On Tuesday, August 26, speaker Mary Ann Mendoza was removed from the speaking lineup of the Republican National Convention.
Why?
Mendoza retweeted a thread which contained numerous anti-semitic conspiracy theories.
A speaker who had been scheduled to highlight President Trump's fight against illegal immigration has been pulled f… https://t.co/ML3tiwcfS8— AP Politics (@AP Politics) 1598402219.0
NEW: Mary Ann Mendoza, an “angel mom,” is set to speak at the RNC on Tuesday night. Beforehand, she took to Twitter… https://t.co/6Qd8HT10Wj— The Daily Beast (@The Daily Beast) 1598396408.0
Mendoza, an "Angel Mom" whose son was killed in a car crash with an illegal immigrant, was set to support President Trump's heightened immigration restrictions.
Hours before speaking, however, she retweeted a lengthy thread from WarNurse, a prominent QAnon conspiracy theorist. The thread contained claims that there are secret Jewish conspiracies to take over the world.
Mendoza wrote in her tweet:
"Do yourself a favor and read this thread."
Here's Trump advisory board member Mary Ann Mendoza, set to speak tonight at the RNC, boosting an anti-Semitic QAno… https://t.co/VNKVLINtyO— Andrew Kirell (@Andrew Kirell) 1598395476.0
Calls for Mendoza's removal from the RNC immediately began circulating.
Mary Ann Mendoza’s anti-semitic views have no place in our politics. The RNC should have never added her to the… https://t.co/Fb7QaZwPOi— American Bridge 21st Century (@American Bridge 21st Century) 1598396957.0
Mendoza took down her tweets, writing:
"My apologies for not paying attention to the intent of the whole message. That does not reflect my feelings or personal thoughts whatsoever."
It was too late, however—the Trump campaign announced before the RNC began that Mendoza would not be speaking.
Mary Ann Mendoza, an "Angel mom" who was slated to speak at the #GOPConvention, was pulled after pushing a QAnon co… https://t.co/wqadtskKuA— Sara Cook (@Sara Cook) 1598402434.0
Trump campaign spox Tim Murtaugh confirms they pulled Mary Ann Mendoza's RNC speech because she shared anti-Semitic… https://t.co/IzhtDUiBEV— Justin Baragona (@Justin Baragona) 1598453036.0
Here is how the Trump campaign was previewing Mary Ann Mendoza's speech about three hours ago: https://t.co/ycjIUpxoZB— Monica Alba (@Monica Alba) 1598401864.0
Mendoza was also on the board of directors for "We Build The Wall," the fundraising campaign whose fraudulent and corrupt practices recently resulted in the indictment of former Trump aide Steve Bannon.
BTW, guess who worked with the "We Build the Wall" org? Yep! Mary Ann Mendoza. There is no bottom. This is Trump'… https://t.co/djZQbZtMnl— Holly Figueroa O'Reilly (@Holly Figueroa O'Reilly) 1598401348.0
Mary Ann Mendoza, the "angel mom" speaking tonight at #RNC2020 about her son who died in a car crash with an immigr… https://t.co/XHbNzfiX6y— Jean Guerrero (@Jean Guerrero) 1598398118.0
Many online wondered whether Republicans would have a problem with Mendoza's speech getting cancelled on the same night Nick Sandmann decried cancel culture.
Does this mean Mary Ann Mendoza is part of Republican cancel culture?— Kyle Griffin (@Kyle Griffin) 1598401805.0
The RNC just pulled Mary Ann Mendoza from the speaker line up tonight for amplifying an anti-Semitic conspiracy the… https://t.co/CjcZ23N90m— George Takei (@George Takei) 1598403652.0
Others felt bigoted conspiracy theories would only help Mendoza fit in better with the President and his supporters.
I'm confused. Was Mary Ann Mendoza booted off the 2020 RNC schedule because she's been spreading anti-Semitic consp… https://t.co/GANf85cibA— Seth Abramson (@Seth Abramson) 1598404675.0
To recap: RNC speaker Mary Ann Mendoza shared an antisemitic QAnon conspiracy theory. Her speech is now canceled.… https://t.co/GinsrpSgcj— Ahmed Baba (@Ahmed Baba) 1598401348.0
The Republican Convention is removing QAnon supporter Mary Ann Mendoza from tonight’s lineup, but Trump is still we… https://t.co/tkBumzeLeI— Keith Boykin (@Keith Boykin) 1598400865.0
Mendoza has used a platform provided by the President to spread misinformation in the past.
Mary Ann Mendoza, pulled from RNC lineup for retweeting anti-Semitic QAnon conspiracy, is a long-time friend of Tru… https://t.co/qN0qW1JD1Q— Jean Guerrero (@Jean Guerrero) 1598404770.0
It seems Mary Mendoza pushed the envelope too far for even the RNC, who have already welcomed a speaker who claimed public schools are "grooming" children for predators like Jeffrey Epstein, others who defended their right to point guns at unarmed protestors, and one woman who said police would be right to racially profile her Black son rather than her White sons because of "statistics."