This week, Michigan Congressman Justin Amash announced that he was forming an exploratory committee prior to an apparently imminent public launch of a campaign for the Libertarian Party’s nomination for president. Amash used to be a Republican, but shortly after announcing his support for Trump’s impeachment, he changed his registration to independent, and now, he’s registered with the Libertarians. Amash has attracted a lot of criticism from the president and his allies, and this Wednesday — amidst the deadly Coronavirus pandemic that’s killing thousands of Americans a day, in case Trump forgot — the president rushed to Twitter to mock Amash as a supposedly ineffective leader whose presidential campaign would supposedly get nowhere.
In response to a post suggesting that Amash’s candidacy could boost Trump because it would take moderate right-wingers’ votes away from Joe Biden, Trump tweeted:
‘No, I think Amash would make a wonderful candidate, especially since he is way behind in his district and has no chance of maintaining his Congressional seat. He almost always votes for the Do Nothing Dems anyway. I like him even more than Jill Stein!’
No, I think Amash would make a wonderful candidate, especially since he is way behind in his district and has no chance of maintaining his Congressional seat. He almost always votes for the Do Nothing Dems anyway. I like him even more than Jill Stein! https://t.co/V8kutnfvIj
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 29, 2020
Stein, of course, is a previous third party presidential candidate on the left side of the political spectrum. She ran as the Green Party’s presidential nominee in 2016, and some have alleged that third party candidacies like hers have assisted Trump because they’ve split voting blocs that might have otherwise coalesced behind the Democratic nominee. To be clear, it’s not as though Trump is the fault of third-party voters — there are also the tens of millions of people who voted for him along with the many millions who didn’t vote.
To be clear, it’s not like there’s any indication that Amash will actually be able to topple Trump. The Libertarian Party’s presidential candidate frequently ends up with single-digit levels of support in general elections. Yet, Trump seems paranoid about even the possibility of further challenge anyway.
Check out Twitter’s response below:
Today I will indulge in whataboutism for the day, and then stop what I think is a counterproductive exercise. This is not a normal communication from a President, yet we normalize it, shrug it off because it's Trump. He gets special treatment everyday. What if Obama said this? https://t.co/vWH0UU4Vzu
— Joe Lockhart (@joelockhart) April 29, 2020
60,000 Americans dead & even his supporters know he's a corrupt liar.
Why isn't @JoeBiden 25 points ahead in every poll? https://t.co/Se3e5DE8g0
— Proud Navy Veteran 🌊⚓️🇺🇸 (@naretevduorp) April 29, 2020
Nope, lost me at 'I think'. https://t.co/5F1ixbEyVJ
— TheGazza (@TheGazza2) April 29, 2020
This is a total lie.
Amash has 88 and 89 pct scores from the ACU and FreedomWorks, and has had 100 percent scores in past years.
Trump does not like him because Amash voted to impeach him. https://t.co/ufD1tCBFo0
— S.V. Dáte (@svdate) April 29, 2020
Quiet part loud. https://t.co/PE88fAIi46
— Nick Confessore (@nickconfessore) April 29, 2020
Nobody really care what you think about the upcoming election, except that you will be defeated. https://t.co/beS7muaFHB
— John (@benbrookjohn) April 29, 2020
