Trumpism has come to this.
D.C. police officer Michael Fanone visited congressmen on Wednesday when he ran into Rep. Andrew S. Clyde (R-Ga.), who infamously described the Jan. 6 insurrection as a “normal tourist visit” after being photographed helping security personnel barricade the doors to the House chamber. Remember Clyde?
But El Jefe said the Jan. 6 rioters met Capitol Police with hugs and kisses and posed “zero threat.” So, that is the Gospel according to Donald. Repeating that bullshit became the new litmus test of obedience for the Trump cult. Clyde will say (maybe actually believe) whatever he’s told. Truth be damned.
When cult-related beliefs or cult leaders’ commands become part of a person’s belief structure and behavior, do we consider them psychotic? asks the abstract for “Between Belief and Delusion: Cult Members and the Insanity Plea” (2016).
For those needing a refresher, the Washington Post describes what happened to Fanone:
Fanone was beaten unconscious after he voluntarily rushed to the Capitol to help defend it from those who breached the building. He suffered a concussion and a mild heart attack. In the months since, Fanone has been one of the leading voices pushing back against Republicans who have sought to downplay the severity of what happened Jan. 6.
Fanone, joined by Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn, returned to the Capitol on Wednesday, the day after 21 House Republicans voted against the Gold Medal resolution, in an effort to meet them and tell his story.
Clyde was one of the 21.
Fanone recognized Rep. Clyde at the elevator. He and Dunn got on with him.
“I simply extended my hand and said, “How are you doing today, Congressman.’ I knew immediately he recognized me by the way he reacted. He completely froze. He just stared at me,” Fanone said in an interview.
Fanone said Clyde did not motion to shake his hand in return.
“I said, ‘I’m sorry, you’re not going to shake my hand?’ ” Fanone said he told Clyde.
He said Clyde answered, “I don’t know who you are.”
Fanone said he responded, “’I’m sorry, sir, my name is Michael Fanone. I’m a D.C. police officer and I fought to defend the Capitol on Jan. 6.” He said he described being stunned repeatedly in the back of the neck and beaten unconscious, stripped of his badge and radio.
“His response was nothing,” Fanone said. “He turned away from me, pulled out his cellphone and started thumbing through the apps.” Fanone said Clyde turned on the camera app but did not point the phone in his direction. Fanone said he believes Clyde was trying to record audio of the encounter.
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) told MSNBC’s Joy Reid Wednesday the cell phone story not included in his tweet above. Clyde pulled out his phone to record Fanone as if a he was a potential threat.
Someday, Trumpism/QAnon will be studied alongside mass hysterias such as the dancing manias of the Middle Ages and the Mad Gasser of Mattoon, or with moral panics such as the Satanic Panic of the 1980s and 90s, and the 2016 clown sightings.
People afflicted with this latest social contagion hold positions of power in this country. If you are not creeped out by that, maybe you should be.