So Much For Unity and Civility

Did you all hear about unity and civility? 

(Todd Heisler/The New York Times)

Those were the special words of the week after a registered Republican who had Trump signs on his yard failed in his assassination attempt on the former President. The GOP worked the refs, engaged in bad faith “both sides” shaming, and immediately every single institution, especially corporate media, bent the knee.

Unfortunately, nobody sent the message to Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida and other Republicans during RNC week. He decided to interrupt a live CNN interview and troll Kevin McCarthy. He mocked the former Speaker of the House and said the crowd would boo him if he spoke. That’s what happened when Mitch McConnell appeared on the jumbo screen. A lifetime of service to destroying democracy for sake of power and GOP donors wasn’t enough to save the grim reaper of the Senate. 

However, McCarthy decided to indulge in the petty. Without taking his eyes off of CNN reporter Kaitlin Collins, McCarthy shot back, “He’s got an ethics complaint of sleeping with a 17-year-old.” An RNC attendee standing behind Gaetz told him to “Shut up” and then called him an “asshole.” Tough guy Gaetz walked away, but he didn’t run like Senator Josh Hawley who sped on January 6th from the same violent insurrectionists that he supports. 

New blood appeared at the RNC. J.D. Vance, who's next memoir should be “American Hitler’s Elegy,” was welcomed as Vice President yesterday, but the former Vice President Mike Pence is nowhere to be seen. That’s probably because Trump’s base tried to murder him on January 6th. He probably wouldn’t be able to walk away unharmed like McConnell and McCarthy. We still haven’t seen Senator Mitt Romney, the 2012 GOP Presidential candidate, who has to pay money to protect his family every month due to MAGA threats. Former President George W. Bush is also not attending and is probably spending his time painting portraits and hoping the world forgets he is a war criminal.

But, some party elders were present. Senator Ron Johnson attended and gave a speech on opening night. During his remarks, he said Democrats were pushing a “fringe agenda” and said their policies represent a “clear and present danger to America, to our institutions, and our values and our people.” He certainly lowered the temperature and de-escalated the situation! In his defense, he alleged he read an earlier version of a speech. Whoopsie! 

At least the GOP seems to be embracing women and sex. That could be an explanation why they invited Amber Rose, an Only Fans model, to address the RNC. “Theocratic fascist” Matt Walsh welcomed her presence with a lovely tweet: “The RNC gives a primetime speaking slot to a pro-abortion feminist and self-proclaimed slut with a face tattoo whose only claim to fame is having sex with rappers. Truly an embarrassment. Not a single voter will be mobilized by this person.”

And despite all of this, dumbasses in corporate media are still doing their best to gaslight themselves and the world. Katy Tur said Trump looked “serene” at the RNC and wondered if it reflected a change of tone and rhetoric. She later interviewed Eric Trump on MSNBC, because why not give a platform to a liar who has accused you of being “fake news” and the enemy of the people? Over at Axios, Mike Lee gave the other son, Donald Jr., the softest softballs in the history of softball interviews. When asked what could be a reason for Trump losing, Don Jr. replied, “I’d say cheating.” Indeed, this was truly a remarkable transformation of character. 

Meanwhile, Trump was already declared winner of an election nearly 4 months away because of a photo of him raising his fist after surviving a shooting. That photo was quickly replaced with a photo of him walking into the RNC with a giant, goofy, white bandage over his entire ear. There were other images of him falling asleep during the proceedings. The image that sticks with me however is when the entire RNC crowd, led by Trump and GOP leaders on the stage, pumped their fists and chanted, “Fight! Fight! Fight!” I don’t know about you, but that certainly filled my heart with calm, serenity, and peace especially when I remember that many of these individuals support the Jan 6 insurrection and endorse Project 2025. In case there was any doubt of Trump pivoting to unity, he squashed all hopes on Tuesday night when he posted a message blasting the “Radical Left Democrats” and calling them “Communists” for engaging in a “Witch Hunt” among other claims of fanciful imagination. 

To all those who fell for the GOP gaslighting about “unity” and civility, I quote DJ Khaled: “Congratulations, you played yourself.” During the past few days, MSNBC apparently lied to the Morning Joe hosts and punted them off the air on Monday. Wolf Blitzer concurred with CNN’s resident human amoeba Scott Jennings that “both sides” had to lower the temperature. Lester Holt of NBC News absolutely embarrassed himself with a pathetic “both sides” interview with President Joe Biden. The Biden-Harris campaign temporarily suspended their ads. 

To be fair to all, there was actually one clear example of “unity” that emerged in the past week. It’s between Trump and anti-vaxx conspiracy nut RFK. A video, posted by RFK’s son and later deleted, revealed a startling exchange between both men. Trump said, “We’re going to win,” and RFK, who is running as an Independent, replied, “Yeah.” Trump had time to call him and engage in a supervillain teammup, but he still hasn’t found the time to call the widow of the man killed at his rally over the weekend. 

Priorities, right? 

Folks, here’s a novel idea: let’s stop obeying in advance. Don’t bend the knee. Instead, how about we actually trust our own eyes and our ears and remember the past decade of Trump and MAGA’s extremism? Maybe the leopard who eats faces still enjoys eating faces and doesn’t enjoy a vegan diet. 

But, I shouldn’t say any of this. Apparently, I’m the one who is radical and divisive. It’s certainly not the people who refuse to accept the 2020 election results and have told us we’re in the process of a second Revolution. 

They’re the ones for unity and civility. 

My bad.