In the midst of a wave of Trump administration officials announcing their resignations and the House’s push to impeach President Trump in the aftermath of the deadly insurrection at the Capitol that he incited, Trump campaign spokesperson Hogan Gidley took to Fox News on Monday to defend the President’s … masculinity?
In the past week since Trump supporters breached the Capitol, tech giants such as Twitter and Facebook have either permanently or indefinitely banned Trump from posting. The moves were made in response to the President’s incendiary posts on bogus election fraud claims that provided fodder for his supporters to descend upon D.C. on the day President-elect Joe Biden’s electoral victory was set to be ratified. Trump’s incitement of his supporters culminated in the deadly insurrection at the Capitol last week.
Parler, a favorite among Trump supporters, was also booted off the Internet over its ties to last week’s Capitol riots.
In a bizarre question posed to the Trump aide on Monday, Fox News anchor Bill Hemmer asked Gidley whether Trump feels “emasculated” from “the social media crackdown” in the waning days of his presidency.
Gidley then attempted to project Trump as “the most masculine” POTUS to have ever lived.
“Look, I wouldn’t say emasculated,” Gidley said. “I mean, the most masculine person ever I think to hold the White House is the president of the United States.”
As part of a dwindling group of Trump’s foot soldiers, Gidley tried to paint the President as a victim of a “systematic attack against not just him, but against 75 million Americans, who disagree with the socialist-communist vision that Democrats have for this country.”
Gidley also teased the possibility of Trump launching his own media outlet so that he can “communicate with his followers and the American people one way or the other.”
It turns out that Twitter users had a field day in response to the brow-raising exchange on Fox News between Gidley and Hemmer:
hogan gidley sound like villain in boys boarding school novel https://t.co/0JgUX2pofK
— elizabeth bruenig (@ebruenig) January 11, 2021
PRWeek special commendation to Hogan Gidley for getting a career-defining quip in *just* under the wire. His very own alternative facts.
— Jim Maiella (@jimmaiella) January 11, 2021
Good lord…Teddy Roosevelt, Ike, Grant…GEORGE FUCKING WASHINGTON would like to have a word with Hogan Gidley. https://t.co/gb63Pixlba
— Fred Wellman (@FPWellman) January 11, 2021
The Cult never surrenders. https://t.co/V2fHrX2aDF
— Michael Salfino (@MichaelSalfino) January 11, 2021
It’s such a creepy, weird cult. https://t.co/lj72JnXTV9
— Kevin M. Kruse (@KevinMKruse) January 11, 2021
Today in This Actually Happened: https://t.co/msavaem4Zu
— Susan Glasser (@sbg1) January 11, 2021
The constant thinly veiled references to sexual emasculation, neutering and diminished sexual virility in right wing talk tells you a great deal about what truly motivates some of the most aggressive supporters on the far right https://t.co/fQJi1jJ0Bb
— Dr. Jason Johnson (@DrJasonJohnson) January 11, 2021
Yes, this is an absurd statement by Gidley. But also: Bill Hemmer's framing of the issue here is deeply problematic. Why on earth is he asking if Trump feels "emasculated" by Twitter banning him? https://t.co/k6rpcutJUI
— Felicia Sonmez (@feliciasonmez) January 11, 2021
Hogan Gidley is back on TV defending the president! https://t.co/jVAOict5Hk
— Josh Dawsey (@jdawsey1) January 11, 2021
Everyone is talking about Hogan Gidley's response that Trump is "the most masculine person" to hold the office, but what the hell kind of question is Hemmer asking? Does the President feel *emasculated*? What? https://t.co/0Fixs5hmda
— Julia Ioffe (@juliaioffe) January 11, 2021
Fox: Did getting banned from Twitter affect the president’s sperm count
Gidley: I can assure you that Mr. Trump has never been more virile
— Laura Bassett (@LEBassett) January 11, 2021
