Congressman-Elect Deems Trump ‘Essentially Traitorous,’ Says ‘If I Had Done What He Did, I Would’ve Been in Jail’

Congressman-Elect Pat Ryan appeared on Wednesday’s Alex Wagner Tonight, one day after scoring a big win in a special election in New York’s 19th district.

Ryan defeated his Republican opponent in an election the GOP hoped to win. The 19th, vacated by Antonio Delgado to become lieutenant governor, is considered a swing district.

MSNBC host Alex Wagner mentioned the “existential threat posed by Donald Trump” and asked Ryan whether the former president factored into his stump speeches.

“Is he someone you talked about on the campaign trail?” Wagner asked. “As a politician in a swing district who’s trying to win a seat, hold on to a the seat, how much are the words ‘Donald Trump’ uttered?”

Ryan replied he didn’t hesitate to put Trump on blast, and referenced the fact Trump improperly took government documents with him to Mar-a-Lago instead of giving them to the National Archives upon leaving office. Some of the documents are classified.

“We are not afraid to call out Donald Trump as someone who, I believe, is essentially traitorous at this point,” Ryan replied. “I had a top secret clearance. I was an Army officer. If I had done what he did, I would’ve been in jail, 100%. No questions asked. And that is has certainly been part of it.”

Ryan, who made reproductive rights a focal point of his campaign, explained other points of emphasis during the campaign.

“The polling that we saw a few days ago, that threats to democracy are now top-of-the-line,” he said. “And it’s this cumulative effect of, ok, in 48 hours you put more assault weapons on the street, you ripped away reproductive freedom, and access to abortion. Then you dismantled the EPA, we are hearing more about January 6th, we see what’s continuing happen with the president. It’s just guardrails of democracy increasingly being hit, and that’s a wake up call for folks.”

Watch above via MSNBC.