1. We all know Trump spouts conspiracy theories all the time (Birtherism, "deep state") but the big revelation of Ukrainegate is that this isn't just for show. He believes this shit.
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2. The Trumpian Deep State conspiracy theory goes something like this: The USA intel community, working with allies in Australia & Europe, entrapped Trump campaigners in Russiagate in 2015/2016 because they didn't like Trump's heterodox foreign policy views. Trump believes this.
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3. One reason we haven't had a good discussion of Trump's conspiracy theories is dominant narrative of conspiracies (Hofstadter's "paranoid style") is deeply misleading. For Hofstadter, conspiracy theories flourished on fringes, not among elites.
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4. But conspiracy theories don't just belong to masses. Plenty of elites believe in wild & absurd stuff. "Who lost China?" was an elite debate. J. Edgar Hoover an elite powerhouse. LBJ thought anti-war movement was created by foreign adversaries.
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Replying to @HeerJeet
Happily no anti-Trump elites have believed anything wild-seeming or absurd-in-hindsight about the Russia affair during this process.
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Replying to @HeerJeet @DouthatNYT
And you know this how Jeet? Or was it a joke?
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Yes, read the sentence "Pee tape is real, Ross" in the most deadly literal way possible.
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