The extremism of Wayne Allyn Root, who was promoted by Trump
Written by Zachary Pleat & Courtney Hagle
Published
Newsmax host Wayne Allyn Root, who has had several close contacts and exchanges with Donald Trump in the past, has a long history of making extreme statements and advocating conspiracy theories. On August 21, Trump promoted Root following his claim that American Jews should appreciate Trump more.
Root used the Parkland, FL, school massacre to advocate protecting schools with armed drones.
Root called President Barack Obama “Marxist-in-chief” and said he ran a “gangster government” and “declared war on capitalism.”
Root compared taxation to being robbed at gunpoint.
Root helped push a hoax about a made-up Puerto Rican trucker strike to absolve Trump of blame over the administration’s lackluster response to Hurricane Maria.
Root joined other fake news purveyors in falsely shifting blame for the 2016 election hacking of Democrats to China from Russia.
Root blamed a June 2017 terror attack in London on the U.K. letting in “too many Muslim immigrants.”
Root joined other pro-Trump media figures in smearing singer Ariana Grande after a terror attack killed 22 people at her concert in England.
Root pushed a false smear saying a Democratic presidential candidate had committed sexual assault.
Root pushed an investment scam that was advertised on a Fox News website.
Root likened Obama and Democratic members of Congress to “the druggie who has abandoned his spouse, kids and job to snort crack cocaine 24 hours a day.”
Root fabricated a quote from the sitcom Seinfeld to criticize Obama.
Root promoted a conspiracy theory that Obama blackmailed Chief Justice John Roberts after he reaffirmed the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act.
Root fantasized in 2011 that if Obama resigned, it would bring back millions of jobs to the U.S. and spur an economic boom.
Root pushed the right-wing conspiracy theory that Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich was murdered by high-ranking Democrat officials.
Root was strongly criticized for falsely linking the October 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting to Islamic terrorism and refused to apologized afterward, instead insisting that he heard about the connection from “credible news sources” like far-right conspiratorial website The Gateway Pundit.
Root blamed liberals for the death of former Fox News host Eric Bolling’s son following Bolling’s firing from Fox News for reports of sexual harassment.
When a white nationalist murdered counterprotestor Heather Heyer at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, VA, in 2017, Root claimed that the story was “such B.S.” and that the protestors and killer were “probably paid actors & infiltrators hired by Soros. No conservative I’ve ever met commits violence. EVER.”
Root championed Trump’s racist “birther” movement that claimed Obama wasn’t born in America and was therefore an illegitimate president. In 2011, Root tweeted, “Good job Donald Trump. This is going to get interesting. I can produce my birth certificate in 1 minute. I have it in my safe.”
Root said special counsel Robert Mueller was investigating Trump and Russia because he had “penis envy” and declared: “Mueller’s is smaller than Trump’s.”
Root once alleged that both Obama and Hillary Clinton had gay relationships.
Root declared that “most straight men” are afraid of transgender people and likened transgender people to horror film character Freddy Krueger. He also claimed that all liberal men are gay.
Root warned men against dating a liberal woman who has cats because “she’ll cut your pee-pee off, I promise you.”
Root once complained about people calling him old by saying that “there’s no difference in when you call someone ‘old’ versus when you call someone the N-word.”
Root claimed Democrats are “paid off by Mexican drug cartels to oppose” Trump’s proposed border wall. He said that he guarantees “they’re getting paid off by hundreds of millions.”
Root predicted that top-ranking Democrats will be imprisoned over the Trump/Russia investigation, insisting that “the indictments are coming.”
Root said that anyone who voted for Democrats during the 2018 midterms are “either [a] commie or [a] freaking idiot.”
Root said, “The left stole the 2018 midterm elections in so many states around the country.”
Root ranted that philanthropist George Soros needs to be arrested and imprisoned for treason for supposedly funding a caravan of Central American migrants heading toward the U.S.
Root claimed he lost nearly $10 million and blamed it on Obama.
Root pushed a white supremacist conspiracy theory that South Africa is engaging in a murderous apartheid against white people.