American progressives are largely pleased that their party now controls the executive and legislative branches of the federal government. However, despite their success in the 2020 elections, the Democrats cannot quite seem to move beyond their hatred of a few key political figures — both on the Right and the Left.
Here are five such examples of figures who live “rent free” in the minds of the American Left.
Donald Trump
The most obvious instance of this phenomenon is seen in Leftists’ undying obsession with former President Donald Trump.
Though the 45th President left office nearly four months ago, he continues to serve as the chief object of hatred for American progressives. For some, hating Trump for four years became a core aspect of their work — and perhaps even their personality.
Democratic leadership in Congress were not content with dethroning President Trump. For the first time in history, they impeached a Commander-in-Chief who had already left office — a move that 92% of Democratic voters supported.
Impeachment manager Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) dubbed the effort a “dramatic success in historical terms,” and the “largest impeachment conviction vote in U.S. history,” despite the Senate failing to convict Trump of any charges.
Days later, House Democrats introduced the “No Glory for Hate Act,” which would prevent federal dollars from honoring “certain former presidents” who “have been twice impeached by the House” — a provision that would extend to a ban on burial in Arlington National Cemetery. Trump is the only former president to fit the narrow criteria for the bill.
Joining their allies in the federal government, journalists openly admitted the void in their life that remained after Trump’s departure.
“Thrilling, without a single boring day: That’s how I’d describe my four years as an enemy of the people,” said Yahoo News journalist Alexander Nazaryan of his antagonistic relationship with the former Commander-in-Chief. “Covering the administration was thrilling for many journalists, in the way that I imagine storming Omaha Beach must have been for a 20-year-old fresh from the plains of Kansas. He hadn’t signed up for battle, but there he was, liberating France.”
Tucker Carlson
Fox News host Tucker Carlson is another object of the Left’s continual ire.
Most recently, CNN anchor Brian Stelter devoted an entire three-minute monologue to branding Carlson as “the new Donald Trump.”
“Tucker has taken Trump’s place as a right-wing leader, as an outrage generator, as a fire-starter, and it’s all happening on Fox, just like Trump’s campaign did,” said Stelter. “I mean, think about all the ways these two men are similar. Every day, Carlson is throwing bombs, making online memes, offending millions of people, also delighting millions of others, tapping into white male rage and resentment. Stoking distrust of Big Tech and the media, generally coarsening the discourse, never apologizing for anything, and setting the GOP’s agenda.”
“Sounds like a recently retired president, right?” he added.
Days earlier, Carlson sent the Left into a frenzy after he stated that specially-designed uniforms for pregnant military members reflect weakness in the American armed forces.
“F–k Tucker Carlson,” retorted Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL). “While he was practicing his two-step, America’s female warriors were hunting down Al Qaeda and proving the strength of America’s women.”
Clarence Thomas
The Left takes pride in abhorring Justice Clarence Thomas — the only African-American juror on the Supreme Court — due to his conservative leanings.
Routinely, Democratic activists jump on Thomas with disproportionately charged responses following the release of his legal opinions.
“None of us should be shocked that Justice Thomas would write an out of touch, radical & unhinged opinion,” Democratic National Committee Jaime Harrison tweeted in reference to Thomas’ dissent in an elections case. “He and his wife showed us who they were a very long time ago.”
Many Leftists do not hold back from using Thomas’ race as an angle of attack.
On an MSNBC election panel, anchor Joy Reid referred to Thomas as “Uncle Clarence” in an apparent play on the term “Uncle Tom” — a racial epithet referring to a slave who sold out fellow black people to white masters. Democratic lawmakers — including Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) — have directly referred to Thomas using the slur.
Joe Manchin
In addition to prominent conservative political voices, Leftists are perpetually annoyed by moderate Democrats who stand in the way of their unfettered access to power.
In particular, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) — the most moderate Democrat in the Senate — draws unending criticism from the progressive wing of his party.
For instance, after Sen. Manchin tweeted “Defund the police? Defund, my butt” in a mockery of the movement as a “crazy socialist agenda,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) tweeted a picture of her glaring at the back of the lawmaker’s head.
After Sen. Manchin hinted that she is an ineffective member of Congress, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez harped on social media: “I find it amusing when politicians try to diminish the seriousness of our policy work, movement organizing & grassroots fundraising to ‘she just tweets,’ as though ‘serious’ politics is only done by begging corporate CEOs for money through wax-sealed envelopes delivered by raven.”
Likewise, racial activist Al Sharpton announced that he would publicly blame Manchin of “supporting racism” if he refused to help in the Democrats’ efforts to end the filibuster.
Kyrsten Sinema
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) — another moderate Democratic lawmaker — frequently attracts hatred from the Left for the smallest of actions.
In one recent incident, Sen. Sinema “liked” a CNN article called “Why very early signs are good for the GOP in 2022” on Twitter. Tagging Democratic leadership, actress and progressive activist Debra Messing asked Sinema, “is there something you’d like to tell the Democratic Party?”
“Yes,” she answered frankly. “I read.”
Weeks earlier, Leftists lost their minds after Sen. Sinema voted against a provision that would establish a $15 minimum wage across the United States. She bobbed her knees as she gestured a thumbs-down, creating body language that reflected joy in rejecting the measure.
For months, GIFs of the moment — as well as a bizarre cartoon image of Sinema wearing a mask with the slogan “F*ck The Poor” — have filled the Senator’s replies on social media.
“It’s bad enough Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, the Arizona Democrat, turned down the minimum wage hike with that oh-so-cute thumbs-down,” read an article in The Daily Beast. “Now she’s threatening to derail the whole Democratic agenda, insisting on archaic Senate rules that give Mitch McConnell and the Republicans outsized power.”
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.