Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman on Monday warned of “chilling” developments within the GOP that may have catastrophic consequences for the country.
“We are in real danger here,” Friedman told CNN’s Anderson Cooper.
Friedman said Republicans are coalescing around ex-President Donald Trump’s lies about the election while most people are being “lulled” into false security because of President Joe Biden’s lower-key competence and focus on the coronavirus pandemic.
But “our democracy is as threatened today” as it was when Trump declared his intention to run for office, said Friedman, noting how most Republicans have fallen in step with Trump’s 2020 election lies. Prominent holdouts Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) are the exceptions to the new Republican norm, he noted.
“Subscribing to the big lie that this election was stolen has become a prerequisite now for thriving, surviving and rising in this Republican Party,” said Friedman. “What does that mean? It means that this GOP is going to be built on a gigantic lie.”
He asked how people could possibly trust a political party if its foundation was baselessly claiming the 2020 vote was stolen.
“It’s happened like in the last couple of weeks, where everyone fell into line and people like (House Minority Leader) Kevin McCarthy ― their willingness to politically prostitute themselves in order to, you know, get the speaker of the House ― it is breathtaking that someone would sell their soul that shamelessly,” said Friedman.
“It’s just chilling,” he added. “Now, imagine, if he would do that, what will they do once they’re in power to keep power? We are in real danger here.”
Watch the interview here: