Chris Cuomo urges GOP leadership to find replacement for Ron Johnson

Chris Cuomo questioned why the Republican Party is still supporting Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson on Cuomo Prime Time Thursday. This comes after a hearing in which Johnson was accused of racially profiling young hispanic male immigrants, intimating that they are likely to become drug traffickers or gang members. Not only do statistics show Johnson’s assertions to be demonstrably false, they also show that this kind of rhetoric increases threats of violence.

“We’re past fact-checking what comes out of Ron Johnson's mouth, because so much of it constitutes a domestic threat. You know what those other 49 Republican senators swore to defend against? That,” Cuomo said. “You want proof? Just name the danger. According to DHS under Trump, there were spikes in domestic threats driven by people stoking fears about immigration. In other words, what Johnson just did.”

Johnson has also repeatedly echoed far-fetched conspiracies about the COVID-19 vaccines, despite the fact that over 99 percent of COVID deaths are unvaccinated people, and a large portion of Republicans say they will not get vaccinated. But discouraging vaccination is common among Republican legislators and right-wing media, as is dismissing the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol and climate change, both of which Johnson routinely does. Still, Cuomo urged GOP leaders to find a replacement for Johnson.

“The Wisconsin senator hasn’t said if he’s running for reelection next year, but the question for leadership is, why would you want him?” Cuomo said. “Why don't you make that reach out to people who are center-right and reasonable, and stand against all of the BS coming out of his mouth? That's not what being a Republican is about.”

Video Transcript

- We're past fact checking what comes out of Ron Johnson's mouth, because so much of it constitutes a domestic threat. You know what those other 49 Republican senators swore to defend against? That.

KYLIE MAR: On "Cuomo Prime Time" Thursday, Chris Cuomo ripped Republican Senator Ron Johnson and the party that still supports him. This comes on the heels of a hearing in which Johnson implied that young immigrant males will become criminals, specifically drug traffickers. Even though statistics show that undocumented immigrants are less likely to commit crime, the average drug trafficker is in their 30s, and the vast majority are American citizens.

- You want proof, just name the danger. According to DHS under Trump there were "spikes in domestic threats driven by people stoking fears about immigration," in other words, what Johnson just did.

KYLIE MAR: Johnson has also repeatedly pushed conspiracy theories about the COVID vaccines, despite the fact that he could be harming his own voters as Republicans are less likely to get vaccinated, and over 99% of COVID deaths in the US are now unvaccinated people.

- More than 200 Americans are dying a day because they haven't gotten the vaccine. Yet, Johnson is one of the biggest pushers of the very vaccine conspiracies that are killing us.

KYLIE MAR: And though Johnson largely sticks to GOP talking points concerning the January 6th insurrection at the Capitol and on the growing threat of climate change, Cuomo urged Republican leadership to find a replacement.

- The question for Republican leadership is why would you want him? Why don't you make that reach out to people who are center, right, and reasonable, and stand against all of the BS coming out of his mouth. That's not what being a Republican is about.