“Trump led us into a ditch on January 6” – Rep. Anthony Gonzalez

In a long sit-down interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Rep. Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio, a House Republican who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump in his second impeachment hearing earlier this year, repeatedly criticized Trump.

“The cold hard truth is Donald Trump led us into a ditch on January 6. The former president lied to us. He lied to every one of us and in doing so he cost (Republicans) the House, the Senate and the White House,” Gonzalez said on “State of the Union.

“He added: “I see, fundamentally, a person who shouldn’t be able to hold office again because of what he did around January 6. But I also see somebody who’s an enormous political loser. And I don’t know why anybody who wants to win elections going forward would follow that. I simply, like, I don’t get it ethically. I certainly don’t get it politically. Neither of them makes sense.”

Gonzalez said in September that he would not seek reelection in 2022, despite being one of ten House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump.

In June, Trump campaigned against Gonzalez, mobilizing supporters for his primary opponent, former Trump associate Max Miller.

Gonzalez told Tapper he would not support Trump if he runs again for president in 2024 and would instead support a primary opponent or third-party candidate instead of Trump or a Democrat.

“If he’s the nominee again in ’24, I will do everything I personally can to make sure he doesn’t win. Now I’m not voting for Democrats, but whether that’s finding a viable third party or whether that’s trying to defeat him in primaries, whatever it is, that’s going to be where I’ll spend my time,” he said. “January 6 was the line that can’t be crossed.”

Watch the interview below: