President Donald Trump and his allies added a new dimension this week to their “deep state” conspiracy theory, directly accusing former President Barack Obama of leading a supposed “coup” to sabotage the Trump presidency.
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Seizing on a viral hashtag, Trump dubbed the alleged “Obamagate” scandal and has been flooding the zone promoting exaggerated theories and false claims since the weekend. In the President's view, he was the victim of the “biggest political crime in American history” and the Obama appointees who he claims tried to undermine his administration deserve jail time for their misdeeds.
Trump ramped up his rhetoric over the weekend after Obama criticized the Justice Department for dropping his criminal case against former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn. Trump's new focus on Obama also served as a diversion from the coronavirus pandemic, as the nationwide death toll passed 80,000 and the unemployment rate tripled to a staggering 14.7%.
For years, Trump has claimed without proof that Democratic partisans within the Justice Department and the FBI abused their powers to investigate members of his campaign and undermine his presidency. “Obamagate” appears to be an extension of this underlying theory, which is part of the President's sustained effort to rewrite the history of the Russia investigation.
There is a pattern to Trump's messaging, and “Obamagate” is no different. The President is blending real findings of FBI misconduct with self-serving theories and cherry-picked information to weave together a much deeper and more sinister story.