On Wednesday Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump proposed this new conspiracy theory about his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton: that she drooled all the way through Monday’s debate.
“Didn’t notice at 1st,” he tweeted, “Crooked Hillary drooled all over herself @ debate. I scare her BIGLY Probably had seizure. Sad!”
Trump then shared an image that shows the alleged drool, with a white circle around it. The image has since been traced back to a 4chan message board.
Furthering his claim, Trump called into Fox and Friends and expanded on his theory. “Many people are saying she has a serious illness, okay? I almost feel bad for causing her stress. It’s embarrassing. I feel bad for her. Maybe she should just quit. Or maybe wear a bib. Like one of those bibs from Red Lobster. Great place. I eat there all the time,” he said in between audible sniffles.
Political experts and pretty much anyone with functioning eyes were quick to point out that the area circled on Clinton’s red blazer was actually the shadow from her microphone. Despite the completely reasonable explanation, many Trump supporters took to Twitter to defend his remarks, blaming the untrustworthy media for their unfair commitment to facts. The hashtag #Hillarydrools was trending for several hours after the tweet.
Despite being debunked, the conspiracy theory has grabbed headlines and many reporters are speculating that it could lead to the mistrust and lack of transparency issue Clinton still suffers from on the campaign trail. When Trump critics pointed out that Trump himself also displayed the same sort of “drool stains” on his blue suit jacket, supporters of the Republican candidate insisted that they were instead shadows from his malfunctioning microphone.