After the rise of ‘the Squad’ on the Left, there were attempts by some on the Right to build their own ‘Squad’ in Congress. Those personalities who were influencers first and legislators third or never have flamed out.
A number of them self-destructed badly. So much so that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s bizarre recent months of going on The View, apologizing to CNN, opposing deportations of illegal aliens, lying that there was genocide in Gaza (and did I mention going on The View) have ended in her resigning from Congress.
And supposedly planning to run for president.
Time is claiming that, “the Georgia lawmaker has privately told allies that she has considered running for president in 2028, according to two people who have spoken with her directly about the prospect and three others familiar with her thinking.”
I don’t put great faith in Time’s reporting (or any outlet’s reporting these days) but this feels like a deliberate leak and a trial balloon. If so it’s delusional to the nth degree, but do you know what makes it less crazy?
MTG has been compared to Liz Cheney and these same trial balloons were floated around her.
Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney was increasingly open on Wednesday about considering a 2024 presidential campaign after soundly losing a Republican primary to a challenger backed by former President Donald Trump.
She declined to say if she would run for president but conceded it’s “something that I’m thinking about.”
There’s about as much public enthusiasm for Greene’s presidential run as there was for Cheney’s.
After Rep. Jamie Raskin invited her into the party (and then backtracked), there’s more of a career path for her as a Democrat or a spoiler.
But the bigger issue is that members of Congress are supposed to do actual work, not play influencer. Social media influencers are unstable exist to ‘build their brand’. AOC was the inspiration for the ‘Squad’ and the counter-Squad and she predictably split from the Squad and the DSA to build her brand up for a senate or presidential run.
And AOC is probably the healthiest of the generation of social media influencer members of Congress because she hasn’t shaved her head, been convicted of a crime, cheated on her husband, also cheated on her husband and then married her strategist, and well… I could go on.
The point being that everyone complains that Congress does nothing. There’s truth to that. But electing wannabe social media influencers and narcissists isn’t the answer.
