Republican senators are saying mean tweets posted by a Biden nominee disqualify her, but they accept mean things Donald Trump has tweeted about them.
Senate Republicans are threatening to reject the nomination of Neera Tanden, President-elect Joe Biden's pick to lead the Office of Management and Budget, complaining that Tanden has tweeted "partisan" criticisms of Republicans.
However, Donald Trump has tweeted insults at Senate Republicans and other GOP lawmakers and officials for years — and these same Republicans have let them slide.
In fact, Trump has insulted so many people on Twitter throughout the years that the New York Times began tracking his attacks. As of May 2019, the last time the Times updated that list, Trump had insulted 598 people, places, and things on Twitter, including the Republican Party itself.
Here is a selection of mean tweets Trump has posted about Republican lawmakers, officials, and public figures over the years:
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
Trump has insulted the Senate majority leader, calling him a failure for not repealing the Affordable Care Act in 2017.
"The only problem I have with Mitch McConnell is that, after hearing Repeal & Replace for 7 years, he failed! That should NEVER have happened!" Trump tweeted in August 2017.
Sen. Lindsey Graham
Graham, who called Tanden a "nut job" and wouldn't commit to giving her a hearing, has been on the receiving end of mean Trump tweets.
During the 2016 campaign, when the South Carolina senator ran against Trump for the GOP nomination, Trump called Graham "really sad," "nasty," and a "dumb mouthpiece," whom Trump said he "ran out of the race like a little boy."
Sen. Susan Collins
Collins, who also commented about Tanden's tweets, though she would not say whether or not she'd vote for her confirmation, has also been attacked by Trump on Twitter.
Ahead of the 2020 election, Trump abandoned Collins' reelection bid for her Maine Senate seat, declaring that she was "not worth the work!"
Sen. Lisa Murkowski
Trump has called Alaska's Murkowski a disappointment, tweeting in July 2017 that she "really let the Republicans, and our country, down yesterday" when she voted against a Republican bill to repeal Obamacare.
Sen. Mitt Romney
Romney has been one of few Republican senators to criticize Trump, even voting to convict him on one of the charges on which Trump was impeached.
And that in turn has led to Romney, the junior senator from Utah, receiving a barrage of insults from Trump's itchy Twitter fingers.
Trump has called Romney "a disaster," "really sad," "awkward and goofy," and "a mixed up man who doesn't have a clue."
Sen. Ben Sasse
Just before the 2020 election, Sasse said Trump "kisses dictators' butts" — which led Trump to attack him on Twitter in a rant that required two tweets.
The least effective of our 53 Republican Senators, and a person who truly doesn’t have what it takes to be great, is Little Ben Sasse of Nebraska, a State which I have gladly done so much to help. @SenSasse was as nice as a RINO can be until he recently won the Republican nomination to run for a second term. Then he went back to his rather stupid and obnoxious ways. Must feel he can’t lose to a Dem. Little Ben is a liability to the Republican Party, and an embarrassment to the Great State of Nebraska. Other than that, he’s just a wonderful guy!
Sen. Marco Rubio
Sen. Ted Cruz
Some of Trump's worst comments against the Texas senator came during the 2016 campaign, when he falsely accused Cruz's father of being involved in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
But Trump tweeted plenty of insults at Cruz, giving him the nickname "Lyin' Ted" and calling him a "nasty guy," and a "choker."
Sen. Pat Toomey
In July, Toomey criticized Trump for commuting the sentence of Roger Stone, the longtime Trump ally who was convicted of witness tampering, lying to Congress, and obstructing a congressional investigation.
That led Trump to slam the Pennsylvania senator on Twitter: "Do RINO'S Pat Toomey & Mitt Romney have any problem with the fact that we caught Obama, Biden, & Company illegally spying on my campaign? Do they care if Comey, McCabe, Page & her lover, Peter S, the whole group, ran rampant, wild & unchecked - lying & leaking all the way? NO!"
After Toomey said last month that the election was over and Trump had lost, Trump tweeted that Toomey is "no friend of mine."
Ambassador Nikki Haley
Haley, the former South Carolina governor who served as Trump's ambassador to the United Nations, criticized Tanden for "a track record of disparaging Rep Senators."
Trump has criticized Haley, tweeting in March 2016: "The people of South Carolina are embarrassed by Nikki Haley!"
