Trump's top election law adviser once called him 'one of the greatest threats to our liberty'


Jenna Ellis, a top legal adviser for the Trump campaign, has remained steadfast in her support for President Trump in the days post-election, as he refuses to concede the race to President-elect Joe Biden. But she wasn't always so fond of the commander-in-chief, CNN reports.
Back when Trump was running for the first time in 2016, Ellis made several comments on her Facebook page and on local Colorado radio shows deriding him. Writes CNN, she, at one time or another, described Trump as an "idiot," a "bully," and "dirtbag," while also arguing that he did not espouse American or Christian values. During a 2016 radio appearance, while referring to Trump seeking stricter libel laws, she said he was "one of the greatest threats to our liberty."
Ellis also went after his supporters, writing that she "could spend a full-time job just responding to the ridiculous illogical, inconsistent, and blatantly stupid arguments supporting Trump" before stating that his backers didn't "care about facts or logic."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Of course, stories like this haven't been uncommon throughout the Trump era — there are numerous people in his administration, as well as now-loyal lawmakers, who had strong words for the president before he took office before eventually becoming prominent defenders of his leadership — and Ellis said in a statement Wednesday that she had changed her mind over time. But NBC News' Benjy Sarlin makes the case that Ellis' comments and posts, particularly those that alluded to a potential authoritarian streak, are especially damaging, given that she's boosting his efforts, based on unfounded claims of voter fraud, to overturn the results of an election he lost. Read more at CNN. Tim O'Donnell
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctions
The Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
Thailand, Cambodia agree to ceasefire in border fight
Speed Read At least 38 people were killed and more than 300,000 displaced in the recent violence
-
Israel 'pauses' Gaza military activity as aid outcry grows
Speed Read The World Health Organization said malnutrition has reached 'alarming levels' in Gaza
-
US and EU reach trade deal
Speed Read Trump's meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen resulted in a tariff agreement that will avert a transatlantic trade war
-
At least 12 dead in Thai-Cambodian clashes
Speed Read Both countries accused the other of firing first
-
US and Japan strike trade deal
Speed Read Trump signed what he's calling the 'largest deal ever made'
-
28 nations condemn Israel's 'inhumane killing' in Gaza
Speed Read Countries including Australia, France, Japan and the U.K. have released a joint statement condemning Israel's ongoing attacks
-
Israeli gunfire kills dozens at Gaza aid site
Speed Read The U.N. estimates that at least 875 Palestinians have died while trying to access food in recent months