Video: Former Rep. Riggleman (R-VA05) Says Trump “holds a LOT of power over the [GOP]”; Says He Is Really Having Trouble Breaking Through With “Facts and Truth”

Former Rep. Denver Riggleman (R-VA05), who was defeated by conspiracy theorist and extremist Bob Good last year in a bizarre Republican nominating convention, was on the PBS NewsHour a little while ago discussing the current state of the Republican Party. According to Riggleman (see video, below):

• What shape is the GOP in right now and how much power does Trump still hold? Riggleman: “I think [Trump] holds a lot of power over the party…about a half hour south of here…I saw a Trump/Pence sign, well Pence had been spray-painted black, had been spray-painted over with very crude language…I went into a store…everybody in there was completely pro-Trump, and some weren’t real happy with me...I think right now what I’m seeing…Trump’s going to play very well…there’s an advantage to some of these individuals who sort of grasp the ‘stop the steal’ mythology and the messaging…I think people like me, who are very angry about the Capitol riots, might be in the minority right now [in the GOP].”
• What happens to Republican Party members who try to stand up for the truth? Riggleman: “For me, I thought the use of compassionate, blunt-force facts would be some way that I could pull people back in…[but at my convention]…I was hit with conspiracy theories…and even with my background in intelligence and fighting disinformation back to ISIS…Al Qaeda and the Taliban, it was interesting that I couldn’t seem to break through on what facts and truth were. And I’m still seeing that today. I just got messages today that said that I was still on the wrong side of things, that on March 4th President Trump would come back and be inaugurated, and these are people I know…seems that people are sort of buying back in to the ‘stop the steal’…and some of those conspiracies that have sort of spread and metastasized across the country.”
• On Liz Cheney, Rep. Riggleman said “absolutely” she’s in real political jeopardy right now. Riggleman added, “I don’t know if she’s going to take kindly to Matt Gaetz going to her home state…but you saw how many people were there [at the anti-Liz-Cheney rally with Gaetz], there were 100s…[the Trumps] have got a grudge against Liz Cheney.”