The Republican candidate for Connecticut's 1st Congressional District brought up a string of largely discredited conspiracy theories about health, weather control and world government during an interview on Connecticut Public's "The Wheelhouse.”
Jim Griffin is the endorsed Republican candidate challenging Democratic U.S. Rep. John Larson in the heavily Democratic 1st District, which includes Hartford and much of Greater Hartford, as well as some communities in the northwestern part of the state. Griffin is also a military veteran, former congressional staffer and Bristol resident.
When asked how his time in the military and working for Congress prepares him for being a congressman, Griffin's answer drifted toward the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy and a false claim about a secret cure for cancer.
“When President Kennedy was killed, I was persuaded, convinced that he wasn’t actually killed by Lee Harvey Oswald,” Griffin said, speaking quickly. “What was the little cancer that was inside of our country that would not give us a fair question ... answer ... about who killed President Kennedy and the fact that we probably know how to cure cancer, but have never come out with it.”
The Kennedy assassination has spawned decades of various discredited conspiracy theories.
Health conspiracies
Later, Griffin falsely claimed that there are cures for a range of incurable illnesses.
“The fact that we know how to cure cancer — for all my good Democratic friends — was something that my opponent will never tell them,” Griffin said later in the interview.
Although there are treatments that can sometimes put cancer into remission, the idea that there is a secret cure for cancer is a false conspiracy theory.
During a response to a question about the rising cost of caring for older adults, Griffin claimed: “We know how to cure diabetes, we know how to cure MS, we know how to cure Parkinson's.”
There is currently no cure for diabetes, multiple sclerosis, or Parkinson's disease, although diabetes can be managed and treatment can slow down multiple sclerosis and alleviate some Parkinson’s symptoms.
Griffin claimed the chronic conditions could be treated with "natural substances."
Connecticut Mirror’s Capitol bureau chief, reporter Mark Pazniokas, was also a guest on "The Wheelhouse," noting that Griffin is a West Point graduate and had a career in the military.
“But he said some things here today that I think would give people pause," Pazniokas told Connecticut Public. "He suggested there are cures for MS, Parkinson’s and diabetes, which I think would be news to people suffering from those chronic diseases.”
Conspiracies of ‘global elites’ and denying climate change
When asked how he would address the rising cost of housing, Griffin apparently referenced conspiracy theories about totalitarian government.
“This is being choreographed by the Federal Reserve to make it more difficult and to put more strain, and make people more likely to go with a One World Order,” Griffin said. “I started out most of my life as a Democrat. … I became disillusioned only when I saw my party go from being concerned about the middle class to being concerned about doing what the Federal Reserve wants it to do, which is the global One World Order.”
New World Order conspiracy theories falsely claim shadowy elites are trying to create a world-wide government for nefarious purposes.
Griffin also falsely claimed that floods and hurricanes can be prevented by allegedly using technology by Nikola Tesla, an engineer in the late 1800s.
“Tesla showed us that we know how to affect the weather. All the climate change stuff is something that we can manipulate because Tesla showed us how to do it,” Griffin said. “We can make floods or not make floods or have hurricanes or not have hurricanes because Tesla showed us how.”
Tesla’s inventions helped make long-range electric transmission and radio feasible, but the technology to divert hurricanes or turn off rain that causes flooding does not exist.
Griffin ran for Congress as a Democrat in the late 1990s, but he was not endorsed by the Democratic Party and didn't qualify for the primary, the Hartford Courant reported.
In 1998, his campaign manager accused Griffin of attacking him, "choking him, banging his head against an office wall and shouting military orders," the Courant reported. Griffin at the time denied the report. Griffin recently told Connecticut Public that the allegation was a “hit job.” He said he was trying to prevent the campaign manager from falling.
In 1999, Griffin was charged with assault after he allegedly punched a woman, the Courant reported. At the time, he described the incident as self-defense. Griffin recently told Connecticut Public that he performed a few months of community service, and the case was resolved.
Larson critical of Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade
Larson, the incumbent Democratic congressman, appeared on "The Wheelhouse" in a separate conversation. He stressed the importance of providing additional federal funding for education, including teaching and technology.
Larson, who was first elected to Congress in 1998, said he would help older Connecticut residents by increasing Social Security cost of living increases.
Larson condemned the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to roll back federal abortion protections.
“To overturn Roe v. Wade and to deny women reproductive rights and access to appropriate medical care runs contrary to everything this nation stands for and believes in," Larson said.
Pazniokas, with the Connecticut Mirror, said that Griffin’s remarks show the race in the solidly Democratic district won’t be close.
“It doesn’t mean these campaigns shouldn’t be covered,” Pazniokas said. “It’s important for WNPR, for the rest of the press, and quite frankly the Republican Party, to examine and to challenge the incumbents.”
Learn more
Listen to and watch conversations with Griffin and Larson on Connecticut Public's "The Wheelhouse."
Connecticut Public's Frankie Graziano contributed to this report.
Note: This story has been updated with additional comments from Jim Griffin about incidents in the late 1990s.
