A “Never Trump” Republican lawmaker said Sunday the former president would try to “steal” the 2024 election if he opts to make a run and loses.
Rep. Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio told CNN’s “State of the Union” that former President Donald Trump had only grown emboldened by the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
“I think any objective observer would come to this conclusion, that he has evaluated what went wrong on Jan. 6. Why is it that he wasn’t able to steal the election?” Mr. Gonzalez said. “Who stood in his way?”
Mr. Gonzalez accused Mr. Trump of moving to purge the GOP of dissenters as part of a calculated effort to ensure the next election could be stolen.
“He’s going systematically through the country and trying to … install people who are going to do exactly what he wants them to do, who believe the big lie, who go along with anything he says,” Mr. Gonzalez said. “Every single American institution is just run by people. And you need the right people to make the right decision in the most difficult times.”
Earlier this year, Mr. Gonzalez was one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach the former president over the Jan. 6. riot. Since then, he has become a fervent anti-Trump voice.
His stance has not boded well for Mr. Gonzalez in his heavily Republican district. In September, the lawmaker opted to drop his reelection bid after garnering a strong Republican primary challenge from a pro-Trump candidate.
• Haris Alic can be reached at halic@washingtontimes.com.
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