In only two years in the Senate, Josh Hawley has turned himself into a household name. Unfortunately, it’s mostly for being one of the key lawmakers who helped incite the failed MAGA coup that resulted in five deaths. Like Ted Cruz, the Missouri congressman has not been formally reprimanded for his role in the Capitol storming, nor has he expressed any remorse, nor has he apologized to the colleagues whose lives he helped put in danger. Quite the contrary. On Monday — mere days after being called a “little piece of s*it who should be run out of DC” by noted former general (Russell Honore) — Hawley appeared in the Senate hearing into what happened on January 6. And people were furious.
Hawley spent most of his time during the hearing criticizing the hearing itself. He took umbrage with accusations that those in charge of the officers overseeing Capitol security had given the “appearance of complicity.” Hawley called the allegations “extremely disrespectful.”
The Kansas City Star, which is published in the town where Hawley attended private school, saw through Hawley’s moves, saying his “rejection of the notion that these decisions amount to complicity in the attack is an indirect way to defend his own actions leading up to Jan. 6.” (The day of the attack, the paper also published a scathing op-ed, writing, “No one other than President Donald Trump himself is more responsible for Wednesday’s coup attempt at the U.S. Capitol than one Joshua David Hawley.”)
But most people were simply horrified that the hearings got it backwards — that Hawley should have been questioned, not the other way around.
It’s pretty rich to watch Josh Hawley ask anything about the Jan. 6th attacks.
Feel like he should be answering questions.
— Matt Fuller (@MEPFuller) February 23, 2021
Josh Hawley should be appearing as a witness at this hearing, not as a Committee member.
He should be asked about what he did, not asking others what they did.
— TrumpsTaxes (@TrumpsTaxes) February 23, 2021
Josh Hawley going to get to the bottom of who is responsible for the Capitol insurrection. pic.twitter.com/UtonODyqhX
— Schooley (@Rschooley) February 23, 2021
Josh Hawley questioning Capitol police is like an arsonist auditing the fire department.
— Tim Hogan (@timjhogan) February 23, 2021
a picture is worth a thousand words…
Josh Hawley is a seditionist who supports white nationalism. https://t.co/HL4nUd4yXk pic.twitter.com/zkZI2xQtGX
— Kurt Bardella (@kurtbardella) February 23, 2021
Josh Hawley questioning the Capitol law enforcement is like gonorrhea interrogating a torn condom
— Exploding Trumppopotamus Singh, MD
(@labyrinthweaver) February 23, 2021
Republican Sen. Josh Hawley — who encouraged the Capitol attack and really has no business lecturing people on having conflicts — is trying to stop Russel Honoré from leading inquiry into the insurrection.
— Hugo Lowell (@hugolowell) February 23, 2021
It’s really something to see domestic terrorist Josh Hawley questioning whether other people will uphold the law. Dude should he sitting in a cell instead of grandstanding in the Senate.
— Rex Chapman
(@RexChapman) February 22, 2021
There were a lot of I Think You Should Leave “hot dog guy” memes.
Watching Josh Hawley at the capitol riots hearing pic.twitter.com/Wt2Mz2zw1B
— Molly Jong-Fast
(@MollyJongFast) February 23, 2021
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) February 23, 2021
But Hawley wasn’t the only insurrection-fanning senator who had evaded questioning. There was Ted Cruz, too.
Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz are acting like bank robbers questioning the police about a bank they robbed.
— Tony Posnanski (@tonyposnanski) February 23, 2021
Just a reminder that Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz incited an insurrection against the United States. But don’t worry — the Senate is gonna hold Neera Tanden accountable for her tweets.
— Adam Parkhomenko (@AdamParkhomenko) February 22, 2021
And Ron Johnson.
Raise your hand if you think it’s disgusting that insurrection leaders like Ron Johnson and Josh Hawley are questioning lawmakers about the riot they helped create.
— Chris Hahn (@ChristopherHahn) February 23, 2021
Seeing Seditionists like Rafael Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley in any Senate hearing is vile, but having them sit in a hearing about a deadly insurrection they themselves incited is shameful. They need to be expelled and fully prosecuted, not adding opinions.
— Ricky Davila (@TheRickyDavila) February 23, 2021
Raise your hand if you think Josh Hawley, Ron Johnson & Ted Cruz would look great in prison-jumpsuit orange.
— Chip Franklin InsideTheBeltway.com (@chipfranklin) February 23, 2021
At one point Hawley tried to defend the infamous photo of him giving a passionate fist-bump to Trump supporters about to attempt an insurrection. But he wasn’t terribly convincing.
Josh Hawley is a traitor pic.twitter.com/H2A37ztXCo
— Daniel Uhlfelder (@DWUhlfelderLaw) February 23, 2021
(Via Kansas City Star)