Deny, Deny, Deny

Even with more than 2,319 text messages as evidence, it seems nothing can shake the MAGA base.

Mark Meadows had thousands of text messages from election day leading up to January 6^th, 2021 released to the public proving that he, other Republican politicians, and Fox News hosts had knowledge of and participation in the armed insurrection at the capitol on that day.

Text messages from Marjorie Taylor Greene have revealed that Greene participated in a private group chat calling for Trump to declare martial law to remain in office. Since her texts have been revealed, Greene has continued to deflect and deny. Another Republican, Energy Secretary Rick Perry, has publicly and officially denied sending text messages connecting himself to the January 6^th attack. It has now been confirmed that not only is Rick Perry certainly the author of text messages claiming to be able to prove election fraud, but Rick Perry himself signs each of his text messages “Rick Perry,” followed by his phone number.

How do we know this probably won’t shake the MAGA base?

In Michigan, right now, two candidates, backed by Donald Trump and the Michigan Republican Party, are moving forward to become the state’s Attorney General and Secretary of State. Both candidates, Matt DePerno and Kristina Karamo, are avid 2020 election deniers. Trump said about this race, “This is not just about 2022. This is about making sure Michigan is not rigged and stolen again in 2024.” In other words, the basis of these nominations by the Republican convention is the conspiracy that the 2020 election was stolen.

It’s reported that Kristina Karamo, the candidate for Secretary of State, also does not believe in evolution or agree with it being taught in schools. Karamo has appeared at QAnon events and spread the theory that “left-wing activists,” most notably ANTIFA, were at the forefront of the Jan. 6 capitol riot. Matt DePerno filed a lawsuit in 2020 alleging that one Michigan county was “complicit in voter fraud.” This lawsuit failed for attorney, Matt DePerno, but he also had other shortcomings in his career. DePerno has been accused of physically assaulting a former client, and he was fired from a previous firm for fraudulent and dishonest billing practices.

The extreme right base proves that they still stand behind Donald Trump, by standing behind these Trump-endorsed candidates.

Instead of reporting on the thousands of released text messages from Trump’s top officials, other politicians, and some of their own hosts, relating to January 6, Fox News is currently displaying headlines like, “Lawmaker speaks out against sharing bathroom with transgender colleague” and “Many top lawmakers celebrate Musk’s big buy.” This is because “election fraud activists,” as described by one Pod Save America podcast host, are a large portion of Fox News viewership.

The infallibility of Trump Republicans in the eyes of the MAGA base continues with the story just exposed about Kevin McCarthy as well. Audio of McCarthy has been released in which the Republican leader recommended that the then-President Trump resign from the office. Even with audio evidence of this conversation, McCarthy’s denials seem to be working among the base. Republican Representative Roger Williams stated that McCarthy “said the right things for me… He’s answered it and he’s answered it good enough for me.”

So far it seems that ignoring these tweets and clips, and creating distance from such evidence, is the new election strategy for extreme right-wing Republicans.