On the House Floor, Republicans Gag Mentions of Trump’s Conviction | During official proceedings of the G.O.P.-controlled chamber, speaking about former President Donald J. Trump’s felony conviction has been forbidden, while disparaging President Biden and Democrats is routine.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/21/us/politics/house-republicans-trump.html

47 comments

  1. >In recent weeks, Republican leaders have cracked down on Democrats who refer to Mr. Trump’s court cases on the floor, citing the centuries-old rules of decorum, which date back to the days of Thomas Jefferson. Merely mentioning that Mr. Trump is a felon prompts an admonishment from whomever is presiding when the offending fact is uttered. (Mr. Trump is also indicted on felony charges in cases related to his handling of classified documents and attempting to overturn the 2020 election.)

    >“The chair would remind members to refrain from engaging in personalities toward presumptive nominees for the office of the president,” is now a common phrase heard in the chamber after the mention of the words “Trump” and “felon.”

    >On one occasion, Republicans barred Representative Jim McGovern, Democrat of Massachusetts, from speaking for the rest of the day and deleted his comments from the Congressional Record after he railed against Mr. Trump and his court cases.

    >“When they censor any mention of Donald Trump’s criminal convictions, they are essentially trying to ban a fact,” Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, said in an interview. “I am not aware of any precedent where factual statements have been banned in our lifetime.”

  3. Forbidden speech in the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives:
    A taste of things to come if Trump is re-elected. Picture actual laws passed by a republican house and a republican senate that forbid Americans to speak or write disparaging things about their Dear Leader. First amendment right, you say? Well, gee, if the U.S. Constitution is suspended guess we won’t have any of those pesky “rights” anymore, will we? Vote blue all the way down your ballot every election until we eradicate these MAGATS forever!

  4. Why not? It’s the way they’ve always done it in North Korea. The Republican “leadership” knows Full Well how weak this kind of thing is, and that they are getting away with it shows we are in serious trouble with too many people who, apparently, need led.

  5. what is this bullshit–the gop not allowing “accusations” of misconduct by trump? these are not “accusations.” they are convictions–truths. facts. certainties.

  8. Trumps Felonies are a no no but Hunters Dick pics are acceptable.

  9. Cancel culture!!!!

    Viewpoint discrimination!!!

    Am I doing this right?

  10. I will remind everyone that this “rule” was a favored tool of Newt Gingrich during his rise and has been used as a weapon by the GOP against any who point out their hypocrisy or frequent criminality.

  11. Democrats should just talk about it anyway. Get censured, whatever punishment, but never stop talking about the truth.

  13. Awww. Poor Republicans don’t want their feelings hurt when their dear leader is criticized. Clearly, they’re the superior party.

    /S

  15. They’re rejecting truth, honesty, integrity and embracing fully the dark side.

  17. So one of our legislative bodies is as the government telling people what they can and cannot say? It’s not a decorum issue, so it would seem this is a first amendment issue.

  19. Republican idiots doing a practice run for a North Korea style history denial and rewrite 😂
    News flash : it ain’t gonna work

  20. Actual literal corruption, right out in the open

    America needs to vote much much better. It’s so frustrating that a third of the population acts against their own interests out of plain ignorance and weaponized stupidity

  21. I hope Democrats aren’t stupid enough to bow to this. Just continue to mention the fact that Donald Trump has been convicted of 34 felonies whenever relevant to your point. It is not an accusation, it is a factual statement.

    If you get censured who cares?

  22. It is really hard to convince your base Trump is innocent of all crimes if people are allowed to talk about it

  23. This is legit terrifying.

    One side of this political divide is willing to hide the truth, silence the truth, and commit open violence to support a blatant lie.

    I worry this will lead to more violence.

  25. Republicans: “Ha 😎 You’ve fallen victim to one of the classic blunders, dumb dumb demonrats. Everyone knows you FRAMED Trump. This conviction is backfiring on you guys so bad and helping us!”

    …

    “You’re banned from saying Trump got convicted! No one is allowed to talk about it!!!!!111 😭😭😭”

  26. Reminds me of the 1800s of example of Congressional circumlocution, refusing to refer to slavery as “slavery”. The reality the word indicated was to inflammatory for the South, so they demanded it be referred to as “the South’s peculiar institution”.

  27. Trump?? Oh, you must mean “Doe 174” from all those Jeffrey Epstein documents.

  29. The fuck are they going to do about it? It’s not like norms and decorum matter anymore. The GOP has seen to that.

    Dems, don’t be weak, make sure you refer to all 34 of Trump’s felony convictions whenever his name is used.

    You can’t demand decorum when you allow someone like MTG to speak.

  30. I think every time a democrat mentions his name on the floor, on television or anywhere else, they need to use his official title: Convicted Felon Donald Trump

  31. >“I’m afraid the Republicans have now invited a contest for how creative we can be in talking about Donald Trump’s criminal convictions without explicitly stating those words,” Mr. Raskin said.

    This is the only correct response to the banning of objective facts in House floor speech. Keep mentioning it with creative oblique phrasing. Don’t let them forget, especially in late October/early November.

    Also, objective, demonstrable facts have always (until now, apparently) been protected Free Speech. You can yell “Fire!” in a theater **if you can point at the theater fire in progress**. “It’s true and here’s the conclusive evidence that it’s true” has always been a complete defense against charges of defamation, libel, or slander, because the objective truth is not inherently disparaging. The objective truth might make you look bad if you’ve done or been something objectively bad, but if you weren’t prepared for that consequence, then you should’ve been not bad.

  35. Democrats should forbid senate republicans from speaking entirely

  36. Didn’t they put up pictures of Hunter Biden’s dick?

  37. The most weak and pathetic human beings in existence. Imagine being this spineless, it’s practically not fathomable how someone could lack any courage at all.

  41. What is the punishment for not obeying this? I feel like I hear stories about members flagrantly not following mask rules or bringing in firearms and just getting a meaningless fine.

    I feel like the DNC should pay the fines and match the amount in charitable donations to pro choice causes.

  42. Once again I opine: what is it with the centrists and some liberals who think Trump’s fascist agenda is just a ploy, game, electioneering, etc., and isn’t something he (and his allies) are serious about, or that can be accomplished? Time after time we see things like this. It is absolutely critical to stop him and any candidates who support him.

  43. I mean, what happens if they just ignore it? They get censored? But what if they ignore that? Is security going to forcibly keep them out of the chamber?

    Honestly that could be a great way to galvanize the left. Democrats should consider being more aggressive and fighting dirty.

  44. They’re all about the lies and unable to handle the truth.

  45. So the Republicans are at the ‘thought police’ stage then…

  46. This is literally a direct attack on the First Amendment.

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