Supporters of former President Donald Trump are screaming “false flag” after the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) announced an E. Coli outbreak on Tuesday linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounders.
The outbreak, according to a press release from the CDC, has been linked to 49 cases, 10 hospitalizations, and one death in 10 states across the country so far.
“This is a fast-moving outbreak investigation,” the CDC wrote. “Most sick people are reporting eating Quarter Pounder hamburgers from McDonald’s and investigators are working quickly to confirm which food ingredient is contaminated.”
Yet conservatives believe, given Trump’s publicity stunt at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania on Sunday, that the outbreak is part of a government plot.
Trump fans considered the campaign stop an unbridled success, with some claiming it sewed up the election for him.
In replies to the CDC’s post on X, Trump fans suggested not only that the timing of the outbreak was suspicious but that it was clearly a politically motivated attack to affect the election.
“The timing on this is super sus,” one user wrote.
“What an amazing coincidence CDC, tell us more about politically motivated attacks on restaurants,” another said.
The conspiracy theory was also promoted by prominent figures such as Kim Dotcom, who outright claimed that the outbreak would be blamed on Trump.
Media outlets reporting on the outbreak, none of which blamed Trump in any way, were similarly inundated with conspiratorial remarks.
“Coordinated smear. People see right through it,” one user said in response to reporting from CBS News. “This is the best you got?”
“You people are comically predictable,” a second user wrote.
Despite E. Coli not even being detected in Pennsylvania, conservatives are still alleging that the outbreak is aimed at harming Trump. So far, Colorado has reported 27 cases, while nine have been linked to Nebraska.
“None were in PA where Trump was but this is so obviously a story pushed by the admin and legacy media in retaliation for Trump event,” a conservative user wrote.
“I see you Stalinists are all on the same page because of your hatred for Trump,” another right-wing user said. “We will soundly defeat you in the coming weeks. You are the enemy of the people.”
In reality, the CDC’s initial findings indicate that the first known case tied to the outbreak occurred on Sept. 27, several weeks before Trump’s McDonald’s visit. Not only that, E. Coli symptoms, which include severe stomach cramping, vomiting, and diarrhea, usually appear three to four days after the bacteria’s ingestion.
Nevertheless, conspiracy theories remain rampant from Trump’s base. But critics of Trump, however, are going all in on the joke that Trump actually caused the outbreak.
“They let Trump in McDonald’s once, no hair net no gloves, rawdogging the fries, 2 days later there’s already e.coli in 10 states and their stock is crashing,” one user quipped.
While the CDC is still investigating, the government body has taken a particular interest in two ingredients that could be linked to the outbreak: the burger’s onions and beef patties. Both ingredients have since been removed from locations in the 10 states affected,
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