Josh Hawley Implies He Doesn’t Agree with Trump’s Lie That Election Was Stolen

Speaking to CNN, Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) claimed he doesn’t agree with former President Donald Trump’s lie that the 2020 general election was fraudulent.

“I don’t give him advice, and I’m not going to give you my emotional reactions to his quotes,” Hawley said of Trump, who took the stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference over the weekend to push the lie once again.

Hawley added that the former president is “a guy with a strong point of view, he’s a former President and he’s not going anywhere.”

“He’s very consistent,” he added. “He’s going to say what he believes.”

Hawley’s comments don’t take into account his own support for the lie. Last month, he was unrepentant in an interview with news channel KVTO, telling the outlet that his critics are part of a “woke mob,” remarks that indicated he would not accept responsibility for the role he played on January 6, the day he voted against certifying President Joe Biden‘s election win and groups of former Trump‘s supporters laid siege to the Capitol. The attack, which resulted in five deaths, was spurred by President Trump’s falsehoods about the election, which Hawley often regurgitated despite the lack of any credible evidence.

At the time, Hawley pushed back against any suggestion that those who participated in the violence are also guilty of sedition.

“These criticisms are “not only crazy—it’s a lie. It is simply false and I’m not going to give into it for a second,” Hawley claimed, though in the same breath he rebuked the violence, saying those involved must be “punished to the fullest extent of the law.”

Alan Ryland

Alan is a writer, editor, and news junkie based in New York.