Wired reports:

For months, GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has been dog-whistling to supporters of extremist far-right ideologies and wild conspiracy theories like QAnon. On Wednesday night, at the fourth Republican presidential debate, Ramaswamy went full tilt: After blasting the three other debaters for turning on former president Donald Trump, Ramaswamy argued, without evidence, that the January 6 Capitol riot was an inside job, the 2020 presidential election was stolen, the government had lied about 9/11, and the “deep state” was responsible for all these things.

Then, Ramaswamy claimed that the “great replacement theory is not some grand right-wing conspiracy theory, but a basic statement of the Democratic Party’s platform.” The great replacement theory is a widely-debunked conspiracy that the liberal establishment, along with a cabal of “global elites,” is encouraging the immigration of people of color in order to “replace” white voters.

Immediately, white supremacists online celebrated the reference to the racist and antisemitic conspiracy.

Nick Fuentes, a white nationalist influencer who was livestreaming his reaction to the debate on the alternative streaming platform Rumble, appeared visibly shocked that Ramaswamy went so far. He watched open-mouthed as Ramaswamy continued to boost wild conspiracies. “Let’s go,” a visibly delighted Fuentes told his thousands of viewers.

A clip of Fuentes’ reaction was posted on X by Irish antisemitic and anti-immigrant influencer Keith O’Brien, known online as Keith Woods, with the comment: “Time to mainstream this discussion across the West.” [Continue reading…]