Jamie Raskin says GOP lawmakers supporting Trump act like a 'religious cult' and will be 'fit only for selling flowers and incense at Dulles Airport' after he's defeated

Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, at a news conference. J. Scott Applewhite/AP

• Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Democrat, called out his GOP colleagues over their support of Donald Trump.
• Raskin said they behave as if they are in a “religious cult.”
• The Trump Republicans will “be fit only for selling flowers and incense” at the airport, he said.

Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin doesn’t mince words when discussing his Republican colleagues.

That’s especially true regarding their support for former President Donald Trump, the GOP frontrunner in the 2024 presidential election despite facing a quartet of indictments.

On MSNBC’s “The Weekend” on Sunday, the Maryland representative described his conversations with Republicans about the upcoming election and what’s at stake.

“I have told my GOP colleagues that when we get through this period, and we will, and when we defeat Trump and Trumpism, and we will, they’re going to be fit only for selling flowers and incense at Dulles Airport,” Raskin said. “They are acting like members of a religious cult who have no critical thinking skills left. They will follow exactly what Donald Trump tells them to do.”

Since the January 6 Capitol riot, Republican leaders have essentially abdicated any obligation to deal with Trump, Raskin said.

“I remember when we went over to the Senate in the impeachment trial, the second impeachment trial where I was leading the team, and a lot of Republicans there felt, like, ‘We’re going to pass the buck. We’ll let somebody else deal with Donald Trump,'” Raskin said. “McConnell got up and explained that he didn’t vote to convict. Not because Donald Trump wasn’t guilty. He said he was morally, ethically, factually responsible.”

Though Sen. Mitch McConnell initially said the Capitol riot was an impeachable offense, he backed down after realizing he was in the minority among the GOP, Business Insider reported in April 2022. McConnell reportedly told a friend that he “didn’t get to be leader by voting with five people in the conference.”

On MSNBC, Raskin said McConnell let Trump “off on a technicality.”

“And then he said, ‘We’ll let the courts deal with it. There can be a criminal prosecution later,'” Raskin recalled. “I think some people in the Supreme Court might be thinking, ‘Well, let’s kick the buck back over to Congress or the people. We’ll let them deal with it.'”

The Supreme Court decided earlier this month that it would hear Trump’s appeal of Colorado’s decision to bar him from the 2024 primary ballot, which could affect Trump’s eligibility in the presidential election.

Spokespersons for McConnell did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI on Sunday.