Following President Joe Biden's inauguration, many far-right extremists online took notice of the Asian-American man standing near Biden in many of the day's images.
Upon seeing this figure—never more than a few feet from Biden—many conspiracy theorist Trump supporters reached what they felt was an obvious conclusion—the man is Joe Biden's "Chinese handler." Because that's completely rational.
They shared their claims online.
Of course, the conspiracy theory was racist nonsense.
The man pictured was decorated Secret Service agent David Cho, who was chosen to lead Biden's presidential security and also protected President Trump.
Cho is Korean American—Korea is not part of China.
According to VICE, Cho received the Department of Homeland Security's exceptional service gold medal in 2019 "for tireless and direct participation in high-level negotiations" during Trump's North Korean negotiations in Vietnam.
Many people online felt this particular conspiracy theory was even lazier than most.
Cho even served on Mitt Romney's security detail during his 2012 presidential run.
As always, many people online would benefit greatly from taking the time to Google something before posting racist conspiracy theories on Twitter.
@thekalenallen/Threads
U.S. Mint
