While the January 6, 2020 Capitol riot captured the nation’s attention, a quieter scheme was in effect in several states. Dozens of Donald Trump allies were attempting to replace several swing states’ legal electors through fraud. Ali Velshi points to Michigan, where 16 fake electors have been charged with crimes related to their attempt to subvert the election certification.
Now, as the Michigan’s presidential primary approaches this week, the state’s GOP is in a state of chaos.
Conspiracy theorist Kristina Karamo, who never conceded her own loss in the 2022 election for Michigan secretary of state, has recently refused to accept her removal as the Michigan Republican Party chair. The new chair, former Congressman Pete Hoekstra (and also former Trump ambassador to the Netherlands), is holding the Michigan GOP’s presidential nomination convention on March 2. Karamo and her supporters plan to hold their own convention the same day.
“This is a giant mess for the GOP,” says Velshi. Republican voters are in an untenable position. But more importantly, Velshi points out: Despite this chaos, all sides in this drama represent a serious danger:
Both major players here have also proven themselves to be brazenly willing to deny the truth. And that, combined with everything we know about the role that Michigan Republicans played in Donald Trump’s shenanigans in 2020, should be cause for concern for every American who wants to make it out of 2024 with democracy intact.
LISTEN: ALI VELSHI ON THE MICHIGAN GOP CHAOS
WATCH: VELSHI TALKS ABOUT THE MICHIGAN GOP’S THREAT TO DEMOCRACY
MORE FROM MSNBC’S ALI VELSHI
