Former GOP congressman from Virginia, Denver Riggleman revealed in his upcoming book ‘The Breach‘, that his relationship with his mother worsened after he criticized Donald Trump and condemned the far-right conspiracy theory, Q-Anon.
In an interview with CNN in October 2020, two weeks after sponsoring a resolution condemning QAnon, Riggleman told host Jake Tapper that it was “dangerous” for Trump to amplify QAnon conspiracy theories. At the time, the then-president had retweeted an account promoting the bizarre theory that the US actually killed a body double of Osama bin-Laden and not the terrorist leader.
After that interview, Riggleman wrote that his mother texted him to say her heart is broken and that she is sorry he ever got elected.
“What will it take to wake you up son….I love you so, but cannot stand by and listen to your elitist attitude and being praised by elitist journalist and democrats,” Riggleman’s mother texted him, according to the Hill, which obtained a copy of the book ahead of Tuesday’s release.
“Congratulations. You are now part of the swamp…I’m sorry you were ever elected…You are officially a politician…I have cried over you and my heart is broken by you,” she added.
“I knew my mom and I were not on the same page politically, but this is something else,” Riggleman wrote. “Any hope for a mostly normal relationship seemed dim. She was damn near disavowing me.”
Riggleman said his solidly Republican and religious mother kicked him out after he abandoned his Mormon mission, but they still stayed in touch.
“My relationship with my mom made it through my break with her Mormon Church,” Riggleman wrote. “I wasn’t sure if it could survive the Church of Trump.”