Rep. Anthony Gonzalez spoke at length during a weekend interview with CNN about the dangers of a possible Trump return to the presidency and the role the former commander in chief played in stoking lies and leading the “unconstitutional attempt” on Jan. 6 to overturn the election. (Full video below.)
As more evidence mounts over the steps Trump’s inner circle took in January to pressure former Vice President Mike Pence and as cases of Jan. 6 insurrectionists continue, Rep. Gonzalez warned that Trump will try to do the same thing again if and when he seeks the presidency.
“The cold hard truth is Donald Trump led us into a ditch on January 6. The former president lied to us. He lied to every one of us and in doing so he cost (Republicans) the House, the Senate and the White House,” Gonzalez said in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper. “January 6 was the line that can’t be crossed. January 6 was an unconstitutional attempt, led by the president of the United States, to overturn an American election and reinstall himself in power illegitimately.”
Gonzalez, who has announced he will not be seeking re-election, drew the ire of Trump and an early primary challenge from Max Miller, a Trump flunky and soon-to-be son-in-law of Bernie Moreno, after he became one of 10 Republicans to vote to impeach Trump in the aftermath of Jan. 6.
He’s emerged since then as an increasingly rare breed of level-headed Republican, one who can admit that Trump was a liar who lied about the election, stoked political fear, attempted to negate the election, and who deserved what he got.
“I see, fundamentally, a person who shouldn’t be able to hold office again because of what he did around January 6,” Gonzalez said. “But I also see somebody who’s an enormous political loser. And I don’t know why anybody who wants to win elections going forward would follow that. I simply, like, I don’t get it ethically. I certainly don’t get it politically. Neither of them makes sense.”
Gonzalez had previously called Trump a “cancer” and vowed that while he will not be seeking office again, he will be using his time and energies to make sure he doesn’t ascend to the presidency once more.
This article appears in Nov 3-16, 2021.
