VP has no time for conspiracies, Qanon

Vice President Mike Pence on Friday dismissed Qanon as a “conspiracy theory,” drawing a line between himself and President Donald Trump, who this week suggested he appreciated supporters of the theory backing his candidacy.

“We dismiss conspiracy theories around here out of hand,” Pence said Friday on CNN'S “New Day," saying he had heard Trump's comments.

Asked on CBS' “CBS This Morning” if he was adding to the attention paid the group by not going on the record to oppose it, Pence decried “spending time on a major network to talk about some conspiracy online theory,” later adding, "I don’t know anything about Qanon, and I dismiss it out of hand."

The baseless theory of Qanon centers on an alleged anonymous, high-ranking government official known as “Q,” who shares information about an anti-trump “deep state” often tied to satanism and child sex trafficking.

Trump on Wednesday, referring to the followers of the convoluted conspiracy theory, said, “I heard that these are people that love our country.”

Trump insisted he hadn’t heard much about the movement, “other than I understand they like me very much” and “it is gaining in popularity.”

Trump has retweeted Qanonpromoting accounts, and shirts and hats with Qanon symbols and slogans are not uncommon at his rallies.

An FBI bulletin last May warned that conspiracy theory-driven extremists have become a domestic terrorism threat. The bulletin specifically mentioned Qanon.