Actually not so subtle
In case you were wondering:
QAnon’s core belief is that the world is controlled by a secret cabal of Satan-worshipping child molesters whom Trump is secretly battling to stop, and that Q, an anonymous entity, reveals details about the battle online. The cabal is thought to cover up its existence by controlling politicians, mainstream media, and Hollywood. Q’s revelations imply that the destruction of the cabal is imminent but also that it will only be accomplished with the support of the “patriots” who make up the QAnon community.
This will happen at a time known as “the Event” or “the Storm”, when thousands of people will be arrested and possibly sent to Guantanamo Bay prison or to face military tribunals. The U.S. military will then take over the country, and the result will be salvation and utopia on earth. QAnon beliefs imply the rejection of government officials other than Trump and his closest associates as well as of mainstream institutions and media.
Public figures whom QAnon followers believe to be part of the cabal include Democratic Party politicians like Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, businesspeople like George Soros and Bill Gates, religious leaders like Pope Francis and the Dalai Lama, Anthony Fauci, and entertainers like Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres, Lady Gaga and Chrissy Teigen. Tom Hanks is a special target for QAnon believers; when Hanks went into quarantine at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, they spread a rumor that he had been arrested on child abuse charges. Other similar allegations followed and in July 2021, some QAnon adherents took seriously an article from a parody website that said Hanks had been executed by the U.S. military.
One key tenet in QAnon’s narrative until the 2020 election was the recurring prediction that Trump would be reelected in a landslide and spend his second term bringing about “the Storm” by undoing the deep state, disbanding the cabal and arresting its leaders.
If you wondered where Ginni Thomas got the idea that the “Biden Crime Family” was being sent to Guantanamo now you know.
Trump’s commentary and that of his henchmen these days is all about returning to the White House to dismantle the Deep State and the federal bureaucracy — and wreaking revenge on his enemies. Sometimes when I hear him talk I think he’s bought into this delusion as much as the Q people.
How do we know he isn’t one of them? These past few days had him passing around rumors that are emanating from the deepest reaches of the fever swamps. He’s got a lot of time on his hands. He has a paranoid mindset, watches too much right wing media, is 76 years old and is kind of dumb. Oh, and he’s also a sick narcissist. Why wouldn’t he come to believe that he’s what they think he is?
Remember:
QANON’s followers are said to believe Trump is secretly saving the world from a cult of pedophiles and cannibals. Trump said he hadn’t heard that, but said “is that supposed to be a bad thing? If I can help save the world from problems, I’m willing to do it.”