Felon Republican wants to run again because he's 'lonely' without 'fundraisers and galas'

A disgraced former Republican lawmaker who President Donald Trump pardoned after he served time for insider trading said that he planned to run again because he was "lonely" and no longer received invitations to fundraisers and galas.

In a recently surfaced interview recorded last month, former Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY) stated that he was planning to seek Rep. Byron Donalds' (R-FL) seat. The former lawmaker told WBEN that he had been living in Florida since being released from prison.

"Yeah, well, when Byron Donalds announced he was running for governor, was planning it, that piqued my interest," Collins said. "And, you know, the more I thought about it, I was in a pretty bad space and a funk for about three years or longer, kind of wallowing in despair to a certain extent."

"But over time, you know, I have friends here and nobody was treating me like, quote, a felon, even though technically I am," he continued. "I did not leave on my terms, and my reputation was trashed."

Collins predicted that he could be "on the inside" for Trump's final two years in office.

"I'd be accepted into his inner circle, I believe you know, with open arms," he remarked. "I'm older now, but I think I could serve a couple of terms anyway, two or three. And at that point, when I retire, I'm just no longer a, quote, convicted felon, uninvited to, you know, the different galas. And I'm certainly not serving on any boards to the museum or art gallery or hospitals. And I would hope, you know, I intend to be 100. I got 20 good years left."

"If I then retire as the congressman for Florida 19 in Marco Island and Naples, I think I would be welcomed then to serve on some of the, you know, the not-for-profit boards and hospital boards and being invited to the, you know, fundraisers and galas and be welcomed," he added. "And that would be a great retirement. Because right now it's kind of lonely."

"You know, I'm not invited to any of those things because all I am is, you know, the former congressman who resigned in disgrace, convicted felon."