Anatomy of a Trump conspiracy theory

• But as Trump has gotten older, the rabbit holes have grown deeper and more radical — a backdrop to his distrust of the media and refusal to accept that he lost the 2020 election.
• The result — on display as he falsely claimed immigrants are eating people's pets in Springfield, Ohio — is a candidate who's become a walking liability for his own campaign.

The big picture: Today, the 78-year-old Trump routinely feasts on a stream of misinformation on Truth Social and X, where a cottage industry of MAGA influencers has flourished since Elon Musk acquired and renamed Twitter.

• Several of those influencers — including "Pizzagate" conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec and anti-trans activist Chaya Raichik — were hosted by the Trump campaign in a special debate "war room" on Tuesday.
• Far-right activist Laura Loomer, who posted a video last year calling 9/11 an "inside job," flew with Trump to the debate after spending the day promoting the Haitian pet claims.
• Loomer also falsely claimed last month that images of Kamala Harris' rally crowds were AI-generated — a conspiracy picked up by Trump — and suggested Wednesday that Harris secretly wore earphones at the debate.
• Hardline Republican members of Congress are among other frequent spreaders of pro-Trump misinformation, joining a roster of anonymous right-wing X accounts boosted by Musk on a daily basis.

Zoom in: The former president's running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), and his son, Donald Trump Jr., are native to MAGA meme culture. Trump appears less fluent — and seems to pick up tidbits from followers and conservative commentators.

• "The people on television say, 'My dog was taken and used for food,' " Trump responded when ABC News debate moderator David Muir confronted him with a fact-check about the Haitian immigrant rumor.
• Asked why he falsely claimed that Harris recently "became Black," Trump told Muir: "I don't know. All I can say is I read where she was not Black ... And then I read that she was Black."

What they're saying: In response to a request for comment, Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt pointed Axios to police audio of a Springfield resident reporting allegations of Haitian immigrants hunting geese.

• Asked about evidence of Haitians eating dogs or cats in Springfield, Leavitt said: "According to residents who live in town, that's what's happening. President Trump is highlighting their concerns."

How we got here: After being banned from social media platforms in the wake of Jan. 6, Trump and his most loyal MAGA followers constructed their own echo chamber on Truth Social.

• Scrutiny of Trump's online activity fell as he receded from the national spotlight, freeing him to engage with some of the most extreme elements of his base.
• That includes adherents of the far-right QAnon movement, which Trump frequently boosts, and other loyalists who promote the false notion that Democrats can't win elections without cheating.

The other side: Conservatives' trust in media plummeted to a historic low last year, making fact-checking conspiracy theories an extremely fraught exercise.

• Many Republicans see early coverage of the Mueller investigation — or the "Russia collusion hoax," as Trump calls it — as an original sin of the Trump era that destroyed the media's credibility.
• Botched coverage of Hunter Biden's laptop controversy and the origins of the COVID pandemic in 2020 have exacerbated suspicion of anything the media labels a "conspiracy theory."

The bottom line: Millions of Americans are inclined to believe baseless right-wing conspiracy theories and dismiss attempts to counter them with facts. One of them is running for president.