On Jan 3, Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas officially endorsed Donald Trump for president, making a number of claims about the former president’s first term. Adam Cohen, vice chair of Lawyers for Good Government, responded with some of Cotton’s own tweets that undermine those claims.
Cotton endorses
“When Donald Trump was president,” Cotton said, “America was safe, strong, and prosperous. With Joe Biden as president, everything has gone to hell: Families can’t afford groceries, our border is wide open to a full-blown invasion, and our enemies are starting wars everywhere.”
Looking to the future
“It’s time to get our country back on track,” Cotton continued. “I endorse President Trump and I look forward to working with him to win back the White House and the Senate so we can help hardworking Arkansans suffering from Joe Biden’s disastrous policies.”
Economic growth
In reality, US economic growth was greater during Biden’s first year in office than under both Trump and Obama. In September, Biden cited the almost ten million jobs created since he took office, claiming it was “the fastest job growth at any point of any president in all of American history.”
Growing pains
Nevertheless, some aspects of the American economy have suffered under Biden’s presidency. Real wages, for example, have fallen slightly, and gas prices have risen.
What about safety?
“When Donald Trump was president,” Adam Cohen wrote on X, formerly Twitter, in response to Cotton’s statement, “there was so much civil unrest that Tom Cotton called for the military to intervene and advocated for shooting American citizens.”
Cotton’s call
Cohen was referring to a 2020 tweet by Cotton calling people protesting the killing of George Floyd “anarchists, rioters, and looters.”
Send in the troops
“If local law enforcement is overwhelmed and needs backup,” Cotton wrote, “let’s see how tough these Antifa terrorists are when they’re facing off with the 101st Airborn Division.”
Fighting talk
Cotton wrote that he supported “whatever it takes to restore order. No quarter for insurrectionists, anarchists, rioters, and looters.”
The violence question
A 2021 Harvard analysis of over 7,300 events related to Black Lives Matter found that over 97% had no reported injuries among participants, bystanders, or police. Additionally, the investigation found that many of the rare instances of violence were allegedly instigated by police officers rather than protestors.
Cotton vs. the insurrection
After the Jan 6 riot, which was carried out by supporters of Donald Trump, Cotton called on Trump to “repudiate mob violence.” He referenced his 2020 post, saying that “the principle remains the same: no quarter for insurrectionists. Those who attacked the Capitol today should face the full extent of federal law.”
Who’s responsible
“The senators and representatives who fanned the flames by encouraging the president and leading their supporters to believe that their objections could reverse the election results,” Cotton stated, “should withdraw those objections.”
Flip flop
In 2022, Cotton was attacked by then-Representative Liz Cheney for criticizing the Jan 6 hearings. “You said the strangest thing,” Cheney wrote on Twitter, now X. “You admitted you hadn’t watched any of them. Here’s a tip: actually watching them before rendering judgement is more consistent with ‘Anglo-American jurisprudence,’” she said, sarcastically quoting one of the phrases Cotton used in his critique of the hearings.
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