‘I just don’t think you can deal with allegations’: Republicans are eager to back Trump’s controversial cabinet picks
Predictably, Republicans are clamoring to clear Matt Gaetz's name.
MAGA Republicans are already going to bat for Donald Trump’s nightmarish lineup of cabinet picks—and their arguments are chock-full of gross victim-blaming and hypocrisy, predictably enough.
As president-elect Trump continues to outline what his second term in office will look like, things are getting impossibly worse when it comes to his cabinet picks. Thankfully, U.S. representative Matt Gaetz has since withdrawn his nomination for Attorney General in light of his latest scandal, but don’t be fooled—Republicans are no less delusional when it comes to Trump’s administration and the danger it entails for Americans, especially women.
GOP Senator Kevin Cramer defends Matt Gaetz, says Trump is also a “victim”
Following his big win, it sure seems like Trump is collecting sexual predators like Pokémon cards to be his closest advisors. He’s certainly in miserable company with cabinet picks like Pete Hegseth for Defense secretary and Robert Kennedy Jr. for Health and Human Services secretary, both of whom have faced sexual assault allegations. Still, Trump’s biggest supporters are certifiable pros when it comes to perfoming mental gymnastics, and somehow, have found excuses for these mens’ deplorable behavior.
Speaking with Politico, North Dakota Senator Kevin Cramer addressed the many accusations coming out against Trump’s cabinet picks, saying, “I just don’t think you can deal with allegations in the past as though they’re fact,” flipping the blame on victims in the most predictable way possible. As if he couldn’t big himself any further into a hole, Cramer dubbed Trump a “victim of lawfare” before claiming that Gaetz & Co. simply must be innocent because they haven’t been convicted of any crimes—yet.
It’s worth noting that Cramer is hardly the only MAGA truther in congress who wholeheartedly backs Trump’s cabinet picks, with Louisiana Senator John Kennedy reducing these very serious assault allegations to nothing more than “rumors.” It’s the same kind of woman-blaming rhetoric we’ve become all too familiar with since Trump first stepped into the political arena, and makes his whole “whether women like it or not” spiel feel increasingly like a threat. After all, how can we expect a literal felon and his cult of MAGA loyalists to protect women when they’re happily installing rapists in the highest governmental roles?
MAGA Republicans are bending over backwards to clear Trump’s name
Sadly, Trump’s supporters will almost certainly accept his cabinet picks without a second thought. As the data suggests, Trump voters didn’t even use credible news sources to inform their decisions during the 2024 election cycle; rather, they received their information from friends and family and, nauseatingly enough, Donald Trump Jr.’s podcast, on top of social media platforms like Elon Musk’s X. I wouldn’t exactly trust these people to do their own research—and his administration knows that.
If the Trump camp can A) conveniently get everyone to forget about the allegations against Hegseth, Gaetz, and RFK Jr. with time or B) trick the public into thinking they’re innocent by way of doublespeak and deception by claiming that accountability is part of the so-called “woke agenda,” then they can manipulate the masses into thinking these are great choices for Trump’s cabinet, actually. Just don’t think too hard about it!
It’s all a part of a master plan to keep the GOP in power, so regardless of what Cramer and the rest of Trump’s apologists actually think of these mens’ behavior, it benefits their careers in the long run. Trump is a formidable foe to have, after all, and now we know that nearly 80 million Americans would rather vote for a rapist than a women—in any case, Inauguration Day is shaping up to be an IRL horror story.
Have a tip we should know? tips@themarysue.com
