Even for a POTUS, Donald Trump exhibits unusual power over the Republican Conference, effectively commanding fealty among GOP lawmakers through a combination of dovetailing priorities and unequivocal threats to primary any dissenters in upcoming elections.
[The most obvious demonstration of Trump’s current command of Republicans is the smooth sailing of even his most controversial cabinet nominees, a number of whom (Pete Hegseth, Tulsi Gabbard) came with backgrounds — by design — that would have been disqualifying in previous administrations. Among Republicans, only Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who can’t be primaried, voted against Gabbard’s confirmation.]
Public praise for Trump from Republican lawmakers has been nearly universal and often extremely ingratiating, a recent instance being Republicans very publicly thanking the President for unfreezing funds their states receive from the federal government, even though it was Trump who froze them in the first place.
But on the House floor this week, Congressman Eric Swalwell (D-CA) asserted that much of the POTUS praise coming from GOP legislators was not genuine. The Congressman reported hearing loud whispers among Republicans who, Swalwell says, are less supportive of Trump than scared of him — and whose praise is dictated by that fear.
“There is censorship,” Swalwell concedes, addressing his GOP colleagues in the House during an anti-censorship hearing, “but it is self-censorship. And it is by you all.”
Swalwell: Trump is a petty, punitive child—and I can recognize a toddler because I’m a parent of three. Yes, censorship is happening, but it’s self-censorship, and it’s coming from you. Because in private conversations, I hear you agree: Trump is a child. pic.twitter.com/4datpDLqcI
— Acyn (@Acyn) February 12, 2025
Swalwell says he hears Republicans who are privately concerned about Trump’s conduct. “I hear you in our private conversations when you agree that Trump is a child. I hear the people you tell that Trump is a child, whether it’s lobbyists or reporters.”
[Notably, Swalwell fails to name the names of those GOP congress members who allegedly ridicule Trump while praising him publicly, an omission that is emphasized in the comments on X, where Swalwell has few supporters.]
Swalwell describes what he characterizes as an atmosphere rife with fears of Trump retribution, fear that dominates Congress and demeans his colleagues, who he says “shrink” and are “afraid.”
Swalwell says: “You shrink in this room and you shrink in the chamber. And you self-censor yourselves because you’re afraid. And [Trump] is laughing at you because you take him so seriously, because he’s unserious.”
Decidedly not among the Democrats who are trying to “get along” with the Trump administration, Swalwell objects to the notion that Trump, as he claims, has a “mandate” from the American electorate — an alleged mandate the President wields to compel GOP compliance.
(Other Trump detractors, such as Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA), are also trying to contradict this “mandate” narrative. McGovern reminded his Republican colleagues this week: “You guys actually lost seats [in the House].”)
That doesn’t mean, of course, that Trump didn’t win the popular vote — he did, although reportedly by a 1.5% margin, one of the smallest in decades. It doesn’t mean that nearly 50% of Americans don’t want much of what Trump is doing since taking office — they evidently do, as his early approval ratings top 50%.
What that vote doesn’t mean, Democrats like Swalwell contend, is that Americans — even Trump voters — want everything that the President and Elon Musk are doing.
In what’s now a famous contention: many people voted for Trump mainly on his promise to lower prices, not to cut resources that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) provides research institutions studying cancer.
Swalwell also addressed that distinction on the floor.
Swalwell: For the last three years, Trump campaigned on lowering your costs. Do they feel lower? You were promised cheap eggs—instead, you’re getting cheap shots. And there’s probably no better natural remedy for insomnia than a congressional hearing on anti-censorship. pic.twitter.com/J0hA3TaCv2
— Acyn (@Acyn) February 12, 2025
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