By Heather Gann
Former U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks, R.-Ala., said this week that President Donald Trump was “the most dishonest elected official that…the public has ever had to interact with,” in a conversation with Notus’ Riley Rogerson.
“Donald Trump has, time and again, convinced me that he is the most dishonest elected official that I have ever — excuse me — that the public has ever had to interact with,” Brooks said, according to Rogerson’s post on X.
“And the paradox with Donald Trump is he seems to make dishonest statements just for the fun of it, as a challenge to see if anybody has the gumption or the wherewithal to take him to task for the dishonest statements he makes.”
“He sees it as a game, and he’s winning it.”
Brooks and Trump have had a rocky relationship since 2021, when Brooks told voters at a Trump rally to put the disputed 2020 presidential election results behind them and “look forward.”
In 2022, Brooks said Trump repeatedly asked him to forge a path in Congress for President Joe Biden to be removed from office and be replaced by Trump. Later that year, Trump retracted his endorsement of Brooks’ Senate campaign.
In late 2022, Brooks told AL.com it would be “a bad mistake for the Republicans to have Donald Trump as their nominee in 2024.”
“Donald Trump has proven himself to be dishonest, disloyal, incompetent, crude and a lot of other things that alienate so many independents and Republicans,” he said.
“Even a candidate who campaigns from his basement can beat him.”
Brooks left office in 2022 after six terms in Congress and a federal judge threw out a lawsuit seeking to hold Brooks responsible for his remarks at a “Stop the Steal,” rally on Jan. 6.
Most recently, Brooks applauded 38 Republicans in Congress who voted against a budget bill backed by Trump that would have removed any limits toward incurring additional federal debt for the next two years.
“Those who understand the threat of a national bankruptcy know that voting for an unlimited amount of new debt is horrible for America’s future,” Brooks told AL.com in December.
“But they [lawmakers who approved the bill] also know that Donald Trump can take them out if he wants to. So, I understand why all of them voted for a financially irresponsible unlimited debt ceiling, but I wish they would put America first.”
