President Trump’s Twitter Attack on South Carolina Congressman Challenged by His Colleagues

Our president is a petty, vindictive, garbage human being, with the kind of self-control issues usually reserved for hyperactive nine year olds.

Last week, President Trump went after one of the most reliably conservative members of Congress, South Carolina Representative Mark Sanford.

The congressman had a solid “A” rating of 93 percent with Conservative Review’s Liberty Score rating system – giving him an even more conservative rating than Texas Senator Ted Cruz.

Sanford has also voted with Trump’s agenda over 80 percent of the time. He has been, however, less than flattering to the petulant man-baby in the White House.

And as we all know, it is no longer about policy or conservatism. It’s about who can bow the lowest in the presence of the orange king.

On Tuesday evening, President Trump met with House Republicans to discuss immigration policy and the disastrous nightmare at the southern border. According to those who were in attendance, however, he simply used the closed door meeting to travel down a series of unrelated tributaries, rambling and muttering over everything from the Russia probe to his summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.

He also stopped to ask if Sanford was in the room, saying he wanted to congratulate him on a hard fought race.

The room fell silent, and Trump triumphantly announced that Sanford was a “nasty guy” and he’d never cared for him.

Several lawmakers condemned Trump’s behavior in the meeting afterwards. Some said he rambled incessantly for 45 minutes, giving no one else time to say anything. They also condemned his pointless attack on Sanford.

Meanwhile, in his usual, self-deluded manner, Trump took to Twitter this afternoon to say the exact opposite about the meeting.

“Had a great meeting with the House GOP last night at the Capitol. They applauded and laughed loudly when I mentioned my experience with Mark Sanford. I have never been a fan of his!” Trump tweeted.

Wow. Seriously?

According to others in the room, there was no applause. There was no laughter. There were boos and grumbles from the adults in the room, however.

Sanford, who missed the meeting because of a delayed flight, says he heard of the shot against him later, when colleagues approached him to offer him support.

“I’ve been overwhelmed by the number of colleagues who have come up and said awfully kind things,” he said.

He also has an idea about why Trump said what he said, and it wasn’t just the chance, rambling bit of nonsense that is normal for Trump.

Sanford appeared on CNN moments after the president’s tweet. He said he believes Trump’s comments during Tuesday’s meeting were meant to warn other Republicans against opposing the president.

“I think part of what the president did yesterday was to send a very chilling message to my colleagues on, ‘hey, if you speak up against me, there will be consequences,’” Sanford said. “And I think that’s the last thing we need in our political system.”

He’s right, because it’s not the first time this has happened.

As for those colleagues present on Tuesday night, they’ve spoken out about the events of the evening, as well as Trump’s spastic lie from Wednesday afternoon.

“I was very upset. It was very unnecessary and as far as I’m concerned, it was very rude,” Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.) said. “To make light of Mark Sanford is very unacceptable.”

Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) called Trump’s barb a “classless cheap shot” in a tweet after the meeting.

On Wednesday, Amash disputed Trump’s account of the meeting, saying “nobody applauded or laughed.”

Good for Jones and Amash.

House Republicans had front row seats to @POTUS’s dazzling display of pettiness and insecurity. Nobody applauded or laughed. People were disgusted. https://t.co/FvmDCxElgv

— Justin Amash (@justinamash) June 20, 2018

Trump lies, because it’s what he does. He can’t be trusted on any details, small, or otherwise.

If Sanford is correct and his was the skull on the pike for others in the party to heed, then the Republican party is truly being led by an authoritarian nightmare.