These 'performative' GOP 'temper tantrums' are 'embarrassing' — but not to the 'MAGA base'

28 April

Discussing the history of conservatism in the United States, veteran Washington Post columnist George Will used the word "bookish" to describe Republicans of the past. And Will, who is very much a Never Trump conservative, meant that in a good way.

Will was applauding those conservatives of yesterday for, as he saw it, their detailed focus on policy. And he is no fan of the performative theatrics of the MAGA movement.

Salon's Amanda Marcotte cites three recent examples of such theatrics in an article published on April 28, calling out "performative temper tantrums" by Rep. Nancy Mace (R-South Carolina), Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Trump White House adviser Stephen Miller.

"If there were an Oscar for the category 'hard to watch,'" Marcotte argues, "I'd have to nominate the video of Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., barking expletives at a constituent after he asked her if she would have a town hall soon. It's produced in a beauty supply store instead of a movie studio, but in a brief minute and 42 seconds, the video finds its place in the canon of horror films shot from the villain's perspective…. Most adults who act like Mace in public immediately wish to disappear off the face of the Earth in shame. But not our Nancy! No, she's the one who posted this video online, proud of her emotional incontinence."

Marcotte adds, "She even offered a homophobic gay panic defense, by describing the man as 'wearing daisy dukes, at a makeup store'….. To people outside the MAGA bubble, it's a baffling choice. She's not even a fun villain."

Marcotte laments that "what most adults find embarrassing, the MAGA base will eat right up."

"Despite this effort, Mace didn't even come close to nabbing last week's gold star for the most histrionic MAGA performance," Marcotte observes. "She was outdone by Stephen Miller, whose usual register on TV is 'verge of a nervous breakdown,' but got so shrill on Fox News Tuesday that Lauren Tousignant at Jezebel worried she'd soon have to 'look at Stephen Miller's face as he pops a dozen blood vessels as his brain explodes'…. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth turned in two performances that would cause Al Pacino to tell him to settle down."

Marcotte adds, "While carping about "the fake news media" during the White House Easter egg roll, Hegseth's whining got so pitched his voice started to crack, while his children stood behind him, embarrassed at the spectacle….. All this yelling and bellyaching serves a pragmatic purpose: to distract from how what they're saying makes no sense.

Amanda Marcotte's full article for Salon is available at this link.

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