Justin Higgins was formerly a policy adviser for House Republican Tim Huelskamp, a Kansas legislator who at the time was one of the outspoken members of the Tea Party movement that gained national notoriety between 2009 and 2015.

After Huelskamp lost his primary and congressional seat in 2016, Higgins became a senior research analyst for the Republican National Committee (RNC) and created content associated with Donald Trump’s presidential bid that year.

Higgins told progressive podcaster Aaron Rupar on Thursday that the conservative movement is predicated on selling lies to the American public for their own potential political gain.

Higgins reiterated similar statements in a phone conversation with Newsweek, recalling how other RNC staffers would openly admit to lying on social media websites like Reddit—and the now defunct subreddit dedicated to Trump—so outlets like Fox News or Breitbart would pick them and in turn cause the falsities or embellished reports to gain traction.

Higgins said the movement became so strong so fast that former House Speakers John Boehner and Paul Ryan couldn’t push back on ideas “on steroids.”

“These people went from the fringe to the mainstream,” he added, saying a revamped conservative media landscape that now includes Newsmax, The Daily Wire and others “have given House Freedom Caucus candidates a new life.”