A member of Congress who publicly presents himself as one of President Donald Trump's more vociferous defenders has privately decided that he detests the president "and wants to unload," according to a report from The Resurgent's Erick Erickson, the former editor of Red State and himself one of the president's harsher conservative critics.
"If we're going to lose because of him, we might as well impeach the motherf**ker," said the congressman, whom Erickson stumbled upon while out shopping with his family at a supermarket on Capitol Hill.
"Everybody does this sh*t," the congressman said of his venting session.
The congressman "did not want to be seen with me," Erickson reports, but nonetheless admitted, during a private conversation as they walked through the supermarket aisles, that he is "not happy" with President Trump, an admission made all the more damning by the congressman's high profile:
He was never a die hard Trump supporter. He supported him in the general and never expected him to win. But he did. So the congressman, whose district Trump won, has been a regular supporter on Fox News and elsewhere defending the President. He is happy to be quoted, so long as I don't name him. He says he just needs to vent. I suggest what we're doing is one of the reason's Trump won -- a congressman says nice things in public and bad things in private.
The congressman did say that although Trump "may be an idiot," as president and as the leader of the Republican party, "he is capable of doing some things right."
But that hasn't stopped him from worrying effusively about the GOP's chances in the upcoming midterm elections, and numerous pollsters and political pundits alike from both sides of the aisle project that the Republicans stand to lose their coveted House majority. (The congressman made the following statement before House Speaker Paul Ryan announced that he will not seek re-election to his seat in November, fueling rumors of a potential presidential bid.)
"But dammit he's taking us all down with him. We are well and truly f**ked in November. Kevin [McCarthy] is already circling like a green fly circling sh*t trying to take Paul's [Ryan] job because nobody thinks he's sticking around for Nancy [Pelosi]. She's going to f**k up the cafeteria again too. [Lord's name in vain], at least I'll probably lose too and won't have to put up with that sh*t."
Donald Trump's ascendancy, the congressman continued, is "like Forrest Gump won the presidency, but an evil, really f*cking stupid Forrest Gump."
"He can't help himself. He's just a f**king idiot who thinks he's winning when people are b*tching about him," the congressman told Erickson. "He really does see the world as ratings and attention. I hate Forrest Gump. I listen to your podcast and heard you hate it too. What an overrated piece of sh*t movie. Can you believe it beat the Shawshank Redemption?"
The congressman further claimed that his party would likely consider impeachment proceedings against the president should he move to fire Robert Mueller, the special counsel spearheading the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election:
Judiciary is stacked with a bunch of people who can win re-election so long as they don't piss off Trump voters in the primary. But if we get to summer and most of the primaries are over, they just might pull the trigger if the President fires Mueller. The sh*t will hit the fan if that happens and I'd vote to impeach him myself. Most of us would, I think. Hell, all the Democrats would and you only need a majority in the House. If we're going to lose because of him, we might as well impeach the motherf**ker. Take him out with us and let Mike [Pence] take over. At least then we could sleep well at night," he said before going off on a tangent about how the situations with Russia and China scare him.
"You know having Mike as President would really piss off all the right people, too," the congressman added. "They think they hate Trump. Mike is competent." Erickson observed that after issuing those words, the congressman "sighs and laments that there were, in his mind, more than a dozen competent choices in 2016."
But the Republicans are unlikely to kick off impeachment proceedings "if any of the Judiciary Committee members are facing primary opponents," the congressman noted. Still, the likelihood that his colleagues would support impeachment rises exponentially if they preserve the Judiciary Committee and if Robert Mueller is fired. The majority of the House would vote to impeach President Trump under those conditions, he said.
As for the fate of the House and Senate? Republicans will lose them both, said the congressman, who railed into the president for his work ethic (or lack thereof):
"I say a lot of shit on TV defending him, even over this. But honestly, I wish the motherf*cker would just go away. We're going to lose the House, lose the Senate, and lose a bunch of states because of him. All his supporters will blame us for what we have or have not done, but he hasn't led. He wakes up in the morning, sh*ts all over Twitter, sh*ts all over us, sh*ts all over his staff, then hits golf balls. F*ck him. Of course, I can't say that in public or I'd get run out of town."
The response to Erickson's report has not been particularly kind, and several have questioned both its validity and Erickson for bucking his own party and condemning Trump throughout an often incendiary campaign
We know from the report, as several commenters have pointed out, that the anonymous legislator:
- is male
- is a Republican
- from a solidly Republican district that Trump won in 2016
- supported Trump in 2016
- was not an enthusiastic supporter, and likely supported another candidate during the primaries
- appears frequently on Fox News to defend Trump
- Implies that he's not on the Judiciary Committee or in the leadership
- Has known Erick Erickson for many years
- Likes to swear
Identifying the man in question should be relatively simple, and reporters are already on the case. Jim Newell, a reporter with Slate, is just one of several seeking tips from anyone who might have spotted Erickson and the congressman in a Safeway supermarket on Capitol Hill.
