As House Republicans took the floor to decry the process that led to Wednesday evening’s expected vote to impeach President Trump, representatives weren’t afraid to make sweeping historical comparisons that may not hold up under scrutiny. Elevating President Trump’s frequent “witch hunt” diatribes to the next level, Georgia representative Barry Loudermilk expanded on the Evangelical narrative of Trump as savior, claiming his impeachment is less fair than the trial of Jesus in the court of Pontius Pilate:
Before you take this historic vote today, one week before Christmas, I want you to keep this in mind: When Jesus was falsely accused of treason, Pontius Pilate gave Jesus the opportunity to face his accusers. During that sham trial, Pontius Pilate afforded more rights to Jesus than the Democrats have afforded this president in this process.
Up next in the historically questionable department was Pennsylvania Republican Mike Kelly, who compared the impeachment of a president who solicited foreign interference in an election to the bombing of Pearl Harbor, in which 2,403 Americans were killed:
Today, December 18, 2019, is another date that will live in infamy. Just because you hate the president of the United States and you can find no other reason other than the fact that you’re so blinded by your hate that you can’t see straight, so you’ve decided the only way to make sure this president doesn’t get elected again is to impeach him.
Though it’s unclear how the remarks landed with Trump’s base, it may be a more effective hyperbolic technique to keep the impeachment condemnations vague, like Vice-President Pence’s assertion that the process is a “disgrace” or Trump’s claim that it is an “assault on America.”
