Republican senator ridiculed for lauding Trump's rise as 'return of normalcy'

A Republican Senator was subjected to ridicule Wednesday after urging Americans to vote for Donald Trump — the first former president to be convicted of criminal charges linked to hush money paid to a porn star — so the nation can return to "normalcy."

Republican Sen. Bill Hagerty made this bold claim in a Wall Street Journal editorial that stunned MSNBC columnist Steve Benen.

"Donald Trump has accused President Joe Biden of stealing cocaine, shared some incoherent thoughts about boat batteries and sharks, and touted an idea in which migrants would be pitted against one another in a ring for Americans’ entertainment," Benen writes.

"The GOP senator's case is ... flawed."

Hagerty (R-TN) argues in his own column that President Joe Biden was able to claim victory in 2020 on "return to normalcy" platform — but also admits the then-presidential candidate never used the term.

In 2024, Hagerty argues, the "tables are turned."

"Americans who actually want a return to normalcy should remember what we’ve learned the last four years as Mr. Biden tries to persuade Americans to give him four more," writes Hagerty. "Donald Trump is the candidate of normalcy."

As Benen notes, Hagerty does not explain how exactly Trump would return the nation to normalcy — nor does he explain the normalcy to which he'd like the nation to return.

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Instead, Hagerty lambasts Biden for Trump's various criminal court case, student loan debt relief and Russia's invasion of Ukraine and inflation, demanding to know, "Has any part of the world gotten better under his watch?"

Benen counters with a fact check.

"There’s literally no evidence that Biden was involved in Trump’s prosecutions in any way; trying to help young people struggling with student debt relief is a good thing; blaming Biden for Putin’s invasion continues to be ridiculous," Benen writes.

"When it comes to inflation, the U.S. economy is leading the world with the strongest growth and lowest inflation of any major economy on the planet."

He also swiftly lists off a few of Trump's historic firsts which Benen believes derail the notion of "normalcy."

"[Trump] also became the first modern major-party presidential nominee to demand dramatic cuts to education investments, abandoned some of his previously held positions after private chats with rich people, vowed to punish schools that try to protect children from communicable ailments, called on businesses to fire executives who fail to endorse him, pushed a “deranged” economic policy that would replace income taxes with tariffs, and met with a group of prominent CEOs who came away convinced that the former president 'doesn’t know what he’s talking about,'" writes Benen.

"In a healthy political environment, a mature and responsible political party would see these very recent developments and begin a quiet conversation about replacing their unraveling 2024 nominee before it’s too late."