Briggs: Jim Banks' Trump family values teach children how to always be a victim
Donald Trump was convicted of 34 felonies because he had sex with a porn star while his wife was caring for their newborn child and later reimbursed his personal attorney, Michael Cohen, for money spent keeping the affair out of the news while Trump was running for president.
A prosecutor successfully convinced 12 jury members that Trump's hush money payment amounted to an illicit donation to his presidential campaign because the money was intended to help him win an election.
Reasonable people can disagree over the merits of the case, the prosecutor's tactics and the laws in question. Notably, though, the Republicans rushing to Trump's defense aren't expressing doubts about the basic fact pattern I described. They just don't think Trump should face consequences.
So, rather than engaging in discourse over whether the Republican Party might be better off exiling Trump in favor of someone who does not cheat on their wife with porn stars and then pay them off for silence, you have U.S. Rep. Jim Banks calling New York a "liberal s--- hole" because it happened to be the site of Trump's guilty verdict.
Banks posted that comment on Twitter/X, a platform where his bio refers to himself first and foremost as a "father" and "husband." Banks is a big family values guy, you see. When he's not declaring a city of 8 million people irredeemable over matters of politics, he's, say, recognizing National Catholic Schools Week and lauding those institutions for "instilling in their students the value of service and Christian morals."
It must be a dizzying walk for Republicans like Banks. On one hand, they probably sincerely want to help raise a new generation of people based on traditional Christian values. On the other hand, Banks has decided it is virtuous to cheat on your wife with porn stars and pay money to cover it up so long as you are also passing tax cuts and fighting wokeness to balance the heavenly ledger.
If the youth are paying attention, they'll have to conclude that Banks' situational ethics offer a path to success. Banks is running for Senate against a no-name Democratic challenger. At this point, Banks could call Indiana a "s--- hole state" while desecrating a pork tenderloin sandwich and still win.
Banks is running to replace Republican Sen. Mike Braun, now the frontrunner to be Indiana's next governor, who also had thoughts on the Trump verdict.
Braun called the Trump case a "blatant abuse of our justice system as a political weapon by a radical prosecutor trying to interfere in the election," adding, "the verdict proves that this was just a show trial all along."
Nevermind that 12 jury members unanimously found Trump guilty of 34 felonies and nevermind how hard it is to get 12 jury members to agree on any verdict, especially those involving famous people (see: Simpson, O.J.). Republicans who have leeched onto Trump to quench their thirst for power must delegitimize any institution that does not uphold their patron scoundrel as infallible.
Now, they're coming for the legal system and imparting a new lesson on America's youth. If anyone tries to hold you accountable for your actions, thrash around and whine like an incalcitrant victim. Blame the system, blame geography, blame anything tangible you can point to with a trembling finger.
As a father and a husband, that's not the kind of child I hope to raise. But I don't have a Senate or gubernatorial race to win, so I guess I just can't understand what it means to be a servant and a leader.
Contact James Briggs at 317-444-4732 or [email protected]. Follow him on X and Threads at @JamesEBriggs.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Trump verdict has Jim Banks, Mike Braun tearing down the legal system