It is a good thing at least three Republicans meeting privately with Trump last week are not in the military, because if that were the case they would likely be convicted of cowardice and taken out to be “shot at dawn.”
Any individual who lacks courage is a coward. In fact, cowardice is defined as the opposite of courage and considered a “failure of character” in the face of a challenge. It is also regarded as a “trait wherein excessive self-concern overrides doing or saying what is right, good, and of help to others in a time of need.” In many military codes of justice, cowardice is a “capital crime punishable by death.”
Over the past week, there has been an ongoing display of Republican cowardice in the face of Trump’s continued attacks on a Republican considered a loyal and highly respected member of the House Freedom Caucus (teabaggers). It is typical for Trump to single out someone from his own party for criticism because the individual disagreed with the aspiring dictator, and as recent history shows it is just as typical for Republicans to refrain from condemning Trump out of abject fear.
It seemed that the Republicans’ tepid anger at Trump for attacking another Republican and lying about it had died down by the weekend, but as is his wont, Trump continued belittling Representative Mark Sanford after allegedly angering a few House Freedom Caucus members last week. Moreover, it is noteworthy that Trump continues unimpeded because he knows Republicans are too cowardly to do much more than bitch and moan among themselves; they are too spineless to confront Trump to his face or on national television.
Last week while the travesty of Trump’s immigration policy was dominating the news, there was a prime example of exactly how desperate cowardly Republicans are to avoid getting on the wrong side of their fascist standard-bearer Trump. It was hardly reported that during a “closed-door” meeting on immigration with about 200 House Republicans, dirty Don openly “disparaged” one House Republican, Representative Mark Sanford, as a “nasty guy” while celebrating Mr. Sanford’s primary election loss.
Instead of walking out en masse to protest Trump’s demeaning one of their own, the cowards in attendance could only muster an “awkward silence” with a few barely audible “boos” in the background. That was the extent of the 200 House Republicans’ response when a cheap criminal stood there and maligned a loyal Republican friend. The cowards were too terrified of “doing or even saying what is right” to defend one of their own as if doing so would have meant immediate expulsion from Congress. Nevertheless, that display of Republican cowardice was not the end of the story.
According to a typical self-aggrandizing “tweet,” the next day Trump claimed that the 200 assembled House Republicans “applauded and laughed loudly when I mentioned my experience with Mark Sanford. I have never been a fan of his!”
Apparently, it was acceptable for the Party leader to belittle a devoted Republican in person, but for three Republicans it was not acceptable for their hero to lie and mischaracterize their response as celebratory - especially over a remark that any civilized person would consider unbecoming.
What is telling is that the three Republicans who did object to Trump’s mendacious tweet did not object directly to his face because they fear him like plague. In fact, two of the congressional representatives, Justin Amash (R-MI) and Ryan Costello (R-PA), reported via “tweet” that Trump’s claim was “categorically false” and that the assembled Republicans were “disgusted” over their fearless leader’s “dazzling display of pettiness and insecurity.” However, their refutations were not directed at Trump. There is no doubt they fear being on the receiving end of Trump’s retribution
It is noteworthy that although Amash and Costello responded by “tweet” to Trump’s Twitter lie, neither one was brave enough to condemn the liar by sending their “Twitter” refutations directly to @realdonaldtrump. According to Trump’s Twitter account, he does not follow either Amash or Costello on Twitter; so it is highly unlikely the two Republicans are in danger of being targeted by Trump with retaliation for exposing the White House occupant’s filthy lie.
According to Mr. Amash, who is too cowardly to confront Trump in person or by “tweet,” the 200 or so Republicans in attendance were not laughing or applauding; he said they “were disgusted.” He tweeted:
“House Republicans had front row seats to POTUS’s dazzling display of pettiness and insecurity. Nobody applauded or laughed. People were disgusted.”
Amash is running unopposed in his reelection bid so it is unclear exactly what drives his fear of openly challenging Trump in person for the mischaracterization of how Republicans responded after Trump demeaned their loyal cohort.
It is the same case with Ryan Costello (R-PA). Costello also took to Twitter to deny Trump’s claim that Republicans cheered and applauded his comments demeaning Mr. Sanford. Costello tweeted that Trump’s Twitter claim was “Categorically false,” and he told the Washington Post, “There’s no fricking way that that’s what happened.”
Mr. Costello, like Amash, has nothing to fear from Trump electorally because he announced earlier in the year that he is not seeking reelection. He said he is weary of only “answering questions about Donald Trump rather than health insurance or tax policy.”
The only other denial out of 200 assembled Republicans came from Representative Scott DesJariais (R-TN) who told Politico that Trump’s “tweet” was patently false. He noted that instead of wild applause and laughter when Trump made the untoward comment, “there were crickets.”
Many of the other 200 Republicans queried about Trump’s nasty remarks against one of the own either feigned ignorance or pretended they didn’t hear their leader’s comments or notice the “decidedly awkward silence” or smattering of “muffled boos.” As reported by Amber Phillips in the Washington Post:
“Not a single lawmaker of the two dozen questioned by The Washington Post backed up Trump’s claim that they applauded and laughed loudly as he dissed Sanford, and very few were willing to call out the president Trump for creating an alternate reality.”
Tuesday it was reported that since Trump continues criticizing “one of their own,” the House Freedom Caucus is taking him to task in the most cowardly means possible. Instead of calling a press conference in front of television cameras and reporters, or marching over to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to impose some serious condemnation on the fascist in the Oval Office, the Freedom Caucus sissies released a statement applauding Sanford’s service.
"Mark Sanford has been a strong, independent voice fighting for the people of South Carolina's First District. We continue to support him, he is a valued member of the House Freedom Caucus, and it's our honor serving with him. His thoughtful consideration of legislation and willingness to put constitutional principles ahead of the party line is commendable and will be missed."
No doubt, very few Americans will consider the Freedom Caucus’ statement praising Sanford as condemning Trump for his mendacity, “dazzling display of pettiness,” or his typically “disgusting” behavior.
This particular incident, although seemingly routine for Trump’s America and Republicans, is very telling. If nothing else, it should disabuse every American of the idea that Trump will ever be held accountable for any of his crimes - whether they are crimes against humanity, the U.S. Constitution, or crimes that endanger the continued existence of America as created by the Founding Fathers.
Look, if 200 or so Republicans are too frightened of Trump to call out his “display of pettiness” or his “Twitter” lies about how they responded to his “disgusting” remarks, then they will never act to hold him to account for being a threat to America – something that has been glaringly apparent since his poorly attended inauguration.
The lack of response from the House Republicans should be a wakeup call to Americans foolishly awaiting Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller to rescue the people, and the country, from Trump’s deliberately destructive policies and agendas. Remember, only the Republican-controlled House can “impeach” Trump who is well aware that Republicans are cowards of the first order. It is why he is able to intimidate Republicans into remaining silent about anything he does; whether it is lying about their behavior, publicly demeaning one of their loyal cohorts, or decimating the Constitution they all pledged a “so help me god” oath to defend and support; something the cowards in the GOP are inherently unable to do if they are too terrified to stand up to a fascist punk like Trump.