Over the years—and the Donald Trump years in particular—Republicans have done and said a lot of bizarre things to excuse a fellow GOPer’s bad behavior. But Congressman Andy Biggs just upped the ante in a major way.
On Wednesday, the House of Representatives gathered to vote on whether to formally censure Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) for tweeting out an anime video of him violently murdering fellow Congress member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and President Joe Biden—a video that saw Gosar’s own sister call him out as a “sociopath.” But on Wednesday, many of Gosar’s Republican colleagues came to his defense, including Lauren Boebert, Matt Gaetz, and fellow Arizonian Biggs, who seemed to maybe be making the argument that the video was not offensive because it was anime, and we should believe him because he lived in Japan? The real “oh, no he didn’t!” moment came when Biggs proceeded to make his argument… in Japanese.
“I’ve lived in Japan,” Biggs explained. “I’ve lived in Japan!,” he repeated again, with gusto. “For several years. I speak Japanese. I read and write Japanese. This is an anime. [Insert Japanese phrase that we won’t even attempt to spell.] Highly popular. Stylized. Intended to demonstrate the alienation people feel, particularly young people, in their cultures.”
Biggs: I lived in Japan! pic.twitter.com/OT5dBlllQN
— Acyn (@Acyn) November 17, 2021
What does any of this have to do with a 62-year-old conspiracy theorist with purported ties to the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers sharing a video in which he murders two of his co-workers? Your guess is as good as ours. How do you say “But I have a Japanese friend!” in Japanese?
(Via Acyn)