And if the reaction of the crowd was any indication, they were most worried about claims of child sex trafficking being imported to Arizona from California. Sign up for our politics newsletterOnstage, Mr. Kirk, the younger Mr. Trump and his girlfriend, Kimberly Guilfoyle, offered up red meat to the crowd, much of it wildly exaggerated or without basis in fact. They’re justifying ‘Cuties,’ they’re justifying pedophilia,” Mr. Trump said, pointing to a recently passed law in California that aims to end discrimination against L.G.B.T.Q. Conspiracy theorists associated with the QAnon movement have claimed that the law favors pedophiles, which it does not. But the idea that the president is combating pedophilia, which is central to the QAnon theory, buoyed many in the crowd.

Source: New York Times September 26, 2020 16:52 UTC