# BlueAnon

BlueAnon (a portmanteau of blue and QAnon) is a term used to describe conspiracy theories which posit Donald Trump's engagement in elaborate schemes to unlawfully seize or maintain control of the United States Government, independently or as the object of manipulation by foreign governments. The term comes from the blue political color of the Democratic Party, which is the major opposition to the Republican Party of Trump.

## Etymology

According to the Columbia Journalism Review, the term BlueAnon was first coined sometime during or after 2016 and gained prominence in 2024; On the Media's Anna Merlan cites a definitive 2016 origination date. The name appears to be derived from media coverage surrounding these theories, in reference to the QAnon right-wing conspiracy theory and the color blue, which has been associated with the Democratic Party in the 21st century.

## Claims
### Assassination false flag conspiracy theory

Some BlueAnon theorists have alleged that the attempted assassination of Donald Trump was a false flag staged by Trump himself.
Snopes has examined and discredited viral photos alleging to show Trump plotting with gunman Thomas Crooks, as well as claims that Trump was injured by glass instead of shrapnel. PolitiFact has debunked claims that blood which appeared to be coming from Trump's ear following the assassination attempt was faked with a blood pill. Reuters has analyzed viral photos from the 2024 Republican National Convention that purport to show Trump wearing a bandage on the ear opposite the one that was shot in the attack and determined the images were doctored.

### Starlink election rigging conspiracy theory

   * Morgan J. Freeman @mjfree
   If Trump & Elon’s “little secret” was to use Starlink in swing states to tally the votes & rig the election - an investigation & hand recount is crucial. Now.
Other BlueAnon theorists believe Donald Trump rigged the 2024 U.S. presidential election by conspiring with Elon Musk to use Starlink satellites to change vote tabulation data and then orbitally detonated some of the satellites to erase evidence of the plot. The claims have been investigated and discredited by the Associated Press. They have also been rejected by CISA director Jen Easterly. Deutsche Welle concluded "there is no evidence that Trump has cheated in this election".

### Ivana Trump coffin concealment theory

Another BlueAnon theory posits that Ivana Trump was secretly cremated by Donald Trump to free room in her coffin to hide self-incriminating documents so as to conceal them from discovery by investigators. The conspiracy theory began circulating almost immediately after Ivana Trump's 2022 death and multiple people demanded the FBI exhume Trump's grave to search the coffin for the allegedly hidden documents. Snopes has rated the theory "unfounded".

### Other conspiracy theories

Other beliefs subscribed to by some BlueAnon theorists include that:
* A cabal of Silicon Valley executives is plotting to overthrow Trump and replace him with JD Vance;
* A body double of Melania Trump was used during campaign appearances in the 2024 U.S. presidential election;
* Joe Biden had either been drugged or afflicted with Havana Syndrome by Russian secret agents during the 2024 Joe Biden–Donald Trump presidential debate;

## Propagation and influence

Following the attempted assassination of Donald Trump in Pennsylvania in July 2024, Dmitri Mehlhorn distributed an email to colleagues — which the Columbia Journalism Review associated with BlueAnon theorizing — that suggested that Trump "encouraged and maybe even staged [the assassination attempt] so Trump could get the photos and benefit from the backlash." Numerous social media posts to X similarly suggested the assassination attempt had been staged. A July 2024 poll by Morning Consult found that approximately one-third of voters supporting the Joe Biden 2024 presidential campaign believed the assassination attempt was staged.
   "... possibility -- which feels horrific and alien and absurd in America, but is quite common globally -- is that this ‘shooting’ was encouraged and maybe even staged so Trump could get the photos and benefit from the backlash. This is a classic Russian tactic..."
In October 2024, the Lincoln Project produced a video advertisement promoting the BlueAnon theory that Silicon Valley executives were plotting to replace Trump with JD Vance as president of the United States, should Trump be elected to that office.
The following month, in the 12 hours after Trump's declared victory in the 2024 U.S. presidential election, posts to X alleging electoral irregularities and questioning the disparity in vote totals between the 2020 and 2024 presidential elections — which Wired associated with BlueAnon theorizing — peaked at 94,000 per hour. It included one post by John Pavlovitz that received more than five million views. Another post, seen more than 17 million times, alleged Trump "cheated this whole time". On Threads, Wayne Madsen posted "I'm beginning to believe our election was massively hacked", while TikTok saw a surge of posts by astrologers alleging election irregularities.

### Propagation on Threads

According to Canadian political scientist Kawser Ahmed, Meta's social media network Threads is a "hotbed for BlueAnon conspiratorial content". Taylor Lorenz has also noted that BlueAnon conspiracy theorizing has established itself on Threads.

## Coverage by media

BlueAnon as a sociological and social media phenomenon has been the subject of reporting by Columbia Journalism Review ("The Trump assassination attempt, 'BlueAnon,' and the X factor"), by The New Statesman ("The alarming rise of BlueAnon"), by WJLA-TV ("'BlueAnon' theories pop up as some on Left attempt to explain Trump's win"), by Rolling Stone ("BlueAnon Conspiracy Theories Explode"), by France 24 ("'BlueAnon' conspiracy theorists spread viral voter fraud claims after Trump victory"), by the Washington Post ("‘BlueAnon’ conspiracy theories flood social media after Trump rally shooting"), and by other media. In 2024, HarperCollins published David Harsanyi's book The Rise of BlueAnon.

## Psychological impact of BlueAnon

According to Sander van der Linden, a professor of social psychology at the University of Cambridge, some people are inclined to believe that Donald Trump represents an existential threat but are disinclined to think about existentialism and develop conspiracy theories as a substitute method of reconciling their belief: "I think people see him as the apocalypse candidate, and that leads people down the conspiracy path".
Joseph Uscinski, a professor of political science at the University of Miami and expert on conspiracy theorizing, commenting on BlueAnon posited that "people take a lot of things on credit and don’t scrutinize them because they match how they view the world".