Politics

The president’s popularity is floundering, Americans’ paychecks are under perpetual strain, and the United States is waging a pointless, unpopular war in the Middle East. Republicans are betting that some virulent Islamophobia can revive the enthusiasm of a weary base. The 2000s never ended, they just got way more online.

Capitol Hill was roiled this week by a series of anti-Muslim statements from Rep. Andy Ogles . The Tennessee Republican has a well-established reputation as a MAGA hard-liner less focused on legislating than on throwing culture-war grenades into the news cycle to generate coverage for himself. He hurled another big one on Monday: “Muslims don’t belong in American society. Pluralism is a lie,” Ogles wrote on social media.

The post was the latest in a long series of Islamophobic posts authored by the congressman. His pinned post on X was recently a poll asking users if they agreed that “Islamic immigration is a threat to the United States?” Earlier this month, he wrote that “America and Islam are incompatible,” and that it was “time for a muslim ban.” A graphic he shared Monday described Islam as a religion of “rape,” “pedophilia,” “beheadings,” “female genital mutilations,” and “jihad.” Ogles has also shared plenty of comments from fellow conservatives defending his bigotry.

As always, every accusation is showing the guilt of our leader.