Trump's rambling, lie-filled interview with Laura Ingraham on Fox News went way off the rails, even by his standards

• President Donald Trump made several bogus assertions in an off-the-rails interview with Fox News' Laura Ingraham on Monday night.
• Trump claimed, without evidence, that people in the "dark shadows" were controlling Joe Biden's 2020 campaign.
• Trump also compared police officers who use excessive force to golfers missing a putt.
• Ingraham interjected at several points to ask Trump whether he really meant what he was saying, but the president kept doubling down.

President Donald Trump's rambling, conspiracy-theory-filled interview with Fox News' Laura Ingraham on Monday night was among his most off-the-rails performances to date.

The president has garnered a well-earned reputation for having a tenuous relationship with facts and data, but he took this to new levels as he spoke with Ingraham about the 2020 election and recent unrest in US cities.

Ingraham at several points interjected, apparently in an attempt to save Trump from himself, telling him that the media would jump all over his remarks and that it sounded like he was pushing conspiracy theories.

Trump, as usual, kept doubling down.

Here were some of the most bonkers moments in the interview.

Trump falsely claimed that people in the 'dark shadows' were controlling Joe Biden's campaign and orchestrating protests nationwide

The president veered into dangerous speculative territory on his opponent early in the interview.

"And Biden, well, Biden is — I don't even like to mention Biden, because he's not controlling anything," Trump said.

"Who do you think is pulling Biden's strings? Is it former Obama officials?" Ingraham asked.

—Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) September 1, 2020

"People that you've never heard of," Trump replied. "People that are in the dark shadows. People that—"

"What does that mean?" Ingraham said. "That sounds like a conspiracy theory, dark shadows. What is that?"

Trump went on to falsely accuse Biden of being manipulated by "people that are controlling the streets" before running with a confusing, and unfounded, tangent about an airplane "almost completely loaded with thugs" planning "to do big damage" to the Republican National Convention.

While there is no evidence to support his claims, Trump may have been referring to a viral Facebook theory from June, said Ben Collins, an NBC News reporter who focuses on misinformation and online conspiracy theories.

—Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) September 1, 2020

As for the most influential figures in Biden's campaign, Insider last month reported on the 55 most important Democrats in the nominee's orbit.

Trump compared police officers using lethal force to golfers missing a putt and 'choking'

Later in the interview, the president compared police officers who shoot people in the back to golfers missing a putt.

"They choke. Just like in a golf tournament, they miss a 3-foot putt," Trump said.

"You're not comparing it to golf," Ingraham replied. "Because of course that's what the media would say."

"I'm saying people choke," Trump said.

—Pod Save America (@PodSaveAmerica) September 1, 2020

Trump lied about Portland 'burning' for decades

Trump also claimed in the interview that Portland, Oregon, had been "burning" for "for many years, for decades."

While downtown Portland has been the site of protests in recent months, there's no truth in his claim.

The city's population has increased by more than 12% over the past decade.

—Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 1, 2020