GOP chooses to ‘coddle domestic terrorists’ because Trump ‘turned Republicans upside down’: analysis

Republicans were harshly criticized for their newfound hatred of law enforcement in a new column by Maureen Dowd published by The New York Times.

Dowd noted how supporters of Donald Trump downplayed the testimony of four police officers who testified on Tuesday about their efforts to defund the U.S. Capitol during the January 6th insurrection.

"When it came down to it, the question of whether Republican lawmakers in the House would side with Donald Trump or the police who risked their lives defending them, it wasn't even a close call for the law-and-order party," Dowd wrote. "The G.O.P. overwhelmingly stuck with Trump, perpetuating his sick mythology about a day we all saw with our own eyes. Twenty-one House Republicans even voted against awarding congressional gold medals to the police officers who responded on the day of infamy."

She noted that Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) referred to the jailed insurrectionists who sought to overturn the election, which was won by Joe Biden, as "political prisoners."

"Since when do Republicans care more about criminals in jail than the cops who put them there? Since when do they coddle domestic terrorists? Since Donald Trump," she wrote. "How rich that Cadet Bone Spurs, who spends his days watching himself on TV and puttering around in a golf cart, belittles cops who bravely took beatings from the mob he sicced on them. It's gobsmacking how easily Republicans swap their values for Trump's voters."

Read the full column.