Here’s another example outside of the culinary realm: former President Donald Trump and Texas Republicans.
This week, Trump made history when he pleaded not guilty to federal charges stemming from his alleged mishandling of classified documents. The twice-impeached Republican criminal defendant surrendered to federal authorities on Tuesday after being indicted last week on 37 felony counts.
But no matter how much evidence continues to stack up against Trump, he can always rely on his pals in the Texas GOP to rush to his defense.
In 2020, when the then-president falsely claimed that the election had been rigged against him, several Texas leaders jockeyed to be his head henchman. Take U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, for example. He helped lead a GOP senatorial effort to object to the election results, thereby attempting to overturn the will of more than 81 million Americans who’d voted for Democrat Joe Biden.
No matter. Trump, who’s running for president once more in 2024, clearly still has the backing of his buds in the Lone Star State.
Late last week, Gov. Greg Abbott condemned Trump’s indictment, alleging that Biden had schemed to put his political foe behind bars.
“It’s an ugly day for democracy when a sitting U.S. President running for re-election uses the Department of Justice to indict and arrest his leading opponent,” Abbott tweeted.
It’s an ugly day for democracy when a sitting U.S. President running for re-election uses the Department of Justice to indict and arrest his leading opponent.
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) June 9, 2023
The post came just days after Trump blasted Texas’ governor for staying tight-lipped about another impeachment: that of Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Paxton has mostly avoided Twitter following his recent impeachment by the Republican-led Texas House over allegations of misconduct ranging from bribery to abuse of office. As of early Wednesday afternoon, the embattled AG hadn’t posted about the latest Trump goings-on. Paxton previously gave The Donald an assist in 2020 by suing four swing states that went for Biden.
Now that’s a good friend.
But let’s return our attention to Texas’ junior senator. This week, Cruz has repeatedly tweeted about Trump’s legal woes, slamming the indictment as “garbage” and hitting out at the DOJ’s supposed “double standard” — promoting his podcast, Verdict with Ted Cruz, all the while.
Cruz noted that Biden faced a similar debacle after classified documents were discovered in the garage of his Delaware home. The senator, who’s earned the unforgettable nickname of “Booger on the Lip of Democracy,” further railed against the Trump indictment as “complete hypocrisy.”
Politicos have drawn a clear distinction between the Trump and Biden scandals, though. One big difference: The former was accused of refusing to return the docs uncovered in his Mar-a-Lago resort while the latter reportedly cooperated with authorities.
The politician's claim that the Biden and Trump scandals were one and the same eventually caught the eye of literary legend Stephen King.
“No. It wasn’t the same thing, and you know it,” King replied in part. “Go back to Cancun, Ted.”
Never one to turn the other cheek, Cruz then referenced a classic King horror novel, Christine, in which a car is possessed by evil forces.
“.@StephenKing jumps in to defend @joebiden,” Cruz clapped back. “Just wait until Biden’s classic Corvette (parked next to a box of classified docs) comes alive & starts to murder everybody….”
.@StephenKing jumps in to defend @joebiden
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) June 13, 2023
Just wait until Biden’s classic Corvette (parked next to a box of classified docs) comes alive & starts to murder everybody…. https://t.co/VckrkhAMlH
Another fierce Trump defender is U.S. Rep. Ronny Jackson, an Amarillo Republican. Jackson formerly served as White House physician and purportedly once lauded Trump as the “healthiest president that’s ever lived.”
A statement posted to Jackson’s government Twitter page pointed out that Democrats have long had it out for Trump.
“They manipulated the fake news media, and now they want to influence the justice system!” his statement continued. “This Witch Hunt against President Trump has gone too far and must end now!"
Jackson further claimed that the DOJ is “corrupt” and vowed to hold it to account.
👇 My full statement on President Trump’s politically motivated indictment. pic.twitter.com/4hWXO05e9Z
— Ronny Jackson (@RepRonnyJackson) June 13, 2023
Meanwhile, in a post from his other Twitter account, Jackson continued to spew conspiracies about Biden’s supposed plan to jail his “#1 political opponent.” Why? The way Jackson tells it, the incumbent couldn’t win otherwise.
He then issued a prediction: “This is his only shot, but he’s going to FAIL. Trump will be BACK in the White House!!”
We suppose that Trump serving another four years partly hinges on whether he’s sentenced to spend the rest of his days behind bars, presumably scamming prisoners out of their commissary cash. Time will tell.
