President Obama took a moment at a rally this week to sniff his hand to prove that he is not really a demon from hell who reeks of sulfur and walks the Earth swarmed by flies. Why would the president of the United States do such a thing, even in jest?
“I was reading the other day there is a guy on the radio who apparently — Trump’s on his show frequently — he said me and Hillary are demons,” Mr. Obama explained to the laughing crowd. “Said we smelled like sulfur. Ain’t that something?”
He then lifted his hand, took a sniff, and broke into a broad grin. “Now, I mean, come on people!”
The radio host in question was Alex Jones, who on Monday called Hillary Clinton “an abject psychopathic demon from hell” who was bent on destroying the planet.
“She’s so dark now and so evil and so possessed” that her very presence inflicts nightmares upon those in close physical proximity to her, he said.
“I been told this by high up folks and they tell me Obama and Hillary both smell like sulfur,” he said in his trademark style, a kind of shout that mixes bombast and panic. “They smell like hell.”
Mr. Obama may laugh off Mr. Jones fire-and-brimstone rantings, but many people do not. He is an influential, if fringe, conservative figure whose radio show, videos and websites peddle conspiracy theories to an audience of millions.
Here is a brief introduction.
Where Does He Work?
Mr. Jones is based in Texas, where he hosts The Alex Jones Show, a nationally syndicated talk show, and runs Infowars, a website he founded that offers an angry and histrionic take on the day’s news. He has been called “the most prolific conspiracy theorist in contemporary America” by the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups.
The Alex Jones Show says it is broadcast on 160 radio stations, but his influence is perhaps most keenly felt on the internet. More than 1.6 million people have subscribed to his YouTube channel, where video clips from his show have been watched almost one billion times since 2008. Another 1.2 million people have liked his Facebook page and over 470,000 follow him on Twitter.
Mr. Jones has had several bursts of mainstream attention. In 2011 he aired an interview with Charlie Sheen that led to the actor’s dismissal from the sitcom “Two and a Half Men.” Two years later he started an online petition to deport the CNN host Piers Morgan, a British citizen, from the United States because of his advocacy of gun control laws.
Mr. Morgan invited Mr. Jones onto his show to debate gun control, but it quickly devolved into more than 10 minutes of red-faced screaming by Mr. Jones, who affected a British accent and called Mr. Morgan “a hatchet man of the New World Order.”
“I am here to tell you, 1776 will commence again if you try to take our firearms,” he yelled. “Doesn’t matter how many lemmings you get out there on the street begging for them to have their guns taken, we will not relinquish them. Do you understand?”
What Does He Believe?
Mr. Jones has described himself as a libertarian. Many of his views mix traditional conservative critiques of government with wild-eyed delusions about globe-spanning conspiracies. His main focus is a supposed liberal plot to seize people’s guns and install a tyrannical world government.
There is almost no major news event that Mr. Jones has not woven into that conspiracy narrative. He argues that the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the Oklahoma City bombing were “inside jobs” committed by rogue elements of the “military industrial complex.” He says the Sandy Hook shooting was a hoax perpetrated by forces hostile to the Second Amendment. The list goes on.
Mr. Jones argued in 2013 that same-sex marriage was a “eugenicist globalist” plot “to encourage the breakdown of the family” and “get rid of God” so the state can reign supreme. “Not because they’re atheists, but because they want the state to be God,” he said.
How Does He Fit Into the Presidential Race?
Mr. Jones is a fervent supporter of Donald J. Trump, who appeared on The Alex Jones Show for a 30-minute interview in December 2015. “What you are doing is epic, it’s George Washington level,” Mr. Jones told Mr. Trump.
Mr. Jones enthusiastically endorsed Mr. Trump’s positions on immigration and terrorism and at the end of the interview the Republican candidate praised the host for his integrity. “Your reputation is amazing,” Mr. Trump said. “I will not let you down. You will be very, very impressed, I hope. And I think we’ll be speaking a lot.”
Has Hillary Clinton Addressed His Claims?
Yes, she has.
Mrs. Clinton condemned Mr. Jones during a speech in August that criticized Mr. Trump for his support among the “alt-right,” a radical group of conspiracy theorists and white nationalists on the fringe of the conservative movement.
She compared his radio show to The National Enquirer and called his claims that the Sandy Hook shooting was a hoax “disgusting.”
“I don’t know what happens in somebody’s mind or how dark their heart must be to say things like that, but Trump doesn’t challenge these lies,” Mrs. Clinton said.
For Mr. Jones, though, all publicity seems to be good publicity.
Hours after Mrs. Clinton spoke, his show ran a long segment on her criticisms. He denied much of what she said but basked in her attention, using her remarks as an opportunity to portray himself as a noble warrior for the truth.
