Former President Donald Trump's supporters are "addicted" to falsehoods about the last presidential election as though they were addicted to crack cocaine, according to conservative lawyer and frequent Trump critic George Conway.
Nearly three years after the 2020 election, Trump continues to push conspiracy theories claiming that his loss to President Joe Biden was the result of massive voter fraud. Polling indicates that a clear majority of Republican voters support Trump's theories, despite a lack of credible supporting evidence.
Conway, ex-husband of former Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway, said during a recent episode of The Bulwark's Beg to Differ podcast that the former president's influence over conservative politics meant that the Republican Party was effectively "gone," with what remains operating in an economy of election "lies."
"I just think the party is gone," said Conway. "I don't think there's any way that it can be repaired and I think Trump is going to take them down ... It's like crack. I mean, they've addicted themselves to these lies. They live off of these lies. The conservative media profits off of these lies, the political consultants profit off of these lies."
"The congressmen basically make a living selling lies to the American people for contributions and funding, you know, lining their pockets," he continued. "There's no way out, because they basically locked in a certain number of people to these lies."
Newsweek reached out for comment to Trump's office via email on Tuesday.
Trump was indicted last week on four federal felony counts related to the attempt to overturn the 2020 election outcome and the subsequent January 6 attack, which saw a mob who claimed that Trump "won" the election storm the U.S. Capitol as the results were being certified by Congress.
While federal prosecutors have claimed that Trump pushed election fraud theories while being fully aware that he legitimately lost in 2020, the former president told supporters in New Hampshire on Tuesday that there was never a "second" when he did not believe that the election was "rigged."
"They have this crap going on, I never even thought of this one, 'Trump didn't really believe he won the election,'" Trump said. "Let me tell you, people that know me say ... That's one thing, I'll tell you. There was never a second of any day that I didn't believe that election was rigged."
"It was a rigged election," he added. "It was a rigged election and it was a stolen, disgusting election. And this country should be ashamed."
In addition to the January 6 case, Trump is facing 74 additional felony counts, including 40 federal charges related to his handling of classified documents and 34 counts of falsifying business records in New York.
The former president has pleaded not guilty to all criminal charges and claims to be the victim of a political "witch hunt" and "election interference" as he seeks to regain the White House in 2024.
