MAGA Malarkey: The Extremism You Missed From Republicans This Week
November 17, 2023
MAGA Republicans stooped to new lows this week with their extremism, hypocrisy, chaos, and — as President Biden would call it — malarkey. In case you missed it: Trump evoked the language of Hitler and Mussolini during his Veterans Day speech and MAGA Mike Johnson endorsed him days later, additional details about MAGA Mike’s anti-LGBT and Islamophobic background were exposed, Nikki Haley doubled down on her extreme agenda to slash Social Security and Medicare, Republicans took “fighting for the American people” a bit too literally, and House Republican Chip Roy admitted the GOP conference has not passed a single “meaningful, significant thing” for hardworking families.
Donald Trump was widely condemned for using his Veterans Day speech to parrot the language of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, further proving that he is unfit to lead this country.
Washington Post: “Trump calls political enemies ‘vermin,’ echoing dictators Hitler, Mussolini”
The Messenger: “The former president has come under scrutiny for a Veteran’s Day speech during which he called Democrats ‘vermin,’ promised to ‘root out’ the ‘radical left thugs’ in the country and suggested those who disagree with him politically pose a larger threat to the U.S. than Russia, China and North Korea.”
Axios: “Why it matters: Some historians have compared Trump’s dehumanizing language — including his claim that undocumented immigrants are ‘poisoning the blood of our country’ — to the rhetoric of fascist dictators like Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini.”
The Guardian: “White House berates Trump for echoing Hitler by calling opponents ‘vermin’”
MAGA Mike Johnson offered Trump his full endorsement on Tuesday, despite previously saying Trump lacks the “character and moral center” to be president.
Johnson: “I’m all in for President Trump. I expect he’ll be our nominee … we have to make Biden a one-term president.”
New York Times: “Johnson Said in 2015 Trump Was Unfit and Could Be ‘Dangerous’ as President”
Johnson: “The thing about Donald Trump is that he lacks the character and the moral center we desperately need again in the White House. … I am afraid he would break more things than he fixes. He is a hot head by nature, and that is a dangerous trait to have in a Commander in Chief. … I just don’t think he has the demeanor to be President.”
New reporting this week exposed that Johnson sits on the board of an organization that has a history of anti-LGBTQ+ and Islamophobic comments.
The Blade: “House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) serves on the board of a Christian publishing house that called mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, an ‘an inevitable and appropriate penalty’ for being gay.”
Politico: “House Speaker Mike Johnson sits on the board of a Christian publishing house that suggested getting ‘monkeypox’ was ‘an inevitable and appropriate penalty’ for being gay and that former President Barack Obama was rumored to be the Antichrist because of his ‘leanings toward Islam.’”
“In a Living Waters article published in March, Comfort also bemoaned the fact that Christians could no longer call homosexuality ‘morally wrong.’ ‘There was a time in America when we could say these things without any real repercussions,’ he noted.”
Meanwhile on the campaign trail, Nikki Haley doubled down on her longstanding commitment to slash Social Security and Medicare.
Andrew Ross Sorkin: “Are you on board with cutting entitlements in a big and meaningful way?”
Haley: “Social security goes bankrupt in 10 years, Medicare goes bankrupt in eight. Anyone that says they’re not going to take on entitlement reform means they’re going to go in and be president and leave the country bankrupt. You can’t do that.”
The clowns are fighting! On Tuesday, House Republicans resorted to clown-on-clown violence with a “kidney shot heard round the world.”
Politico: “‘Clean shot to the kidney,’ fight threats and ‘smurfs’: Capitol Hill takes a nasty turn”
The Hill: “Burchett accuses McCarthy of elbowing him in Capitol hallway”
Axios: “House Republican accuses ‘bully’ McCarthy of elbowing him in back”
Daily Beast: “‘You’re Pathetic’: Enraged McCarthy Reportedly Shoves GOP Colleague”
Aaron Rupar: “Rep. Tim Burchett claims on CNN that Kevin McCarthy hit him from behind with ‘a clean shot to the kidneys’ and calls him ‘a bully’”
Aaron Rupar: “Burchett says he’s still in pain from McCarthy hitting him and adds: ‘I just don’t expect a guy who was at one time three steps away from the White House to hit you with a sucker punch in the hallway.’”
In MAGA Fight Night Round 2 on Tuesday, Senator Markwayne Mullin challenged the Teamsters president to a fight during a Senate hearing – and he defended his actions by trying to normalize duels and… biting?
CBS News: “GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin challenges Teamsters president Sean O’Brien to fight at Senate hearing”
CNN: “Senator wants to make Americans fight again”
Daily Beast: “Fight-Hungry Senator Suggests Congress Bring Back Duels and Canings”
“After challenging Teamsters President Sean O’Brien to a fight Tuesday during a Senate hearing, Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) suggested that it wouldn’t be a bad idea to bring back canings and duels.”
Politico: “Sen. Mullin is unbowed after nearly getting into a physical fight during a committee hearing yesterday. ‘I’m not afraid of biting. I will bite,’ he told a local podcast. ‘I don’t care where I bite, by the way.’”
Mullin: “There’s been multiple duels and multiple canings that’s taken place in the Senate.”
House Republican Chip Roy acknowledged that GOP infighting has prevented their conference from getting a single “meaningful, significant thing” done for the American people.
HuffPost: “Far-Right GOP Lawmaker’s Question About Republicans Backfires Spectacularly”
Roy: “One thing. I want my Republican colleagues to give me one thing — one! — that I can go campaign on and say we did. … Anybody sitting in the complex, if you want to come down to the floor and come explain to me, one meaningful, significant thing the Republican majority has done.”
Vanity Fair: “GOP Congressman Chip Roy Declares the GOP Is Useless, in Floor Speech Democrats Are Probably Turning Into a 2024 Ad Right Now”