Last updated on May 29th, 2021 at 08:25 pm
Speaking to CNN, former GOP congressman Joe Walsh, who served one term in the United States House of Representatives representing Illinois’s 8th congressional district, says he lost his conservative radio program because he doesn’t support former President Donald Trump.
“The lesson here is if you want to be viable in conservative media, you can’t be anti-Trump,” Walsh said. “If you’re outspoken like me against Trump, you have no place.”
He added: that “if you want to get elected as a Republican, you have to make love to Donald Trump every day. If you want to succeed in conservative media, they don’t want you to be honest.”
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Former GOP congressman Joe Walsh says he lost his radio show because he is not a Trump supporter.
"The lesson here is if you want to be viable in conservative media, you can't be anti-Trump," Walsh said. "If you're outspoken like me against Trump, you have no place." pic.twitter.com/lVnCrpRKvn
— CNN This Morning (@CNNThisMorning) May 27, 2021
Walsh said as much when he made the announcement yesterday, telling his followers: “Not surprised, but I am bummed. I thought it was so important to have ONE anti-Trump conservative voice on the radio.”
Some bad news. Looks like I’ve lost my radio show. The network is run by a big Trumper, and he’s wanted to boot me for awhile. Looks like it finally happened.
Not surprised, but I am bummed. I thought it was so important to have ONE anti-Trump conservative voice on the radio.
— Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) May 27, 2021
Later, he opined that his outspokenness against Trump effectively means he has “absolutely no future in the GOP or the conservative media world.”
It’s such a crazy time. I’m a conservative. I’ve grown. I’ve opened my heart. I’ve listened. I’ve learned. But I’m still a conservative. But because I am so outspoken against Trump & Trumpism, I have absolutely no future in the GOP or the conservative media world.
So darn crazy.
— Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) May 27, 2021
Walsh once openly supported Trump but rescinded his support after Trump’s 2018 summit in Helsinki with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. At the time, Trump made headlines for openly pushing back against the American intelligence community’s consensus that Russia had interfered in the 2016 presidential election.
“I am a tea party conservative, that will never change. But Trump was a traitor to this country today,” Walsh said at the time. “That must not be accepted.”
Alan is a writer, editor, and news junkie based in New York.
