QAnon is on the verge of going mainstream. In addition to the numerous Republican candidates that have embraced the unsupported, and ludicrously convoluted, conspiracy theory, Q and its supporters have hijacked hashtag and activist campaigns against actual child trafficking, Instagram makeup and beauty influencers and the anti-mask movement. For nearly three years, Q followers have waited for the moment when a reporter would ask President Trump about the theory, and yesterday, they got their wish.

During a press conference, when asked about the conspiracy theory, which asserts that President Trump is in an ongoing war with the "deep state" to crush an international ring of satanic child traffickers, Trump said, "I've heard these are people that love our country."

"So I don't know really anything about it other than they do supposedly like me."

Trump claims he doesn't "know much about" QAnon, "other than I understand they like me very much." pic.twitter.com/HAKIEcrrGr

— The Recount (@therecount) August 19, 2020

When the reporter explained the premise of conspiracy (the Satanic cabal of child predators) to the President, he responded, "Is that supposed to be a bad thing or a good thing? If I can help save the world from problems, I am willing to do it. I'm willing to put myself out there."

Trump won't say whether he’s been secretly saving the world from a satanic cult of pedophiles and cannibals. pic.twitter.com/ADbZK64UuB

— The Recount (@therecount) August 19, 2020

Trump's response is his first open acknowledgment Trump has made about the conspiracy theory. In the past, he's dipped his toe into that world of Q, inviting some QAnon influencers to the White House and retweeting Q-based accounts.

Hard to overstate how obsessed QAnon believers have been with Trump getting asked about Q and not disavowing them. I got Secret Service docs on a believer who told Matt Gaetz’s baffled staff that she was willing to pose as a journalist to infiltrate the WH and ask the question.

— Will Sommer (@willsommer) August 19, 2020

This is going to be a huge validation for QAnon believers. I wish the reporter had also mentioned the results of QAnon belief: the child kidnappings, the harassment and death threats, the murders, the terrorism, the estranged families. https://t.co/9UZnmMDRFN

— Will Sommer (@willsommer) August 19, 2020

At an earlier press briefing last week, a reporter asked Trump about his support for Marjorie Taylor Green, a QAnon supporter, who won the Republican primary of Georgia's 14th Congressional District and said QAnon is "something to listen to." Trump dodged the question by focusing on the candidate.

While many online expressed concern over Trump's acknowledgment of the conspiracy, Q followers celebrated Trump's assessment. Trump's statement, within the tangled lore of the theory, is a significant stepping stone for the movement and its entrance into the mainstream.

QAnon groups are going nuts. pic.twitter.com/BHM7KYXWjk

— Kevin Roose (@kevinroose) August 19, 2020