Congressman who suggested Charlottesville was a Soros–backed conspiracy says “stay tuned.” @randikayeCNN has more. https://t.co/XVLAyo6Rht
— Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) October 26, 2017
Not long after the horrific events in Charlottesville, several Republican politicians (including President Trump himself) have refused to outright condemn the atrocities perpetrated by white supremacists in the city. Specifically, Louie Gohmert and Bryan Zollinger of Texas and Idaho floated conspiracy theories suggesting the violence was actually a leftist plot engineered by Democrats and, of course, frequent conservative target George Soros. Yet it was Rep. Paul Gosar’s (R-AZ) recent repetition of these claims in a Vice News interview that caught the media’s attention — especially CNN.
After speculating that the Antifa‘s presence in Charlottesville was “created by the Left,” Gosar told Vice News, “Let’s look at the person that actually started the rally. It’s come to our attention that this is a person from Occupy Wall Street that was an Obama sympathizer.” The congressman offered no proof when pressed, of course, but he did mention Soros. “George Soros is one of those people that actually helps back these individuals.” When asked if he thought Soros was behind the events in Charlottesville, Gosar replied, “Wouldn’t it be interesting to find out?”
CNN’s Randi Kaye pressed the representative about his comments on Wednesday, asking if he had any proof to back them up despite their being “debunked” by others. “My proof will be coming,” he said. “It’s not been debunked. So stay tuned.” But Kaye kept pushing until Gosar finally snapped, echoed Trump’s popular “fake news” insult and ran away from the camera. “Look at what CNN has talked about with what’s going on with the Clinton administration right now with the dossier,” he claimed, despite CNN’s coverage of the story in question. “Hardly an aspect in regards to debunked. You’re not real news, you’re fake news.”