Most people are aware that Trump has a dubious style of pointing fingers, but few people could have predicted that Trump’s style would be emulated by his detractors in an effort to slander the man with untrue, yet still rumor-worthy, claims. You might have heard about Hillary Clinton’s decision to release her tax returns to the public, which has been called a gambit to force Trump to release his. Trump, however, claims he is in the middle of an audit and refuses to make his returns public. There are others out there who believe the true reason behind Trump’s secrecy is that he is trying to keep something hidden from the public.
A rumor is circulating that the reason Trump is refusing to release his tax returns is that he has secretly donated millions of dollars to NAMBLA over the last few years. NAMBLA is, of course, the much-hated pedophile organization known as the North American Man/Boy Love Association. Whether Trump donated to NAMBLA is still a mystery because he hasn’t released his returns, at least according to the person who made this claim. Trump almost certainly didn’t donate anything to them, yet people are talking about it all over social media.
The rumor was actually started by a single user on Reddit, who decided to write a short speech in the style of Trump making his own unfounded claims. The piece was lauded as the best words even written to Reddit, and the writer was called a very, very smart guy. He begins his speech by claiming that it is possible that Trump donated to NAMBLA, and that is why he hasn’t made his returns public. He goes on to say that he doesn’t actually believe that himself, but that he’s heard it. He knows people are saying it, but he doesn’t think it himself. He just wants the reader to know that there has to be some reason Trump won’t release his tax returns, and a lot of smart people are saying it’s because he donated to NAMBLA.
The original piece was clearly written as a joke, and most people who share it probably assume it is a joke. The internet has this strange ability to spread information in a way that helps lend that info credibility, whether it is factual or not. Trump knows this, and his method shows it. Now that it is being used against him, he might start to regret using such shady tactics in the first place. There are a number of things that are basely untrue that Trump himself has claimed to ‘have heard’.
Trump claimed to have heard that Obama is a Muslim. He’s also claimed to have heard the president isn’t a natural born US citizen. Trump has heard that the JFK assassination included efforts by the father of Ted Cruz, who has lost the nomination to Trump. Trump also heard that Ted Cruz was hiding a sex scandal from the world. Some of the more ridiculous things he’s heard include that the president is training terrorists on US soil in secret training camps, and that Hillary Clinton’s email scandal caused a scientist working with the US to be killed by a group of Iranians.
People tend to believe what they want to believe, and as Trump supporters get more fervent in their admiration of their fearless leader, they are more easily swayed by his words. The same is true for his opposition, which includes those who identify as republican but can’t stand Trump or his basic lack of humanity. More rumors like his potential donations to NAMBLA may spring up as more and more people realize the only way to fight fire is with fire.