Donald Trump with Fox TV’s Laura Ingraham, broadcast on August 31, 2020

UPDATE, 0620 GMT:

On top of his conspiracy theories, Trump added the specter of dangerous marchers throwing “bags of soup” at “our cops”, during his photo opportunity in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Tuesday.

The source of Trump’s tale is unknown:

ORIGINAL ENTRY: As Democratic Presidential Joe Biden calls for an informed, unified approach to deal with the crises of Coronavirus, the economy, and the issues raised by Blacks Live Matter, Donald Trump spins wilder and wilder conspiracy theories.

On Monday, Biden denounced violence on all sides — as Trump encouraged right-wing groups including militias to confront marchers in US cities — and said, “The incumbent president is incapable of telling us the truth, incapable of facing the facts and incapable of healing.”

See also EA on BBC: Black Lives Matter and US Elections — Will Media Fall for Trump’s “Culture Wars” Spectacle?

Hours later, Trump’s fantasies were so lurid that even Fox’s Laura Ingraham, a fervent hard-right pro-Trump commentator, was surprised and struggled to make him look balanced.

Trump spoke of Biden being run by “people in the dark shadows,” prompting Ingraham’s “That sounds like a conspiracy theory.” He was undeterred: “People you’ve never heard of…people on the streets”.

Trump, who often makes up an unnamed “friend” to assert a claim, continued with menacing passengers on planes headed to last week’s Trump Convention:

We had somebody get on a plane from a certain city this weekend, and in the plane it was almost completely loaded with thugs, wearing these dark uniforms, black uniforms, with gear and this and that.

The Fantasy “Thugs”

Trump’s fantasy appears to have been fed by viral disinformation posted on Facebook on June 1, purportedly by a man from Emmett, Idaho: “Be ready for attacks downtown and residential areas.”

The post depicted the ominous passengers, including one with “a tattoo that said Antifa America on his arm.”

It was amplified by far-right activists, such as members of the militia Three Percenters, which claimed that “Antifa has sent a plane load of their people” and that the Payette County, Idaho Sheriff’s Office confirmed the threat.

The Sheriff’s Office released a statement insisting that the viral rumor was “false information”. But right-wing groups flocked to towns and cities to confront an “Antifa” which never showed up.

Last week Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who was confronted by protesters as he left Trump’s convention speech at the White House, spun his version: “I promise you that at least some of the members and the people who attacked us were not from D.C. They flew here on a plane. They’ve all got fresh, new clothes.”

Trump: “Stupid Rich People” Behind Marches

Far from backing away from his claim, Trump doubled down on it on Tuesday as he flew to a photo opportunity in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where Jacob Blake was shot seven times by a police officer on August 23:

In the Fox interview, Trump also refashioned the disinformation — spread by his supporters on mainstream media in the US and the UK that Jewish philanthropist and billionaire George Soros is behind the Black Lives Matter marches. He told Ingraham that “some very stupid rich people” were bankrolling the protests.

And after declaring himself the best President for Black Americans “except maybe for Abraham Lincoln”, he compared police officers shooting unarmed Blacks to a golfer missing a three-foot putt.

Ingraham, appearing embarrassed, tried to cut him off: “You’re not comparing it to golf?” Trump persisted, “People choke.”