Trump Pisses off GOP Lawmakers With Petty Mark Sanford Jokes
The incident says a lot of things about the president's character, none of them good.
On Tuesday evening, President Donald Trump held a meeting with GOP congressmen on Capitol Hill where he reportedly made some wisecracks at the expense of outgoing, conservative lawmaker and former South Carolina Gov. Rep. Mark Sanford (R–S.C.).
According to Trump, his jokes brought the House down.
"Had a great meeting with the House GOP last night at the Capitol. They applauded and laughed loudly when I mentioned my experience with Mark Sanford. I have never been a fan of his!" he tweeted Wednesday afternoon.
Had a great meeting with the House GOP last night at the Capitol. They applauded and laughed loudly when I mentioned my experience with Mark Sanford. I have never been a fan of his!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 20, 2018
Trump, you'll recall, helped sink Sanford's reelection chances by endorsing his Republican primary opponent via Twitter on Election Day.
That the president would feel the need to rub salt in the outgoing lawmaker's wounds is petty in of itself. Making it worse are the comments coming from lawmakers who were present for Trump's remarks, and who report a very different reaction to his jokes.
"House Republicans had front row seats to @POTUS's dazzling display of pettiness and insecurity. Nobody applauded or laughed. People were disgusted," tweeted Rep. Justin Amash (R–Mich.).
House Republicans had front row seats to @POTUS's dazzling display of pettiness and insecurity. Nobody applauded or laughed. People were disgusted. https://t.co/FvmDCxElgv
— Justin Amash (@justinamash) June 20, 2018
"Categorically false," said Rep. Ryan Costello (R–Penn.).
Categorically false https://t.co/mLLyCFB8im
— Ryan Costello (@RyanCostello) June 20, 2018
Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R–Tenn.) told Politico that only "crickets" were heard following the president's jabs at Sanford.
Check out Reason's political obituary of the libertarian-leaning Sanford here.