Just when you thought Republicans’ defense of Donald Trump couldn’t get any more creative, Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), has compared the president to Jesus. “When Jesus was falsely accused of treason, Pontius Pilate gave Jesus the opportunity to face his accusers,” Loudermilk said on the floor of the House of Representatives during today’s impeachment debate. “During that sham trial, Pontius Pilate afforded more rights to Jesus than Democrats have afforded this president in this process.”
“…When Jesus was falsely accused of Treason, Pontius Pilate gave Jesus the opportunity to face his accusers. During that sham trial, Pontius Pilate afforded more rights to Jesus, than Democrats have afforded this president in this process.” #ShamImpeachment pic.twitter.com/n8FZRe64eo
— Barry Loudermilk (@RepLoudermilk) December 18, 2019
Beyond its dubious moral comparison, Loudermilk’s analogy rests on an…unorthodox interpretation of the New Testament. (It’s never a good sign when BuzzFeed calls out your hermeneutics.)
As the debate went on, Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) grasped at another ill-conceived analogy. Impeachment, he said, will be remembered just as the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, which killed thousands of people, is remembered. “On December 7, 1941, a horrific act happened in the United States and it’s one that President Roosevelt said ‘This is a date that will forever live in infamy,'” Kelly said. “Today, December the 18th is another date that will forever live in infamy.”
On December 7, 1941, more than 2,400 Americans died in the attack on Pearl Harbor, including civilians, and another 1,000 people were wounded.
I think Rep. Mike Kelly is being offensively melodramatic here. https://t.co/oMmAqrRT64
— Katie Phang (@KatiePhang) December 18, 2019
Before today, Republicans and the president himself have already compared the impeachment proceedings to the Salem witch trials and “lynching.“
