MSNBC host mocks a Wisconsin Republican's 'groveling letter' after Trump brutally humiliated him
Former President Donald Trump recently railed against Wisconsin Republicans for not doing enough to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in that Upper Midwest state, inspiring some of them — including Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Wisconsin State Senate President Chris Kapenga — to jump through hoops to assure Trump that they were still loyal supporters. Vos and Kapenga were clearly shaken by Trump's rant, and liberal MSNBC host Chris Hayes described their efforts to smooth things over with the former president as "Stalinist groveling."
Hayes, this week on his show, noted that Trump recently issued a statement lambasting Wisconsin Republicans for "working hard to cover up election corruption." That accusation, Hayes pointed out, is the type of "nonsense" that is "expected" from Trump, who continues to make the false, totally debunked claim that Wisconsin was stolen from him through widespread voter fraud in 2020.
In his statement, Trump warned Wisconsin Republicans that if they don't do more to challenge the 2020 election results, "I have little doubt that they will be primaried and quickly run out of office."
WATCH: Trump chewed out a Wisconsin Republican. His groveling letter in response is astounding.\n\n\u201cI'm going to read you large portions of it because nothing else would do it justice,\u201d says @chrislhayes.pic.twitter.com/JPUCmET4qD— All In with Chris Hayes (@All In with Chris Hayes) 1625012137
Hayes went on to describe Kapenga's "groveling" as both pathetic and disturbing.
The MSNBC host told viewers, "The president of the State Senate, Chris Kapenga, is an incredible example of Trump-era Republicans and generally democratic decline, not to mention absurd levels of humiliation. Chris Kapenga, this guy, just got chewed out by probably the most famous sociopath in the country and maybe the world — a guy who had a 29% approval rating upon leaving office, according to a Pew poll, lost the popular vote twice, got impeached twice, managed to lose both the House and the Senate for Republicans, and would be cast aside by any other party looking for a future leader. And yet, yet…. this is Chris Kapenga's response."
Hayes read parts of Kapenga's response to Trump, noting how obsequious his "Stalinist groveling" sounded when he wrote, "Let me first say that very few people have the honor of being named publicly by a United States president. I never imagined mine would be mentioned, much less in this light, from a president I have publicly supported and still support…. The power of your pen to mine is like Thor's hammer to a Bobby pin."
Kapenga's letter gets even worse. The Wisconsin State Senate president added, "I write this as I am about to board a plane due to a family medical emergency. In addition to my Trump socks, I will pull up my Trump/Pence mask when I board the plane, as required by federal law…. Thank you for doing great things as our president."
Communist dictator Josef Stalin was the leader of the Soviet Union from 1922-1953. Unlike Stalin, Trump obviously hasn't killed millions of people. But by slamming Kapenga's letter as "Stalinist groveling," Hayes is pointing out that the type of fear and mindless devotion that Trump inspires in Republicans is over-the-top. Under Stalin, Soviet Communist Party officials were terrified at the thought of saying or doing anything that might offend him — especially in light of the lengths that Stalin went to have Leon Trotsky killed in Mexico in 1940.
Hayes told viewers, "The general tone, the level of Stalinist groveling that is required by the Republican Party right now is on display. And at this point, it's not even a question of whether they are doing it for political purposes or if they actually believe what they are saying. Because this behavior — cultivating the most noxious fringe ideas, bringing them to the center of American life — is the modus operandi of the party increasingly."
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