During Friday’s broadcast of CNN’s “New Day,” Rep. Denver Riggleman (R-VA) discussed his recent congressional farewell address in which he criticized his GOP colleagues for supporting President Donald Trump’s fight against the 2020 presidential election results and condemned the spread of “disinformation.” In recent days, a group of more than 100 House Republicans joined an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of the State of Texas in its lawsuit against battleground states Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
According to Riggleman, the GOP is “desperate” to go along with Trump because members of the party “fear” what will happen to them “if they don’t go along with the agenda” being set by the president.
“I think the Republican Party this morning is desperate,” Riggleman told host John Berman.
“I also believe the Republican Party is in fear,” he added. “And I think it’s in fear of what’s going to happen to them if they don’t go along with the agenda, you know, that’s being set by the president right now. And once you have desperation and fear and that rolls into where being reelected is your number one priority, I think that gets scary, you know, for some people who have been in Congress. For me, not so much, right? And I think we know why. I think that’s the issue. There’s some fear. I think there’s some desperation, but I also think the amazing amount of pressure that individuals are receiving — and otherwise individuals that would make common-sense decisions — I think they’re clouded right now, and they know me pretty well, and they know that I would say it to their face. Here’s what I want to tell people: COVID is real; the Kraken is not. It’s that simple. And, you know, what’s why I’ve been so outspoken, as you started with the clip of me speaking yesterday about conspiracy theories. My job now is to continue to speak as loudly as I can, you know, about the scourge of disinformation that’s infecting so many individuals through the internet.”
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