July 26, 2019

By Mark Karlin

As Trump continues to make Ilhan Omar the target of his vile racist attacks, the GOP is apparently welcoming a follower of the ultra-fringe QAnon theory as a potential challenger to Omar. In June, Danielle Stella officially filed as a GOP candidate in Minnesota’s fifth congressional district, which Omar represents.

Right Wing Watch summarizes the demented QAnon cult:

QAnon is a Trump-era phenomena centered on a conspiracy theory that alleges that Trump administration insiders have been dropping clues, in the form of cryptic riddles posted on anonymous imageboards, about a supposed secret plan to take down the “deep state” and a worldwide network of satanic pedophiles said to include A-list Hollywood figures and top-level Democrats. Believers, who call themselves “anons,” dedicate themselves to decoding the posts. Early on, QAnon adherents claimed that Trump was secretly working with then-Special Counsel Robert Mueller to expose the Satanists.

People who believe in QAnon are increasingly frequent fixtures at Trump rallies. At a campaign rally in North Carolina last week, President Donald Trump praised a baby wearing a onesie emblazoned on the back with the “Q” emblem sometimes worn by adherents to the theory.

QAnon is another far right-wing conspiracy that Trump gives a nod and a wink too. QAnon followers are among the zealots at Trump rallies, often raising flags with a “Q” on them. With that in mind, Stella would be the perfect candidate to embody Trump’s embrace of the lunatic fringe of the right-wing.

The Daily Beast offered confirmation that Stella was a supporter of QAnon:

Stella went further on Monday, tweeting a picture of herself wearing a “Q” necklace in a tweet that was first reported by QAnon tracker and podcast host Travis View. 

While Stella didn’t clarify the meaning of the necklace, her campaign account favorited a series of tweets from QAnon believers who took the necklace as a sign of support for QAnon. One of the favorited tweets included a series of pictures of QAnon believers at Trump rallies. Another warned Stella to “be stealth about certain symbols and things” — apparently a suggestion that she downplay any belief in QAnon. 

Stella was promoted on the Fox streaming right-wing interview program, the Todd Starnes show, earlier in July. Although The Daily Beast later reported that a campaign aide lamely claimed that Stella’s QAnon support was a “ruse.” In a true Trumpian example of shooting a GOP politician in the foot, the aide said, “She [Stella] tries to portray herself as she supports it, but she doesn’t even understand it.” You can’t get much more Trumpian than that.

Meanwhile, Stella has a bit more on her record to concern voters. The Guardian reports that she has been charged with at least two thefts, including “stealing 279 items valued at $2,327.97 from a Target store” and also heisting a bottle of tick spray for cats and other merchandise from a Cubs Food grocery store. Both retail outlets are located in Minneapolis suburbs.

Meanwhile, in 2009 she was charged and convicted of a DUI and fleeing the police.

In the tradition of bigly Trump hypocrisy, The Guardian reports:

She has accused Omar of being a criminal for advising immigrants how to avoid agents from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She said in a tweet that any representatives who fail to “uphold the rule of law” should be ejected from office.

You can’t get much more hypocritical than that, unless you are the-Grifter-in-Chief.

The ultra-irony of Stella and Trump targeting Omar as a symbol of the Democratic Party (read racist target) is that both of them have shady, corrupt pasts, while Omar speaks for the values and strength of a diverse democracy.