The Republican National Convention began on the bleakest of notes. Monday’s opening broadcast comprised two-and-a-half hours of dystopian rhetoric, from broken inner cities and failing schools to the broader risks posed by the possibility of a Democrat victory in November’s presidential election. The overall message was loud and clear. America and its way of life face an existential threat and fundamental freedoms of speech, faith and thought hang in the balance.

The language was almost universally apocalyptic and, while not explicitly endorsing them, spoke to a wide range of conspiracist groups. These include a variety of far-right movements and the bizarre online cult of QAnon, which has created a narrative that President Donald Trump is locked in battle with the “deep state” and secret networks of rich and powerful Satan-worshipping pedophiles. 

The first nod to these communities came six minutes into a speech by Charlie Kirk, founder of the right-wing student group Turning Point USA. Kirk described Trump as the “bodyguard of western civilization,” then made an apparent reference to anti-science conspiracy movements. “We are kicking doctors off social media,” he said, in what many interpreted as a nod to two Californian doctors whose YouTube video criticizing the Covid-19 lockdown and stoking dangerous anti-science narratives was taken down in April. 

Florida Republican congressman Matt Gaetz made a speech filled with language that could easily be seized upon by conspiracists as speaking to them. He spoke rousingly about building “an army of patriots,” of Americans being “replaced” and said that Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s story was written by unnamed “other hands.”