Bill Barr acknowledges Trump is an unfit menace, but he won't rule out voting for him again

[Brexiter]

While Republicans are reluctantly, and belatedly, coalescing around the message that their party needs to move on from Donald Trump if they want to have a future (for instance, here’s former House Speaker Paul Ryan calling Trump a colossal loser—enjoy!), they’re still hedging their bets. After all, what if, despite all their attempts to harpoon their great white supremacist whale, he ends up their nominee again?

Well, they have a plan for that: Vote for him. Yup, that’s the plan. Vote for him, even though he attempted to overturn the results of a free and fair election, incited an attack on the U.S. Capitol, and threatens our centuries-old democracy whenever he loosens his logorrheic face sphincter.

For instance, during the bulk of an interminable Meet the Press interview that aired Sunday morning, former Vice President Mike Pence closely resembled a bleached Teddy Ruxpin who’d been cued up with the latest GOP talking points. But when asked why he wouldn’t just say the guy who literally tried to get him killed is unfit for office, Pence demurred, saying, “I really do believe that’s a decision for the American people.”

Oh, man. Imagine if Trump’s troglodytic horde had actually succeeded in hanging Pence. No doubt he would have come back like Casper the Friendly Ghost and chided Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger for undermining party unity. It would be like he’d never left—unless you somehow noticed he was now nearly 8% more translucent.

Pence on Meet the Press on why he just won't come out and say Trump is unfit to serve as POTUS: "I really do believe that's a decision for the American people." pic.twitter.com/91SgIGvPfT

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 20, 2022

But that’s nothing compared to former Trump administration Attorney General Bill Barr—who, you’ll note from the above clip, claims that Trump has “neither the temperament nor persuasive powers” to effectively serve as president. And who flat-out contradicted Trump’s election lies, at one point suggesting his ex-boss was “detached from reality.”

Surely someone who believes such things would entirely rule out ever voting for this monster. Right?

Uh, no …

Here’s Barr in a recent PBS interview with reporter Margaret Hoover, saying “whatevs” to the possibility of this clear and present danger occupying the Oval Office again:

In that PBS interview where Bill Barr said he thinks DOJ probably has basis for "legitimately indicting" Trump, in the next breath Barr wouldn't rule out supporting Trump again in 2024 MARGARET HOOVER: You don't rule out supporting President Trump again? BILL BARR: No I don't pic.twitter.com/xD1hHz33nS

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 19, 2022

BARR: “I personally think that they probably have the basis for legitimately indicting the president. I don’t know, I’m speculating, but given what’s gone on, I think they probably have the evidence that would check the box. They have the case.”

HOOVER: “And if they have it, should they?”

BARR: “That’s a decision for, uh ...”

HOOVER: “If you were AG, would you?”

BARR: “I’m not going to get into that.”

HOOVER: “Do you think they will?”

BARR: “I think it’s becoming increasingly more likely.”

HOOVER: “And you think it would be appropriate if they did.”

BARR: “Well, this is what the attorney general gets paid, these kinds of decisions. The argument for doing it is if you let someone like this who, you know, if the facts are as raw as they may be and you let someone get away with it, how can you protect these secrets, how can you insist on people in government taking this stuff seriously? So that’s an important thing to weigh as well as what it will do to the country and to the office of the presidency, and I think Merrick Garland is going to have to make that call.”

HOOVER: “If Donald Trump were the nominee for the Republican Party again, would you support him?”

BARR: “Well, I’m just hoping it never comes to that, because I think it would be a tragedy if he’s our nominee, if he’s the Republican nominee.”

HOOVER: “Could you vote against him? Could you vote not for the Republican if Donald Trump were the Republican nominee?”

BARR: “Well, again, I think it gets down to what I said, which is I would have to make a judgment at that point on the impact on the country and I’ll have to see what’s going on in the world, who the Democratic nominee is. If it’s a progressive Democratic nominee, I can’t imagine voting for them.”

HOOVER: “An ideologically progressive versus somebody who orchestrated an attack on the Capitol, who betrayed his oath to the Constitution, as you said in your words. You still might vote for him.”

BARR: “Mmm-hmm. Depending on all the … it’s hard for me to project what the future holds. The question is always a comparative one. You have to make a choice between two people. I don’t believe in throwing my vote away on a third party.”

HOOVER: “You don’t rule out supporting President Trump again.”

BARR: “No, I don’t. Depends on the circumstances.”

YouTube Video


And … scene.

So the guy who tried to destroy American democracy is less dangerous than someone who would like billionaires and corporations to pay marginally more in taxes? Okay, then!

Do Republicans hear themselves? Also, are they serious? Because what could possibly be more appalling than this?

Well, if Trump somehow does become their nominee in 2024, we may just find out.


Sen. Raphael Warnock is still defending his Georgia seat, and the Dec. 6 runoff is coming fast. If you can—and if you aren’t too tired from saving America on Nov. 8—please rush a donation to Team Warnock now! You can also write letters to Georgia voters with Vote Forward! Let’s finish up strong!


Check out Aldous J. Pennyfarthing’s four-volume Trump-trashing compendium, including the finale, Goodbye, Asshat: 101 Farewell Letters to Donald Trump, at this link. Or, if you prefer a test drive, you can download the epilogue to Goodbye, Asshat for the low, low price of FREE.