A California Republican candidate for U.S. Senate has left many online angry and eye-rolling after attempting to draw a nonsensical comparison between former Republican President Donald Trump and former Democratic President Barack Obama.
Like nearly all Republicans, Mark Meuser, who is running for Senate against Democratic incumbent Alex Padilla, is outraged that the FBI searched Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence due to his removal of White House documents, some of which may be classified.
Republicans are equally incensed that the FBI has also seized Republican Pennsylvania House member Scott Perry's cellphone because of his involvement in an attempt to overturn his state's 2020 election results.
The GOP has been working overtime to cast both events as politically motivated persecution and fascistic government overreach, despite the fact that, you know, it really, *really* looks like both men committed actual crimes.
Of course, that doesn't matter to most Republicans, so Meuser took to Twitter to suggest a supposed double standard, wondering how Democrats would feel if the GOP did the same to Obama and Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Riiiight.
\u201cImagine the backlash if while he was in office, Trump had Obama's home raided and AOC\u2019s phone seized. \n\nAre you tired of the double standard?\u201d— Mark Meuser for U.S. Senate (@Mark Meuser for U.S. Senate) 1660151720
Meuser wrote:
"Imagine the backlash if while he was in office, Trump had Obama's home raided and AOC’s phone seized."
"Are you tired of the double standard?"
The problem is, of course, there is no double standard, since Obama and AOC are not and never have been suspected of committing crimes.
The same cannot be said of Trump and Perry. In Trump's case, the search of his home was signed off on by an as yet unnamed federal judge who would have had to conclude that substantial evidence of a crime existed to justify the search.
Should the search uncover said evidence, Trump could be charged with misdemeanor mishandling of classified information, much like General David Petraeus was in 2015.
Similarly, the seizure of Perry's phone was also approved by a judge because of evidence he was part of a scheme to establish a slate of so-called "alternative" Trump electors from Pennsylvania despite the fact that Joe Biden was certified as the winner of the state in the 2020 election.
Given that Meuser's tweet is basically the definition of a false equivalency, it didn't go over very well on Twitter.
\u201c@MarkMeuser But Obama didn't steal classified docs and AOC didn't aid and abet him. Do you have a better example of actual criminals?\u201d— Mark Meuser for U.S. Senate (@Mark Meuser for U.S. Senate) 1660151720
\u201cWell, Obama and AOC aren't life long criminals.\n\nSo there is that\n\nSpanky Mcbutthurt\u201d— David Field (@David Field) 1660183002
\u201c@MarkMeuser But Obama didn\u2019t steal classified documents. \n\nAnd AOC wasn\u2019t involved in overthrowing an election. \n\nSee the difference?\u201d— Mark Meuser for U.S. Senate (@Mark Meuser for U.S. Senate) 1660151720
\u201cObama and AOC didn't enact or abet a coup attempt. Did you?\u201d— Thomas Reich (@Thomas Reich) 1660187680
\u201cThere was a "scandal" because President Obama wore a tan suit. Trump tried to overthrow the election and got folks killed. \n\nI am absolutely tired of the double standard.\u201d— Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis (@Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis) 1660226930
\u201cRepublicans keep trying to create hypothetical scenarios with Democrats, but they keep forgetting one crucial element: we haven't tried to overturn elections.\n\nThere's no double standard.\nStop doing crimes.\u201d— Really American \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@Really American \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1660232700
\u201cNeither Obama nor AOC committed any crimes so this sad attempt at an analogy makes no sense and reveals no double standard. The fact that you are an actual candidate for Congressional office is a national embarrassment.\u201d— Andrew Wortman \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@Andrew Wortman \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1660199090
\u201cMark, it would help if you offered context. Imagine first the backlash if AOC or President Obama committed crimes like Donnie. Yes, I am tired of your double standard. It is exhausting and pretty irritating to be frank.\u201d— \ud83d\udc9a\ud83d\udc9aDefund Politics - Campaign Finance Reform \ud83d\udc9a\ud83d\udc9a (@\ud83d\udc9a\ud83d\udc9aDefund Politics - Campaign Finance Reform \ud83d\udc9a\ud83d\udc9a) 1660182398
\u201cIf Obama had taken as much as an ash tray, you would have had 50 select committees investigatin' it.\u201d— Tea Pain (@Tea Pain) 1660231335
\u201cHe's right! \nAnd Obama and AOC totally got away with it! \n\nBC the double standard CLEARLY favors politicians who don't steal classified docs or try to overthrow democracy.\u201d— John Fugelsang (@John Fugelsang) 1660231225
Meuser is widely expected to lose by a landslide to Padilla in November after advancing to the general election with just 14% of the primary vote.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung presenting U.S. President Donald Trump with honors and gifts at the Gyeongju National Museum in Gyeongju on October 29, 2025.Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
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