By The dust had hardly settled from the FBI’s raid of Mar-a-Lago on Monday when a thunderous chorus of Republican lawmakers, rabid Trump zealots, two prominent Andrews, and pundits of all stripes weighed in on the extraordinary search at former president Donald Trump’s Palm Beach home.
So far, the appraisals have been varied. But they tend to share a common identity of extremely amped up, conspiratorial, and ready for battle. Let’s take a tour of some of their strangest responses.
“This is some third-world bullshit.”
“This is some third world bullshit” pic.twitter.com/1orUanPiAD
— Acyn (@Acyn) August 8, 2022
When street crimes go unsolved but opposition leaders are hounded by federal police, you’re living in a third world country
— Blake Masters (@bgmasters) August 9, 2022
You’re next.
If the FBI can raid a U.S. President, imagine what they can do to you.
— Rep. Elise Stefanik (@RepStefanik) August 9, 2022
Biden is weaponizing the DOJ against his political opponents. If they can do this to the former President of the United States, imagine what they can do to you. https://t.co/2b9kX1F938
— Congressman Fred Keller (@RepFredKeller) August 9, 2022
Imagine if the full force of the American justice system came down on you.
I don’t have to imagine – it happened to me. It happened to President Trump. Conservatives now know it can happen to any of us.
This is tyranny.
— Kelly Loeffler (@KLoeffler) August 9, 2022
Defund the…police?
DEFUND THE FBI!
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene
(@RepMTG) August 9, 2022
It’s time for us in the Florida Legislature to call an emergency legislative session & amend our laws regarding federal agencies
Sever all ties with DOJ immediately
Any FBI agent conducting law enforcement functions outside the purview of our State should be arrested upon sight
— Rep. Anthony Sabatini (@AnthonySabatini) August 9, 2022
Three-letter federal agencies are coming for you.
If the FBI is brazen enough to set the precedent of raiding a former president’s home, good luck to you middle-class gig economy folks when the 87,000 new IRS agents come calling.
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) August 9, 2022
1/x The FBI raiding Donald Trump is unprecedented.
It is corrupt & an abuse of power.
What Nixon tried to do, Biden has now implemented: The Biden Admin has fully weaponized DOJ & FBI to target their political enemies.
And with 87K new IRS agents, they’re coming for YOU too.
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) August 9, 2022
Democrats just voted to give the IRS 87,000 more agents.
If the DOJ can target President Trump, imagine what they are going to do to anyone that dares support him.
— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) August 9, 2022
The same Democrats cheering on the FBI raiding President Trump’s house are trying to give the IRS 87,000 new agents and an additional $80 billion.
And we’re supposed to believe they won’t also weaponize the IRS?
— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) August 9, 2022
One more example of our two-tiered system of justice.
Who do you think they’ll weaponize the 87,000 IRS agents against?
The answer is obvious. Their political enemies. https://t.co/G9vp1bY2ON— Senator Ron Johnson (@SenRonJohnson) August 9, 2022
Let’s threaten a notoriously meticulous and deliberative attorney general.
Attorney General Garland: preserve your documents and clear your calendar. pic.twitter.com/dStAjnwbAT
— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) August 9, 2022
Investigations are bad, says disgraced politician and focus of sexual harassment investigation.
DOJ must immediately explain the reason for its raid & it must be more than a search for inconsequential archives or it will be viewed as a political tactic and undermine any future credible investigation & legitimacy of January 6 investigations.
— Andrew Cuomo (@andrewcuomo) August 9, 2022
It’s bad optics to go after potential criminals.
I’m no Trump fan. I want him as far away from the White House as possible. But a fundamental part of his appeal has been that it’s him against a corrupt government establishment. This raid strengthens that case for millions of Americans who will see this as unjust persecution.
— Andrew Yang
His supporters wanted to hang me but I’m just as mealymouthed as ever.
I share the deep concern of millions of Americans over the unprecedented search of the personal residence of President Trump. No former President of the United States has ever been subject to a raid of their personal residence in American history.
— Mike Pence (@Mike_Pence) August 9, 2022
This is war.
When the pro-Trump influencers are talking like this — and not just anonymous posters on TheDonald — we’re in very different territory. pic.twitter.com/0AlWRb6hrA
— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) August 9, 2022
A big spike in tweets referencing “civil war” right after the news of the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago broke last night.
Source: Dataminr pic.twitter.com/F5XwZ9mKmV
— Donie O’Sullivan (@donie) August 9, 2022
