CNN anchor Jake Tapper asked former Republican Pennsylvania Rep. Charlie Dent whether the Republican Party had become “the party of deranged bigots.”
Dent made an appearance Wednesday on “The Lead,” joining Tapper to officially endorse former Vice President Joe Biden and discuss the state of politics going into the 2020 presidential election. (RELATED: Jake Tapper Reminds Justin Amash That Even Teddy Roosevelt Couldn’t Pull Off A Third-Party Win)
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Tapper began by talking about the future of the Republican Party, asking what that might look like if President Donald Trump won reelection.
“In the last week or so, two completely unhinged conspiracy theorists, both of them complete bigots as well, have won Republican congressional nominations,” Tapper said, naming Marjorie Taylor Greene and Laura Loomer — who won their primaries in Georgia and Florida, respectively.
“President Trump has praised both of them, gone out of his way to say positive things about these really unlikable candidates in terms of the things that they say and do. Is it possible, congressman, is it possible that the Republican Party is now the party of deranged bigots and there isn’t a place in it any longer for a Charlie Dent?” Tapper asked.
“Well, look. Part of the reason I’m doing this today is because of what happened last week,” Dent explained, adding, “All this does is empower, you know, the whack jobs and the nuts to come out. And I think with strong leadership, we should be able to marginalize folks like that. And it’s really a sad state of affairs when the president endorses a 9/11 truther.”
Dent went on to note that he was looking forward to a “post-Trump world” and the debate about the future of the party, saying, “We need to get serious adults engaged.”
“I never thought in my wildest dreams a Republican president would be standing up there defending the Confederacy or Confederate symbols,” Dent concluded. “I mean, how crazy is that? I mean, it’s just beyond belief to me, beyond description.”
