There’s a common joke online that says the difference between a conspiracy theory and reality is only a couple of weeks. That principle proved to be true in 2024.
Throughout the past year, the media constantly jumped into “fact check” conservatives by downplaying concerns about President Joe Biden’s health, the presence of Venezuelan illegal immigrant gangs in the United States, and claiming any concerns about FEMA not helping conservatives were unfounded. As usual, the media were proved to be very wrong on each of those issues.
So, here are three of the biggest “conspiracies” that ended up coming true in the last year:
“Biden Will Drop Out And Another Candidate Will Take His Place”
Credit: Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images.
Even before he became president, conservatives were drawing attention to Biden’s declining mental acuity and physical struggles. As Biden’s presidency began, these concerns continued to percolate among conservatives throughout Biden’s stumbles and falls and slurring words.
The legacy media largely downplayed these concerns and some even said that he was in the best condition of his life.
“I’ve said it for years now, he’s cogent,” MSNBC host Joe Scarborough said in March 2024. “But I under-sold him when I said he was cogent. He’s far beyond cogent. In fact, I think he’s better than he’s ever been — intellectually, analytically — because he’s been around for fifty years.”
Despite the media ignoring Biden’s mental state, many conservatives still believed that Biden would be replaced by another candidate by the time Election Day rolled around. This belief was labeled as a “conspiracy” by NBC News.
In October 2023, NBC ran a headline saying “Republicans float a quiet conspiracy theory that Biden won’t be on the ballot.”
“Though no incumbent president has declined to seek a second term since Lyndon Johnson in 1969, there is an unfounded conversation among a faction on the political right that goes something like this: Democratic power brokers will intervene at the last minute to replace a weakened 80-year-old Biden with someone else as the party’s nominee,” the outlet reported.
The outlet added that the theory was not a “mainstream thought within the Republican Party, but it has maintained a persistent foothold among a relevant chunk of the GOP base taking their cues from some party officials who continue to toy with the idea.”
Just months later, this “unfounded” conspiracy theory came true shortly after a disastrous debate performance in June of 2024 against Donald Trump. During the debate, Biden’s decline was broadcast for all to see as he delivered raspy and mumbling answers.
Three weeks later, Biden announced he was dropping out of the race, saying he would be endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris.
“Venezuelan Gangs Are Taking Over U.S. Cities”
Joe Amon / The Denver Post via Getty Images
After videos emerged of reported gang violence being perpetrated by members of the violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua in Colorado, legacy media figures and political officials rushed to downplay fears about the gang activity.
The situation exploded onto the national scene after Aurora City Councilwoman Danielle Jurinsky warned that gang members had taken over apartment complexes in the area. Video later showed armed men walking through an Aurora apartment building with guns drawn and entering an apartment after knocking on the door.
Despite the footage, Colorado Democratic Governor Jared Polis’ office called the “purported invasion is largely a feature of Danielle Jurinsky’s imagination.”
The media also pushed back on the concerns after the Trump campaign amplified the warnings, alluding to concerns as “rumors” and accused them of making “false claims” about the situation.
However, the concerns appeared to be validated earlier this month after the Aurora Police Department detained 19 suspected illegal alien gang members from Venezuela at an apartment complex.
Police said that more than a dozen armed gang members accosted a male and female victim at the Edge at Lowry Apartments and forced them into a different unit at the complex.
This came after ABC News correspondent Martha Raddatz pushed back on the Trump campaign, telling Vice President-elect JD Vance that the “incidents were limited to a handful of apartment complexes.”
“Martha, do you hear yourself?” Vance responded. “Only ‘a handful of apartment complexes’ in America were taken over by Venezuelan gangs, and Donald Trump is the problem and not Kamala Harris’ open border?”
It is now reported that members of Tren de Aragua are active in at least 19 states across the country.
“FEMA Is Discriminating Against Trump Supporters”
Credit: Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images.
Shortly after Hurricanes Helene and Milton devastated the Southeast, fears began circulating that federal authorities were slow-walking their response because of the conservative political leanings of many of the victims.
In Roan Mountain, Tennessee, for example, locals told The Daily Wire it took nearly two weeks for FEMA to show up. The town is located in Carter County, which voted 81% for Trump on Tuesday.
Trump was especially critical of the federal response, arguing that his supporters were being targeted.
“I’ll be there shortly, but don’t like the reports that I’m getting about the Federal Government, and the Democrat Governor of the State, going out of their way to not help people in Republican areas,” Trump said.
Outlets like the New York Times were quick to jump in and “fact check” Trump for his “false” claims.
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell responded to the concerns by calling them completely incorrect.
“It’s frankly ridiculous, and just plain false. This kind of rhetoric is not helpful to people,” Criswell said. “It’s really a shame that we’re putting politics ahead of helping people, and that’s what we’re here to do.”
Just weeks later, Trump proved to be correct after The Daily Wire reported that a FEMA supervisor in Lake Placid, Florida, ordered relief workers to “avoid homes advertising Trump.”
This directive led to at least 20 homes being skipped over as relief workers offered help to Hurricane Milton victims. FEMA responded to The Daily Wire’s report by firing the employee who issued the guidance and claiming the incident was “isolated.”
Criswell was also called to testify to Congress about the incident and request an Inspector General investigation into the guidance.
Since that time, more whistleblowers have alleged similar misconduct by FEMA in both Georgia and North Carolina.
