Granted, we already knew that Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley was an insurrectionist (remember the raised fist to Jan. 6 protesters who stormed the Capitol?) and also a coward (Hawley running like a scalded rat as rioters breached the doors of the Capitol building), but it turns out that he’s also (surprise!) a douchey asshole who enjoys attacking anyone that disagrees with him.
The Riverfront Times obtained video of Hawley berating KSDK’s political editor, Mark Maxwell. What did Maxwell do that so enraged the senator? He dared to criticize Twitter CEO Elon Musk, as Sarah Fenske reported Monday.
The exchange apparently took place last week with KSDK’s political editor, Mark Maxwell. Earlier in the month, after Twitter suffered a meltdown, Maxwell had tweeted, “Does anyone still think Elon buying this site and firing all the experts was a good idea? It’s been awhile since I’ve seen any of his bootlickers brag on how efficient the site is now that Sir Galaxy Brain is in charge.”
That apparently offended Senator Snowflake’s delicate sensibilities.
“Why all the hate for people who like free speech on Twitter? What’s going on with that?” Hawley asked Maxwell during what would normally be pre-interview pleasantries, looking every inch the third grader grasping at seriousness while playing Principal For the Day.
At one point in the video, Hawley remarks:
“Referring to people you don’t like as bootlickers? You don’t do opinion journalism, do you?. When journalists, or so-called journalists refer to people they don’t like as bootlickers on a public platform, when they attack folks and then say they don’t necessarily do stuff sober, it does tend to get my attention.
“I mean, we give you a lot of access. I just want to make sure you’re actually sober and taking this seriously, good Lord in heaven.”
Hawley probably thinks this video makes him look tough to the MAGA crowd he desperately wants to be accepted by. But in reality it only makes him look like an effete pretender who gets off on trying to rattle someone for committing the sin of not being servile to him.
Or, as the title of Fenske’s article rightly notes, “Leaked footage catches Josh Hawley acting like a smug asshole.”
Nailed it.