This Monday, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) shared bizarre commentary on Twitter about media and public engagement habits on the part of the Biden administration. Partly quoting an article from POLITICO, Cornyn referred to Biden’s tweets as “unimaginably conventional” and added his own question of whether Biden is “really in charge” at the White House. Talk about a reach — suggesting that a presidential Twitter presence that Cornyn finds boring is somehow suggestive of secret leadership at the White House by someone other than Biden is ridiculous.
Invites the question: is he really in charge?
— Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) April 12, 2021
During a Monday press conference at the White House, Biden administration press secretary Jen Psaki memorably and swiftly dismantled Cornyn’s argument. As she put it:
‘I can confirm that the President Of The United States does not spend his time tweeting conspiracy theories. He spends his time working on behalf of the American people.’
Check out Psaki’s pointed reaction below:
Jen Psaki hits Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) for complaining that Biden's tweets are too conventional, "I can confirm that the President Of The United States does not spend his time tweeting conspiracy theories. He spends his time working for the American people." pic.twitter.com/WNCvNEnJmA
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) April 12, 2021
While some of Cornyn’s comments were taken from a POLITICO article, there’s a difference between a private writer sharing thoughts and a U.S. Senator trumpeting those thoughts on social media. The conspiracy theory that Biden might not be “really in charge” at the White House — which Cornyn added of his own accord and did not appear in the original article — is destructive and constitutes yet another front of the ongoing GOP rejection of fundamental reality. This conspiratorial thinking helped spark and drive the Capitol rioting.
Thanks. I posted the whole story so people can read it for themselves, and highlighted a couple of excerpts. https://t.co/DYQY7cRgKB
— Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) April 12, 2021
Meanwhile, Trump himself hasn’t been on Twitter for awhile following his ban from the platform earlier this year following the January Capitol rioting, which he had helped incite. Nevertheless, he has continued to spread his nonsense through, among other sources, a continuing series of public statements, like one that he recently issued after a story from The New York Times claiming that Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who has been under federal investigation, had asked the Trump White House for a pardon. Trump denied that Gaetz had asked him for a pardon, but the report was that the Congressman had asked the White House for a pardon rather than Trump personally.