“She attacked the resistance to her takeover of this country by foreign banks, the Saudi Arabian government, the Communist Chinese and others,” he said. “She’s in deep trouble.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/14/u...x-jones.html&eventName=Watching-article-click
“I was reading the other day there is a guy on the radio who apparently — Trump’s on his show frequently — he said me and Hillary are demons,” Mr. Obama explained to the laughing crowd. “Said we smelled like sulfur. Ain’t that something?”
He then lifted his hand, took a sniff, and broke into a broad grin. “Now, I mean, come on people!”
The radio host in question was Alex Jones, who on Monday called Hillary Clinton “an abject psychopathic demon from hell” who was bent on destroying the planet.
“She’s so dark now and so evil and so possessed” that her very presence inflicts nightmares upon those in close physical proximity to her, he said.
“I been told this by high up folks and they tell me Obama and Hillary both smell like sulfur,” he said in his trademark style, a kind of shout that mixes bombast and panic. “They smell like hell.”
Mr. Obama may laugh off Mr. Jones fire-and-brimstone rantings, but many people do not. He is an influential, if fringe, conservative figure whose radio show, videos and websites peddle conspiracy theories to an audience of millions.
Here is a brief introduction.
Where Does He Work?
Mr. Jones is based in Texas, where he hosts The Alex Jones Show, a nationally syndicated talk show, and runs Infowars, a website he founded that offers an angry and histrionic take on the day’s news. He has been called “the most prolific conspiracy theorist in contemporary America” by the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups.
The Alex Jones Show says it is broadcast on 160 radio stations, but his influence is perhaps most keenly felt on the internet. More than 1.6 million people have subscribed to his YouTube channel, where video clips from his show have been watched almost one billion times since 2008. Another 1.2 million people have liked his Facebook page and over 470,000 follow him on Twitter.
Mr. Jones has had several bursts of mainstream attention. In 2011 he aired an interview with Charlie Sheen that led to the actor’s dismissal from the sitcom “Two and a Half Men.” Two years later he started an online petition to deport the CNN host Piers Morgan, a British citizen, from the United States because of his advocacy of gun control laws.
Mr. Morgan invited Mr. Jones onto his show to debate gun control, but it quickly devolved into more than 10 minutes of red-faced screaming by Mr. Jones, who affected a British accent and called Mr. Morgan “a hatchet man of the New World Order.”
“I am here to tell you, 1776 will commence again if you try to take our firearms,” he yelled. “Doesn’t matter how many lemmings you get out there on the street begging for them to have their guns taken, we will not relinquish them. Do you understand?”
What Does He Believe?
Mr. Jones has described himself as a libertarian. Many of his views mix traditional conservative critiques of government with wild-eyed delusions about globe-spanning conspiracies. His main focus is a supposed liberal plot to seize people’s guns and install a tyrannical world government.
There is almost no major news event that Mr. Jones has not woven into that conspiracy narrative. He argues that the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the Oklahoma City bombing were “inside jobs” committed by rogue elements of the “military industrial complex.” He says the Sandy Hook shooting was a hoax perpetrated by forces hostile to the Second Amendment. The list goes on.
Mr. Jones argued in 2013 that same-sex marriage was a “eugenicist globalist” plot “to encourage the breakdown of the family” and “get rid of God” so the state can reign supreme. “Not because they’re atheists, but because they want the state to be God,” he said.
How Does He Fit Into the Presidential Race?
Mr. Jones is a fervent supporter of Donald J. Trump, who appeared on The Alex Jones Show for a 30-minute interview in December 2015. “What you are doing is epic, it’s George Washington level,” Mr. Jones told Mr. Trump.
Mr. Jones enthusiastically endorsed Mr. Trump’s positions on immigration and terrorism and at the end of the interview the Republican candidate praised the host for his integrity. “Your reputation is amazing,” Mr. Trump said. “I will not let you down. You will be very, very impressed, I hope. And I think we’ll be speaking a lot.”
Has Hillary Clinton Addressed His Claims?
Yes, she has.
Mrs. Clinton condemned Mr. Jones during a speech in August that criticized Mr. Trump for his support among the “alt-right,” a radical group of conspiracy theorists and white nationalists on the fringe of the conservative movement.
She compared his radio show to The National Enquirer and called his claims that the Sandy Hook shooting was a hoax “disgusting.”
“I don’t know what happens in somebody’s mind or how dark their heart must be to say things like that, but Trump doesn’t challenge these lies,” Mrs. Clinton said.
For Mr. Jones, though, all publicity seems to be good publicity.
Hours after Mrs. Clinton spoke, his show ran a long segment on her criticisms. He denied much of what she said but basked in her attention, using her remarks as an opportunity to portray himself as a noble warrior for the truth.
“She attacked the resistance to her takeover of this country by foreign banks, the Saudi Arabian government, the Communist Chinese and others,” he said. “She’s in deep trouble.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/14/u...x-jones.html&eventName=Watching-article-click
