Conspiracy theorists are usually portrayed as paranoid men hidden in dark rooms behind glowing computer screens. And as much as we know this is just a stereotype, it seems strange when a well-known public figure is a conspiracy theorist. Even more so when they’re looking to become the next president of the United States. But the Donald Trump we saw in Wednesday’s debate introduced a slew of unexpected new conspiracies.

Now, admittedly, this isn’t necessarily a new phenomena for Trump. And although Trump didn’t start raving about Area 51 or fake assassinations, he did make a couple claims that were more than a little strange.

Perhaps his most startling claim was that President Barack Obama and Secretary Hillary Clinton deliberately instigated brawls at his rallies.

“[Obama and Clinton] hired people, paid them fifteen hundred dollars, told them to be violent, wreck things,” Trump said.

Now it’s definitely difficult to prove that this isn’t true (as it seems with most conspiracy theories) but the problem is that Trump never presented any reason for suspecting this. It seems that he’s just wildly throwing blame out in hopes that people ignore the actual issues at hand. 

But this isn’t the first time that he’s made claims like this. During the primaries, Trump suggested that Ted Cruz’s father was seen in a photograph with Lee Harvey Oswald. Despite the wild nature of this idea, Trump’s claims stuck. Rumors about Cruz’s father circulated for weeks after Trump’s initial interview.

Later, in a rally at West Palm Beach, Florida, Trump said that “the Clinton machine is at the center of this power structure… They will attack you, they will slander you, they will seek to destroy your career and your family… They will lie, lie, lie.” Maybe this isn’t quite the same level of conspiracy, but Trump’s pattern of tossing out accusations without any basis set a precedent for this final debate.

Trump’s other notable statement in his final debate was that the entire election was “rigged” if he didn’t win. It sounded like he blamed voting fraud and the mainstream media, which he’s done in the past, but he never specified exactly how it was rigged. While it’s obviously within his rights of free speech to speculate about fraud, corruption and bias, the concerning part about this is his absolute certainty about it. Added to that is his supporters’ absolute certainty in the truth of his claims.

Say what you will about Trump’s theories, but one thing is certain: his conspiracy theories stick around for months after he’s introduced them. Whichever nominee enters the White House will have to address these speculations. The only question left is:

Will we have a conspiracy theorist for our next president?