Donald Trump seems to turn to QAnon when he is feeling stressed and angry, online extremism researcher says

Donald Trump has embraced the conspiracy movement more openly than before.

He has frequently posted messages with references to Qanon on his social media platform. At a Trump rally in Ohio last week, members of the crowd raised their hands in a QAnon salute as a song associated with the group was played.

According to Alex Kaplan, a senior researcher for Media Matters, Trump's recent signaling could provide insight into his state of mind.

"From my experience doing this over time, I have generally gotten the sense that there's a correlation between Trump increasing the number of accounts he promotes and when he's angry or stressed," Kaplan told the outlet.

I don't know if I can say this for sure. It seems like a correlation between what's being reported about him in the news and what he's doing.

The former president is facing a number of lawsuits and investigations, including a Department of Justice investigation into his handling of federal records and a fraud lawsuit against him by the New York Attorney General.

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Kaplan said that the ongoing legal issues might make QAnon more appealing to Trump as he is the hero of the story.

The truth social amplification part of it, I believe, is provided by the QAnon accounts. They are praising him. Kaplan thinks he is looking for that.

The New York Times reported this week that Trump's aides follow him around and give him praise on social media.

"As Trump has been out of office over the last 20 months, a rotating cast of aides has been tasked with following him around the golf course at the club he's at and giving him positive reinforcement from the internet."

On Friday, Trump posted a picture on his Truth Social account that compared him to Jesus Christ. Jesus is the greatest. Donald Trump is the second greatest president.

The so-called Deep State is a group of elites and Democrats who are involved in a lot of bad things.

The former president appeared to embrace the conspiracy theory, according to Kaplan.

Matthew Taylor Coleman, who was accused of killing his two young children, and Troy Burke, who killed his wife, were both linked to the belief in Qanon.