How to Weaponize Trauma And Lies 'The Republican Way'

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Be it a serialized novel, insightful political analysis, helpful tips or community sharing movie nights and cocktail recipes. So, in that spirit, let’s take a look how the Republican Party shamelessly weaponizes trauma and lies for political gain.

Trauma Shield Abusers

Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina tries to portray herself as “not your typical Republican,” Mace endorsed Donald Trump for president like every other typical Republican a month ago.

ABC’s “This Week” host George Stephanopoulos asked Mace this week how she could do this, especially considering how he’s been found liable for rape and defamation. Mace did not take kindly to being asked about it, and she accused Stephanopoulos of trying to shame her, also a rape victim.

MACE: It’s a shame you will never feel, George. And I’m not gonna sit here on your show and be asked a question meant to shame me about another potential rape victim. I’m not gonna, I’m not gonna do that.

STEPHANOPOULOS: It’s actually not about shaming you it’s about …

MACE: No, you're shaming me.

STEPHANOPOULOS: You’ve endorsed Donald Trump for president.

MACE: Right.

STEPHANOPOULOS: You’ve endorsed Donald Trump. Donald Trump has been found liable for rape by a jury. Donald Trump has been found liable for defaming the victim of that rape by a jury. It's been affirmed by a judge.

MACE: It was not a criminal court case, number one. Number two, I live with shame. And you're asking me a question about my political choices trying to shame me as a rape victim.

Most don’t make this distinction between civil and criminal for O.J. Simpson or John Landis. Trump is not less responsible for rape because he escaped jail (for now) and was punished financially instead.

The exchange continued with Mace repeatedly saying that being asked about endorsing a convicted abuser is tantamount to shaming her for her trauma. But Mace made it clear her castigation was disingenuous when, after saying she wouldn’t be shamed “about another potential rape,” she proceeded to shame Trump victim E. Jean Carroll.

MACE: Quite frankly, E. Jean Carroll's comments when she did get the judgment joking about what she was going to buy, it doesn't -- it makes it harder for women to come forward when they make a mockery out of rape, when they joke about it. It's not OK.

Stephanopoulos called Mace out for this, and Mace tried to claim the real offense here is Carroll’s response, after winning a years long battle, against being defamed by her abuser.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Doesn't it make it harder for women to come forward when they're defamed by presidential candidates?

MACE: It makes it harder when other women joked about it, and she's joked about it […] I find it offensive.

That’s what she finds offensive.

When In Doubt, Gaslight

Sometimes Republicans resort to just plain gaslighting everyone.

An example of this is Florida Rep. Byron Donalds on Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures.”

Host Maria Bartiromo asked Donalds to respond to President Joe Biden “attacking” the Supreme Court when he rightfully pointed out their disastrous decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Donalds performatively found it DISGUSTING.

DONALDS: I found his scolding of the court disgusting. Because ‘The Left’ will say they want to respect the institutions, except when they don’t get their way. And then when they don’t get their way, they wanna call out Supreme Court justices in front of the world. That was outrageous. There was a reason why not the entire Supreme Court was not there.

Did it conflict with steak and wine night at Harlan Crow’s compound? Or was Clarence Thomas still weighing the pros and cons of cashing out by taking John Oliver’s offer before it expires in eight days?

Wait until you see his concrete proof of Biden’s failure to compromise.

DONALDS: On the whole, the State of the Union speech was disgusting. I’ve never seen a speech like this where the opposition party from the President’s party did not stand for an hour in that speech.

The GOP sitting on their hands and refusing to improve Americans’ lives is not the revelation Donalds thinks it is. It showed the world that the GOP has no solutions other than inaction.

On NBC’s “Meet The Press,” political remora and Senator Lindsey Graham from South Carolina tried whitewash Trump hosting Hungarian autocrat Viktor Orbán with a terrible proposition.

GRAHAM: I think the best way to judge President Trump's second term is by what he did in his first term.

We are. That’s why we are opposed to his return to power ever again.

Have a week.

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