It turns out Democrats and anti-Trump Republicans weren’t alone in concluding that Donald Trump’s campaign to overturn the 2020 election was illegitimate and dangerous. Two top Trump-supporting Republicans said as much in the run-up to Jan. 6, 2021, according to newly revealed texts in possession of the House committee investigating the Capitol insurrection.
Sen. Mike Lee of Utah and Rep. Chip Roy of Texas both initially supported Trump’s efforts to challenge Joe Biden’s victory, but the texts make clear that both became disillusioned as evidence of fraud failed to materialize and Trump ramped up his baseless conspiracy theories. Roy, as Trumpy a congressman as there was at the time, ultimately warned Trump’s chief of staff that their efforts were “driving a stake in the heart of the federal republic.” These texts should be required reading for those Trump supporters out there who still buy the lies.
The texts, obtained by CNN last week, were directed at Trump’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows. They show the progression of two true believers in Trump’s election fraud lies, and how they gradually became convinced there was in fact no evidence.
