You knew Donald Trump couldn't resist a good conspiracy theory, especially when he's running a special reality show called the 2016 Republican Primary. No, of course he can't.
Trump's best pal Alex Jones laid down the theme Saturday, when he told viewers of his show he "felt in his gut" that Scalia had been murdered. Republican voters especially like it when people feel something in their gut, especially when it concerns some nefarious conspiracy on the part of the black guy in the White House. (It's usually gas, but by the time they realize it they've farted their "theories" all over the Internet)
Trump took the ball and ran with it, telling listeners on Michael Savage's radio show that yes, it was a little bit weird that Scalia was found with a pillow on his face.
Earlier today, Donald Trump chatted with far-right radio host Michael Savage, who has been voicing doubts that Justice Antonin Scalia died of natural causes, suggesting that foul play was involved in the conservative jurist's death.
Savage, after wondering if Scalia was "murdered," asked Trump if he would support a Warren Commission-style investigation into the justice's death.
Trump responded that while he doesn't have enough information to comment on whether Scalia was murdered, he found it "pretty unusual" that the justice was discovered with "a pillow on his face."
Light 'em up, Donald!
Here are a few fast facts which might change that "suspicion" just a bit, courtesy of the Associated Press.
Presidio County Judge Cinderela Guevara told The Associated Press on Monday she spoke with Scalia's doctor on the day he was found dead in his room at a remote Texas ranch. She said the doctor told her that Scalia had a history of heart trouble, high blood pressure and was considered too weak to undergo surgery for a recent shoulder injury.
Those details are seemingly at odds with recollections of friends who described Scalia as his usual, happy self during the days leading up to his death. News that the 79-year-old justice was in declining health may come as a surprise to the public, but unlike presidents, the high court's members don't provide regular health disclosures.
Guevara told the AP that she consulted with Scalia's personal physician and local and federal investigators, who said there were no signs of foul play, before concluding that he had died of natural causes. She said she spoke with a "Dr. Monahan" at some point after 8 p.m. on Saturday to discuss Scalia's health history.
Rear Adm. Brian P. Monahan is the attending physician for members of Congress and the Supreme Court. A Supreme Court spokeswoman could not immediately confirm that Monahan had examined Scalia, and Monahan did not return a phone message left for him at his Capitol office Monday.
I'm not sure where the "pillow over his face" idea came from, but I did see some Twitter chatter about Mrs. Scalia saying that he often took naps with a pillow over his face in order to block the sunlight. Perhaps that got tossed into the stew pot of fevered right wingers, who then turned it into the latest conspiracy.
Clearly it's impossible to imagine that a 79-year old man who smoked, was overweight, and had a type-A personality might have been a candidate for a heart attack or stroke. Impossible, that is, if you worship Alex Jones and actually believe Donald Trump is going to be a "billionaire for the people."
