Liberals are celebrating what they believe is a GOP implosion but, like always, they’ve got it all wrong.
Donald Trump is by no means a stranger to calling out fellow Republicans who fail to work in the best interest of the American people. Oftentimes the RINOs who catch Trump’s ire are warmongering corporatists of the GOP’s past — they by no means represent the working class populist movement made popular by Trump and his MAGA agenda.
The Former President gave a rally in Texas last weekend where he floated the idea of executive legal protection for some Jan. 6 defendants, many of whom are experiencing massive human rights violations in prison.
South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham put Trump on notice for his defense of Jan. 6 protestors, calling the Former President’s rally cry “inappropriate.”
Well, Trump isn’t taking too kindly to Graham’s unwarranted critique and basically mopped the floor with him in during a recent interview.
On Tuesday, Trump reacted to Sen. Graham during an interview with Newsmax, calling the South Carolina Republican a “RINO” for his pearl-clutching over Jan. 6. The back-and-forth shows that although Trump and Graham have developed a friendship since being bitter rivals during the 2016 election primaries, the Former President is still willing to grouse about his ally when they have a difference of opinion.
“Well, Lindsey Graham is wrong. I mean, Lindsey is a nice guy, but he’s a RINO,” Trump said. “Lindsey’s wrong. Look, they tried to burn down Washington — we’re talking federal buildings. They were terrible. Every Democrat city was on fire, and nobody says anything about it. Antifa and BLM were causing so many problems, including death,” Trump continued.
President Trump Responding To @LindseyGrahamSC Calling Pardoning Jan 6 Political Prisoners “Inappropriate”
“Well, Lindsey Graham is wrong. I mean Lindsey is a nice guy, but he’s a RINO.”
“Lindsey Graham doesn’t know what the hell he’s talking about.”pic.twitter.com/XPD27l3Y5Z
— The Columbia Bugle 🇺🇸 (@ColumbiaBugle) February 2, 2022
Trump set his focus on Ashli Babbitt, a supporter of his who he said was killed by a “ruthless man who never should have used his gun to shoot her.” The Capitol Police officer who shot and killed Babbitt, Lt. Michael Byrd said during an interview last year that he used his gun on her as a last resort.
The Justice Department declined to charge Byrd in connection to the shooting, and the Capitol Police separately found that his “actions were consistent with the officer’s training and USCP policies and procedures” and that he “potentially saved Members and staff from serious injury and possible death” at the hands of the rioters.
During a rally in Texas on Saturday, Trump said that if he were to run and become president in 2024, he would make sure the Capitol rioters were treated fairly, adding, “If it requires pardons, we will give them pardons because they are being treated so unfairly.”
Trump also said he felt many of the rioters had been slapped with punishments that were out of proportion with what they did, describing some of the rioters as “patriots.”
Lindsey Graham took grave offense to Trump’s rally remarks.
"I think it is inappropriate" — Lindsey Graham on Trump promising pardons to those convicted of crimes connected to the January 6 attack on Congress (Graham then tries to bothsides it by bringing up Kamala Harris) pic.twitter.com/Hr6Sgz8RPp
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 30, 2022
Trump also argued that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi should be investigated for “doing such a bad job on Capitol security” prior to the riot, insisted that the 2020 contest was a “rigged election,” and again vented about former Vice President Mike Pence’s refusal to try to overturn the results of the 2020 election in their favor when Congress was counting the electoral votes.
So while liberals celebrate prematurely, Trump is one-by-one identifying problem areas within the Republican Party. These RINOs act in the worst interest of the party and the American people, made crystal clear by their inability to resonate with GOP voters.
Author: Nolan Sheridan