Trump bizarrely claims people 'in the dark shadows' are secretly controlling Joe Biden

(Image credit: Screenshot/Twitter/Fox News)

President Trump told Fox News host Laura Ingraham in a White House interview Monday that his Democratic rival, Joe Biden, is being "controlled like a puppet," but he can't specify who is calling the shots. "Who do you think is pulling Biden's strings, is it former Obama officials?" Ingraham asked. "People that you've never heard of, people that are in the dark shadows," Trump said. Ingraham suggested that "dark shadows" sounds "like conspiracy theory" fodder, but Trump disagreed. "No," he said, "only people that you haven't heard of. They're, they're people that are on the streets, they're people that are controlling the streets."

Trump continued that he had "somebody get on a plane from a certain city this weekend" carrying about seven "thugs wearing these dark uniforms" en route to the Republican National Convention, which ended last Thursday. He promised more details later, but couldn't divulge them now because it is "under investigation."

If Trump talking about Democratic rivals being "puppets" rings a bell, he and Hillary Clinton swapped that accusation in a 2016 debate — with Trump taking great umbrage at Clinton's charge that Russian President Vladimir Putin was trying to help him win the election.

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There is no evidence or logical reason to believe that Biden is not in control of his own campaign, or that he is being ordered around by shadow people.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.