Trump exposed an ugly truth with vulgar outburst: ex-GOP lawmaker
A former Republican congressman and frequent target of President Donald Trump's attacks isn't surprised by his vulgar reaction to a heckler.
The 79-year-old president responded to an autoworker who called him a "pedophile protector" during a recent Ford factory tour by mouthing the words "f--- you" and flipping his middle finger at the man, who ended up getting fired.
Adam Kinzinger wrote on his Substack page that no one should be surprised.
"The Epstein affair is just one of countless examples of Trump’s f@-you attitude," Kinzinger wrote. "He continues to run roughshod over the norms of his office — and the law — with such impunity that it’s hard to conclude anything other than that he has open disdain for the people he governs."
Congress passed a law late last year setting a Dec. 19 deadline to release documents related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, but Trump's Justice Department has released a small sliver of those and seems unlikely to release more anytime soon – in clear violation of the law.
"By refusing to release the documents, Trump is flashing a big middle finger at Congress and, more importantly, the American people," Kinzinger wrote. "That includes members of the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement who voted with the expectation that these papers would expose the rich and powerful — including many Democrats — as Epstein’s coconspirators. They are still waiting."
Kinzinger also listed the criminal investigation of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and other political foes and the violent crackdown on states that voted against him as evidence of Trump's foul temperament and unfitness for office.
"All of this — dispatching troops, ignoring the law, siccing the Justice Department on political enemies, renaming public institutions — comes straight from the fascist playbook," Kinzinger wrote. "Fascists, by definition, are tyrants who hollow out institutions, discard customs and norms, and aggrandize themselves through spectacle while building cults of personality. Trump has even tried to erase history, bullying the Smithsonian Institution into removing references to his first-term impeachments from a museum exhibit."
"All of it, and more, confirms that we are dealing with a f*ck-you dictator who has no respect for our traditions, institutions, customs, or laws," he added. "What happened at the Ford factory was not shocking at all. With two words and a gesture, Trump simply revealed — once again — who he is, and why he must continue to be fought, and crushed."