qanon is, spokesman Travis Hall said.
A Rosendale spokesman said he was unaware of Qanon. Rosendale “isn’t focused on false conspiracy theories and the attempts of liberal extremists to smear the President,” spokesman Andy Westberry said in an email. He declined to say if
Rosendale knows the Borlands.
The Borlands have donated more than $220,000 to Trump’s re-election bid, the bulk of which was made in Caryn Borland’s name, and they were guests at the national GOP convention last month.
The Qanon narrative has grown to include other long-standing conspiracy theories, gaining traction among some extreme Trump supporters. The movement is often likened to a right-wing cult.
The president has not condemned Qanon, recently telling reporters that the conspiracy theory is “gaining in popularity” and that its supporters “like me very much.”