'Absolutely nuts': Former VP Al Gore denounces 'artificial insanity' of Trump's false election claims

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WASHINGTON — Former Vice President Al Gore was vexed at the Republican Party's continued embrace of former President Donald Trump and insistence on relitigating the 2020 election, analogizing the situation to a road he and Democrats did not pursue in the aftermath of his presidential election loss.

Reflecting on the many disputes surrounding the 2000 election, Gore said during a Sunday CNN interview that his considerations then were not whether he could successfully force his way to victor but rather, "It was a question of what is right for the country."

The former vice president also denounced Trump's continued spreading of false conspiracy theories and enabling by Republican leaders and voters.

"The refusal of the former president to acknowledge that he lost by 7 million votes — it wasn't close for God's sake — and apparently a majority of his party is still so enthralled to him that they still believe that the American people did not make the judgment that they clearly made," Gore said during a Sunday interview on. "This is very damaging to our democracy."

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Gore, who narrowly lost the 2000 election to former President George W. Bush, did not concede the election for several weeks while issues surrounding an election recount in Florida, and accompanying protests, stalled the declaration of a winner.

"We keep getting this nonsense," Gore said in reference to the ongoing third ballot audit in Maricopa County, Arizona, calling the effort "absolutely nuts."

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Gore expressed a desire to see the Republican Party move on from Trump and his associated false beliefs.

"I'm hoping that this craziness will fade over time," Gore told CNN.

“We hear about 'AI' standing for 'artificial intelligence.' They're putting another kind of AI out: artificial insanity," Gore said. "They're putting out messages that create an alternate reality, and people get into these echo chambers on the internet, and it’s all they hear, and they begin to believe the alternate reality.”

Follow Matthew Brown online @mrbrownsir.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Gore denounces 'artificial insanity' of Trump's false election claims