Here are 6 of Trump’s craziest and most outrageous Twitter moments - since the midterms

President Donald Trump can always be counted on to post outrageous things on Twitter, his favorite social media outlet. Twitter’s format lends itself to soundbites, not in-depth or nuanced analysis—and Trump is a master of soundbites, which is why the president is so effective at using Twitter to rally and fire up his far-right base. Some liberals and progressives have argued that Twitter should terminate—or at least suspend—Trump’s account in light of all the offensive things he has posted. But that’s a terrible idea. First, it’s important to know what one’s political opponents think and believe, however misguided they are. Second, Democrats should be happy that Trump’s tweets are making the GOP brand look so bad—and post-2018 midterms, Trump has been as outrageous as ever on Twitter.

Here are six of President Trump’s most-outrageous post-midterms tweets.

1. Trump Implied That Kyrsten Sinema Was Trying to Steal Arizona Senate Race

The evening of Monday, November 12—when it became obvious that centrist Democrat Kyrsten Sinema had achieved a narrow victory in Arizona’s U.S. Senate race—her Republican opponent, Rep. Martha McSally, gave a classy, good-natured concession speech (with her dog at her side). But there was nothing classy about Trump’s November 9 tweet demonizing Arizona Democrats. Three days after the election—when the votes were still being counted—Trump implied that Sinema and other Arizona Democrats were committing voter fraud and trying to steal the election. And he even went so far as to suggest that the election results should be thrown out.

Trump tweeted, “Just out — in Arizona, SIGNATURES DON’T MATCH. Electoral corruption - Call for a new Election? We must protect our Democracy!”

But even though Trump had campaigned for McSally in Arizona, she distanced herself from Trump’s baseless voter fraud allegations. McSally ran a dirty campaign at times, and her claim that she was trying to protect Americans with pre-existing health was disingenuous in light of her 2017 vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act, a.k.a. Obamacare. But when McSally realized that Sinema had defeated her fair and square, she behaved in a decidedly un-Trumpian manner and gave fellow congresswoman and U.S.-senator-to-be Sinema her congratulations.

2. Trump Slams Sen. Jeff Flake for Supporting Robert Mueller’s Investigation

After Trump fired Attorney General Jeff Sessions and announced that Matthew Whitaker (a Trump loyalist and vehement critic of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia-related investigation) would be his replacement, Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona made an announcement of his own: he will push a bill to protect Mueller’s investigation. On November 9, Trump attacked Flake via Twitter, posting, “Jeff Flake(y) doesn’t want to protect the Non-Senate confirmed Special Counsel, he wants to protect his future after being unelectable in Arizona for the ‘crime’ of doing a terrible job! A weak and ineffective guy!”

Although Flake is a hard-right Republican, he has been a frequent critic of Trumpism—and he decided to not seek reelection in the 2018 midterms rather than run for another term in a Trumpian political climate. Trump’s comment about Flake being “unelectable” is certainly questionable: had Kyrsten Sinema been running against Flake rather than McSally in the 2018 Arizona Senate race, he would have given her a battle even without Trump’s help. And Flake’s desire to see Mueller’s investigation go forward should be applauded.

3. Trump Insults NATO During World War I Anniversary in Paris

Over the weekend, Trump visited Paris for events marking the 100th anniversary of World War I. And true to form, he insulted the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and reiterated his claims that the U.S.’ European NATO allies aren’t pulling their weight. On November 13, Trump tweeted that French President Emmanuel Macron “suggests building its own army to protect Europe against the U.S., China and Russia. But it was Germany in World Wars One & Two - How did that work out for France? They were starting to learn German in Paris before the U.S. came along. Pay for NATO or not!”

While it’s true that the U.S.’ military’s actions in support of France during both world wars were heroic—it’s no coincidence that a major thoroughfare in Paris is named Boulevard Franklin Delano Roosevelt—France and the U.S’ other European NATO allies are hardly the freeloaders Trump portrays them as being. After the hell on Earth that was World War I and World War II, the U.S.’ alliance with European NATO allies needs to be nurtured and protected—not undermined.

4. Trump Calls for Imposing Tariffs on France

On November 13, Trump posted a series of tweets about his visit to Paris—and in addition to bashing NATO, he implied that he wants a trade war with France. Trump tweeted, “On Trade, France makes excellent wine, but so does the U.S. The problem is that France makes it very hard for the U.S. to sell its wines into France, and charges big Tariffs, whereas the U.S. makes it easy for French wines, and charges very small Tariffs. Not fair, must change!”

France has long been one of the U.S.’ closest and most valuable NATO allies, and the last thing Les États-Unis needs is a trade war with France. Vive la France, indeed.
 
5. Trump Claims That Bill Nelson and Other Florida Democrats Are Trying to Commit Voter Fraud

In Florida, the U.S. Senate and gubernatorial races were so close that both went to a mandatory recount. The Republican winners appear to be Gov. Rick Scott over incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson in the Senate race and Rep. Ron DeSantis over Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum in the gubernatorial race, but Nelson, understandably, wants to make absolutely certain that he lost before conceding (Gillum conceded on Election Night). And Trump’s knee-jerk reaction is that Democrats are trying to commit voter fraud.

On November 12, Trump tweeted, “The Florida Election should be called in favor of Rick Scott and Ron DeSantis in that large numbers of new ballots showed up out of nowhere, and many ballots are missing or forged. An honest vote count is no longer possible-ballots massively infected. Must go with Election Night!”

Scott has been as classless as Trump, insisting that Nelson is trying to steal the election. But there is no evidence whatsoever of Florida Democrats committing voter fraud in the 2018 midterms. It’s a figment of Trump and Scott’s imaginations. And if the recount shows that Scott won, Nelson will no doubt concede.

6. Trump Describes 2018 Midterms as ‘Very Big Win’ for Republicans

The 2018 midterms were most definitely a blue wave: although Republicans maintained their narrow lead in the U.S. Senate, Democrats obtained a decisive majority in the House of Representatives and flipped well over 300 GOP-help seats in state legislatures. Republicans flipped Democrat-held U.S. Senate seats in Indiana, Missouri, North Dakota and—if Sen. Bill Nelson concedes to Gov. Rick Scott—Florida, but Democrats flipped GOP-held Senate seats in Nevada and Arizona. Trump, however, painted the midterms as a massive red wave.

On November 7, Trump tweeted, “Those that worked with me in this incredible Midterm Election, embracing certain policies and principles, did very well. Those that did not, say goodbye! Yesterday was such a very Big Win, and all under the pressure of a Nasty and Hostile Media!”

Very big win? All the Republicans who were voted out of the U.S. House of Representatives as well as state legislatures on November 6 might beg to differ.