WATCH: Rep. Jackie Speier, Who Was Shot by Cult Members, Compares Trump to Jim Jones

Jackie Speier knows a thing or two about cults. Back in 1978, while serving as an aide to Congressman Leo Ryan, she was shot 5 times by members of Jim Jones cult.

For the last 14 years, Speier has served as a US congressperson. And she recently told CNN that she sees a lot of similarities between Jones and Trump.

The California Rep. told CNN’s Brian Stelter:

“You look at Donald Trump, a charismatic leader, who was able to continue to talk in terms that appealed to those who were disaffected, disillusions and who were looking for something, much like those who became part of Jim Jones’ congregation, the Peoples Temple. They were lost souls, and the only difference between Jim Jones and Donald Trump is the fact that we now have social media. So all these people can find themselves in ways that they couldn’t find themselves before.”

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Speier continued, “The big lie has now been embraced by the majority of members on the Republican side in the House of Representatives. They are now paralyzed to speak truth. They know that the election was not stolen. They know that it was held properly. They know that there was not massive fraud, and yet they will continue to mouth those words because their leader, Donald Trump, wants to hear them.”

Watch a clip of the segment below, courtesy of CNN:

Todd Neikirk

Todd Neikirk is a New Jersey based politics and technology writer. His work has been featured in psfk.com, foxsports.com and hillreporter.com. He enjoys sports, politics, comic books and spending time at the shore with his family.