Trump Calls Into A Far-Right Rally To Fuel Violent Conspiracy Theories About The 2020 Election

After canceling his rally in Iowa, Donald Trump on Saturday called into a rally featuring a who’s who of the far-right, including Roger Stone, Mike Lindell, Sidney Powell, and Michael Flynn. Trump promised to rehire Flynn, a conspiracy theorist who resigned in disgrace after lying to the FBI and later tried to undermine the 2020 election before being pardoned by Trump as he left office. Trump’s feature at the rally is just another reminder that Trump surrounds himself with extremists as he pursues an extreme MAGA agenda, refuses to accept the results of the 2020 election, and dangerously tries to undermine our democracy.

Trump called into a rally on Saturday and said he would bring back Michael Flynn if he wins the 2024 election.

The Hill: Trump says he’ll bring back Michael Flynn if he wins in 2024: ‘He’s some man’

Rolling Stone: They Helped Trump Plan a Coup. He Wants Them Back for a Second Term

Flynn is an extremist who lied to the FBI, tried to undermine the 2020 election results, and is now a “revered figure” in the violent QAnon conspiracy theory movement.

Rolling Stone: “A Trump loyalist, Flynn pleaded guilty to making false statements to the FBI during the 2016 campaign regarding his contact with Russia’s ambassador to the U.S. and his activity as a lobbyist and consultant to Turkey’s government. Flynn ultimately resigned in disgrace from the Trump White House in 2017 before going on to become a revered figure in the QAnon movement.”

Rolling Stone: “Flynn, who has become a popular figure in QAnon circles, also played a large part in the attempts to subvert democracy and halt the electoral count on Jan. 6. He urged Trump to ‘declare limited martial law’ and ‘temporarily suspend the Constitution’ and spoke at the ‘Stop the Steal’ rally ahead of the attack on the Capitol.”

The Hill: “He’s been surrounded by other controversies related to the 2020 transfer of power and prior dealings with foreign entities, and has been tied to QAnon and backed Trump’s claims of widespread election fraud. He was pardoned by Trump as the former president left office.”

Trump’s praise of Flynn is no surprise: Trump continues to fuel dangerous conspiracy theories about the results of the 2020 election — which he lost by over seven million votes.

AP: “Trump, with his first question from Collins about why he should be elected again, started almost immediately by repeating his lies about the 2020 presidential election and repeating his unfounded claims of election fraud. Striking a more muted tone than he usually uses onstage before his cheering supporters, Trump called it a ‘rigged election’ and a ‘shame’ before Collins cut him off, correcting his statements and asking him to publicly acknowledge his loss to Biden.”

Trump also continues to coddle and uplift January 6 insurrectionists. Last week, he called January 6 “a beautiful day” and said he was “inclined” to pardon many of the violent rioters who he said “had love in their heart.”

The Hill: “Trump was asked at a CNN town hall whether he had any regrets about his conduct on Jan. 6, when rioters violently stormed the Capitol, trying to stop the certification of the 2020 election. The riots followed a speech by Trump outside the White House in which he repeated debunked claims that the 2020 election was fraudulent.

“‘I’ve never spoken to a crowd as large as this,’ Trump said of that day. ‘That was because they thought the election was rigged. And they were there proud. They were there with love in their heart. That was an unbelievable, and it was a beautiful day.’”

NBC News: “Former President Donald Trump promised Wednesday night that if he is elected he will pardon a ‘large portion’ of the people convicted of federal offenses for their participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. ‘I am inclined to pardon many of them,’ Trump said at a town hall hosted by CNN at Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire.”