Trump-backed candidate reluctantly cancels event with supporter whose Twitter bio features swastika made from syringes

One of the recurring characteristics of the Trump era was that Donald trump or one of his acolytes to say or do something in front of countless witnesses and then insist that it never happened, that is, urinate on the audience’s leg and tell them it was raining. A short, by no means conclusive list of this phenomenon would include the 45th president swearing that he would never called the late Senator John McCain a loser, despite having tweeted a clip of himself calling McCain a loser; stating that the coronavirus would disappear “miraculously” in April and then saying never put a date on it; and literally tell rally-goers to “hit the shit” at the protesters before insisting he “in any way, shape or fashion [had] ever promoted or encouraged violence. ”While politicians of the past made a career out of misrepresenting the truth, Trump & Co. chose to dispense with those customs and lie directly to the people, which is ironic given the number of supporters who say that They voted for him because he supposedly told them the truth.

Anyway, we brought this up because before Trump’s rise, a candidate for office wouldn’t think they could get away with claiming that, say, an image that is obviously a swastika was anything but a swastika. But today, one not only did, but acted deeply insulted that someone was suggesting otherwise. For him Daily beast:

Former NFL player Herschel Walker, who is running as a Republican for the United States Senate in Georgia, canceled a weekend fundraiser on Wednesday after one of the presenters used a swastika made up of syringes as a Twitter profile photo. Walker’s team had initially defended the woman, a film and television producer. Bettina Viviano-Langlais, when in Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist pointed to the picture. “This is clearly an anti-mandatory vaccination chart,” a Walker spokesperson said. “Herschel is unequivocally opposed to anti-Semitism and bigotry of all kinds.”

The “clearly” here is truly the most hilarious part of the statement, when “clearly” the image in question is of the Nazi insignia, albeit one made up, strangely, of syringes.

Democrats and other groups who think anti-Semitism is actually a bad thing reacted in horror at Walker’s image and response, with the Jewish Democratic Council of America saying the display of pride was “absolutely vile.” The Jewish Democratic Women’s Hall called it “beyond the unacceptable” and added, “a swastika is a swastika.”

Walker is one of four Republicans hoping to challenge the senator Raphael warnock next year; hey I was excited endorsed by Trump last month. According to CNN, a Texas woman saying In 2002, police said that Walker had threatened and harassed her, and that at least two other women, including Walker’s ex-wife and ex-girlfriend, accused him of making threats and told authorities that he would shoot them in the face. In other words, you can see why Trump likes him. (Walker’s campaign declined to respond to the 2002 allegations, citing his past struggles with mental health. In a statement, a Walker spokesperson said: “It is sad that many in politics and the media praised Herschel. for his transparency more than a decade ago he is now making false statements, stereotyping, attacking and trying to sensationalize his past just because he is a Republican candidate for the Senate “).

Hours after defending the syringe swastika, Walker canceled the fundraiser with Viviano Langlais, with his campaign saying: “Although the apparent intent behind the graphic was to condemn the government’s vaccination mandates, the symbol used is highly offensive and does not reflect the values ​​of Herschel Walker or his campaign.” In a video posted Wednesday, Viviano-Langlais claimed that she was forced to remove the symbol “due to the left’s need to silence freedom of expression” and said she had not intended to be anti-Semitic. “It was a photo that showed what happens when fascists demand that people insert foreign material into their bodies that they don’t want,” he said.

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Trump tells his supporters not to vote in the next two elections

https://twitter.com/samstein/status/1448387821908205570

Obviously, this would be an excellent result for the country and for democracy in general, and in fact, it has a small chance of it happening. Last year, Trump’s lawyers saying supporters did not vote in the Georgia election, calling it “another rigged election,” and Democrats won control of the Senate.

Jan.6 committee says it won’t take shit or prisoners

Investigators investigating the events surrounding the Capitol attack have a message For Trump officials who think about obstructing justice:

The House Select Committee investigating the Jan.6 attack plans to step up its efforts to force Trump administration officials to cooperate with its investigation and on Wednesday issued a subpoena for a former Justice Department official deemed key to the ex-president’s exam. efforts to reverse election results. The committee said it is seeking records and testimonies from Jeffrey Clark, a Trump Justice Department official who sought to deploy department resources to back up former President Donald Trump’s false claims of massive voter fraud in the 2020 election.