In his usual elegant and scholarly way, President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to criticize Somalian refugees:
[H]undreds of thousands of refugees from Somalia are completely taking over the once great State of Minnesota. Somalian gangs are roving the streets looking for ‘prey’ as our wonderful people stay locked in their apartments and houses hoping against hope that they will be left alone. The seriously retarded Governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz, does nothing, either through fear, incompetence, or both.
Trump thus blames hundreds of thousands of refugees for the conduct of a few bad apples. That’s wrong!
Mike Bohacek, an Indiana State Senator, was appropriately outraged. He notified the world on Facebook of how he would retaliate for Trump’s disgraceful statement:
Many of you have asked my position on redistricting. I have been an unapologetic advocate for people with intellectual disabilities since the birth of my second daughter. Those of you that don’t know me or my family might not know that my daughter has Down Syndrome. This is not the first time our president has used these insulting and derogatory references and his choices of words have consequences. I will be voting NO on redistricting; perhaps he can use the next 10 months to convince voters that his policies and behavior deserve a congressional majority.
Let me get this straight.
Nearly 10 years ago, the world learned that Donald Trump had said: “[W]hen you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab ’em by the pussy. You can do anything.”
Bohacek, naturally, saw nothing wrong with this. Trump’s my guy!
Trump said, of Mexican immigrants, condemning them all as a group, “They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.”
Bohacek saw nothing wrong with this. Trump’s my guy!
After the 2017 white-supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, Trump said that “there were very fine people on both sides.”
Bohacek saw nothing wrong with this. Trump’s my guy!
Trump encouraged a mob to attack the Capitol Building, thus interfering with the peaceful transfer of power after the 2020 presidential election.
Bohacek saw nothing wrong with this. Trump’s my guy!
A jury found Trump liable for sexual assault.
Bohacek saw nothing wrong with this. Trump’s my guy!
A different jury convicted Trump of 34 felonies.
Bohacek saw nothing wrong with this. Trump’s my guy!
Trump pardoned the entire group of January 6 rioters, including Enrique Tarrio, who had been convicted of seditious conspiracy and sentenced to 22 years in prison.
Bohacek saw nothing wrong with this. Trump’s my guy!
Trump imposed, and removed, and imposed again, assorted tariffs, increasing costs and crippling the ability of American businesses to plan for the future.
Bohacek saw nothing wrong with this. Trump’s my guy!
Trump said that Tim Walz was retarded.
The very nerve! The outrage! By God, I’ll oppose Trump’s effort to redistrict in Indiana because he’s implicitly insulted my child who has Down Syndrome!
Really? For some inexplicable reason, you could ignore all of Trump’s other offenses, insults, and criminality? But this particular insult — actually mild by comparison — now sets you off?
And you’re going to vote against redistricting because Trump said something implicitly insulting to people with Down Syndrome?
If I personally were a legislator thinking about redistricting, I’d decide whether redistricting was right or wrong. If redistricting was good for Indiana and the rest of the country, then I’d vote for it — whether or not the president was a jerk. And if redistricting was partisan hackery that would hurt Indiana and the rest of the country, then I’d vote against it — whether or not the president was a jerk.
Whether the president had implicitly insulted my child simply wouldn’t be in the calculus because, as a legislator, I’d be sworn to protect my constituents.
So Bohacek’s Facebook post was a political stunt, perhaps meant to draw attention to the cause of Down Syndrome, or perhaps meant to draw attention to Mike Bohacek personally, or perhaps to achieve something else. But the Facebook post had nothing to do with the propriety of a vote on redistricting.
Remarkably, the media fell for it. The media reported Bohacek’s nonsense as though Trump’s insulting choice of words actually cost him a vote in favor of redistricting in Indiana.
Media: Shame on you. This was a publicity stunt, and you fell for it, giving Bohacek the publicity he craved.
And Bohacek: Shame on you. What you wrote on Facebook was nonsensical.
In fact, I’d almost be tempted to say: Mike Bohacek, you’re . . . well . . . very foolish.
Mark Herrmann spent 17 years as a partner at a leading international law firm and later oversaw litigation, compliance and employment matters at a large international company. He is the author of The Curmudgeon’s Guide to Practicing Law and Drug and Device Product Liability Litigation Strategy (affiliate links). You can reach him by email at [email protected].