House Impeachment Manager Jamie Raskin (D-MD) is in the spotlight, but not for his role in the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, but for statements he made in September that some are calling dangerous, violent language. According to House Democrats, Trump’s speech on Capitol Hill on Jan. 6 incited the violence that occurred as he gave his speech. They point to Trump’s words “fight like hell” as proof that he incited the crowd and caused the Capitol riots.
Unfortunately for Raskin, Twitter has uncovered a September tweet where the Maryland Democrat uses the same phrase. In a tweet on Sep. 23, 2020, Raskin states, “We must fight like hell to stop this assault on health care and the Constitution,” as he attempted to stir up his followers into action in an attempt to block Trump from appointing a Supreme Court Justice after the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. His original tweet can be seen below.
Critics cite the pure hypocrisy of House Democrats condemning Trump’s use of the words while remaining silent when other lawmakers have made similar comments. Political analyst Jack Posobiec has been keeping a record of Democrat lawmakers that have used similar and even identical language that they now attempt to convict Trump for using.
In a CNN interview from 2019 with Don Lemon, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), who is also serving as an impeachment manager during the current trial in the Senate, states, “I’ll fight like hell,” when discussing his desire for Americans to see the Mueller report: a failed attempt at casting doubt on Trump’s Presidential Election win in 2016.
Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), now serving as a “juror” during the Senate trial, used the words “fight like hell” in November when he tweeted, “We’ll fight like hell to expand health care to all who need it.” He made these statements to the over half-million followers of his government Twitter account.
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), who voted to impeach Trump during both House impeachment votes, incited her Twitter followers in April, saying, “We must all fight like hell to get Trump out of the White House and end the rise of fascism in this country.” This call to action was made on her official government Twitter account and was sent out to her 2.9 million followers.
Even President Joe Biden used the phrase, “We’re going to fight like hell,” during an interview with opinion columnist Thomas Friedman of the New York Times in December. This article was tweeted to the almost 800,000 followers of the Times’ opinion account.
The official Twitter account of the House Judiciary GOP found a tweet from Biden himself from 2019 in which he declares, “That’s why I’ve spent my whole career fighting–and I will continue to fight–like hell.”
In another tweet provided by Posobiec, Nancy Pelosi can be seen answering a reporter’s question shortly after a leftist gunman shot at House Republicans and their security detail during a Congressional baseball game practice. Rep. Steve Scalise was almost killed in the ambush perpetrated after the Bernie Sanders supporter verified that the congress members practicing on the field were, in fact, Republicans.
Pelosi calls the idea that rhetoric from Democrats could have incited the violence against Republicans “outrageous,” and the suggestion is “beneath the dignity” of members of Congress. She goes on to say, “How dare they?” as she referred to any possible suggestion that Democrats should shoulder some blame for the shooting. Pelosi asserts that it was a “sick individual” that committed the violent acts and that rather than point fingers at her party, people should be “prayerful” and “come together.”
These egregious examples of Democrats using the same “fight like hell” language as Trump did beg the question: can only those on the left use phrases such as these, or will Congress apply the same standards to both sides of the aisle?
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