MAGA followers were coming unglued on Thursday after a Republican lawmaker got into a heated exchange with a TMZ reporter who pushed back on President Donald Trump's election claims.
TMZ's Charlie Cotton asked Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX) if he was tired of hearing Trump talk about the 2020 election and his unfounded assertions that the election was rigged — just hours before the president was expected to give a primetime address about elections.
"Do you guys wish he'd give up the 2020 thing that he keeps harping on? Most Americans think it's crazy that he's saying the 2020 election was rigged still," Cotton said.
"President Trump should bring up the 2020 election, that is a complete justification for why we should pass the SAVE Act," Nehls said in response.
Cotton pushed back as Nehls brought up the Los Angeles mayor's race and referred to candidate Nithya Raman as "the Indian lady," describing how MAGA-friendly candidate Spencer Pratt had lost the primary election to her. Cotton corrected him and said "the American lady."
The two got into a fiery back-and-forth over Trump's claims.
"There's no evidence of that," Cotton said. "I just think it might not bode well for you guys in the midterm if he keeps harping about this same thing that's been proven not true."
MAGA loyalists on social media responded to the comments.
"Because it was rigged! They have been ignoring the proof!" Zac Urban, a user who shares MAGA-related content and has more than 52,000 followers, wrote on X.
"America owes an apology to Trump for stealing the 2020 election," Hank Bustamonte, who self-describes as a "member of the Heritage Foundation," wrote on X.
"A vast majority of Americans do not believe the election was legitimate," Garrett Barton, M.D., M.B.A., a physician who frequently posts Trump and MAGA-related posts, wrote on X.
"TMZ reports do not speak for ‘most Americans’ like wtf. Your boss was in the Epstein files, would you like to comment on that? I’d say most Americans believe 2020 elections were stolen, hence the reason he’s back in office in 2024. You people are the election deniers," user Ceara, who self-describes as "MAGA," wrote on X.
😬 Rep. Troy Nehls and @hicharliecotton get into a bit of a tiff over Trump continuing to assert that the 2020 election was rigged. pic.twitter.com/8god0ClVYc
— TMZ (@TMZ) July 16, 2026