Sen. John McCain
The late Arizona Republican was one of Trump's favorite punching bags. In fact, Trump continued to attack McCain even after his death.
He claimed McCain "graduated last in his class" and was "incapable of doing anything."
He also attacked McCain's daughter, Meghan, calling her "terrible ... Angry and obnoxious."
Sen. Jeff Flake
Trump attacked McCain's fellow Arizonian as well, calling him a "weak and ineffective guy," "toxic," and "really sad."
Sen. Bob Corker
Corker was another Republican Trump feuded with before Corker retired in 2018.
Trump gave Corker, a senator from Tennessee, the nickname "Little Bob Corker" and called him a "fool" and a "lightweight."
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger
Angry that Raffensperger, the Republican top election official in Georgia, wouldn't overturn the state's election results, Trump has attacked him for it, tweeting: "Georgia Secretary of State, a so-called Republican (RINO), won't let the people checking the ballots see the signatures for fraud. Why? Without this the whole process is very unfair and close to meaningless."
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp
Trump has also turned on Kemp, who has rejected Trump's demands to overturn the results of the state.
Trump called Kemp "hapless."
Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson
Despite having personally nominated Tillerson to serve as his top diplomat, Trump called him "'dumb as a rock' and totally ill prepared and ill equipped to be Secretary of State."
Former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis
Trump turned on Mattis, his first secretary of defense, calling him the "most overrated General." Trump threatened to "tell the real story on him" at a later date.
Former national security adviser John Bolton
Bolton has trashed Trump since leaving the administration.
And Trump has trashed him back, calling him "one of the dumbest people in government that I've had the 'pleasure' to work with" and a "wacko."
Gov. John Kasich
Trump has attacked former Ohio Gov. John Kasich numerous times over the years, calling him "one of the worst presidential candidates in history" and a "total dud."
Rep. Justin Amash
Amash left the Republican Party over its fealty to Trump, and has often criticized Trump's actions.
Trump has tweet insults at Amash, who now represents his Michigan district as a member of the Libertarian Party, calling him a "a total lightweight who opposes me and some of our great Republican ideas and policies just for the sake of getting his name out there through controversy."
Steve Bannon
Trump has had an on-again off-again relationship with Bannon, the right-wing former head of Trump's 2016 campaign who is currently under federal indictment for allegedly scamming donors as part of a private effort to build Trump's long-promised border wall.
In 2018, Trump accused Bannon of being a source for Michael Wolff's book about the Trump White House, tweeting, "Michael Wolff is a total loser who made up stories in order to sell this really boring and untruthful book. He used Sloppy Steve Bannon, who cried when he got fired and begged for his job. Now Sloppy Steve has been dumped like a dog by almost everyone. Too bad!"
Gov. Jeb Bush
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who ran for president in 2016, was one of Trump's favorite targets during the campaign, calling him "desperate and sad," a "pathetic figure," a "low energy individual," and a "sad sack."
President George W. Bush
Trump also attacked Jeb through his brother, saying George W. Bush was "not nice!"
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson
Before bringing him into his Cabinet, Trump attacked Carson on numerous occasions. He said Carson was "incapable of understanding foreign policy," and tweeted in 2015, when Carson was a candidate for president: "With Ben Carson wanting to hit his mother on head with a hammer, stab a friend and Pyramids built for grain storage - don't people get it?"
Michael Cohen
Trump turned on Cohen, his personal lawyer, after Cohen was indicted as part of a scheme ahead of the 2016 election to pay hush money to a porn actress who said she'd had an affair with Trump.
Trump called Cohen a "bad lawyer and fraudster" and a "rat," adding, "If anyone is looking for a good lawyer, I would strongly suggest that you don't retain the services of Michael Cohen!"
George Conway
The husband of former White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, who had at one point been under consideration for positions with the Justice Department in the Trump administration, has been vocal about his disdain for Trump, with Trump returning the favor.
In March 2019, Trump tweeted: "George Conway, often referred to as Mr. Kellyanne Conway by those who know him, is VERY jealous of his wife's success & angry that I, with her help, didn't give him the job he so desperately wanted. I barely know him but just take a look, a stone cold LOSER & husband from hell!"
Gov. Scott Walker
Walker, the former governor of Wisconsin and another failed 2016 GOP presidential hopeful, also earned some mean tweets from Trump.
Trump called Walker a "puppet" of the Koch brothers and said that he was "not presidential material."
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.
