JOSH HAWLEY'S TOXIC POPULISM
Reason magazine|April 2021
IS THE SENATOR’S AUTHORITARIAN GRANDSTANDING THE DARK FUTURE OF THE GOP?
PETER SUDERMAN
JOSH HAWLEY'S TOXIC POPULISM

WHEN RIOTERS STORMED the U.S. Capitol in January, Sen. Josh Hawley (R–Mo.) was there. Not only was he happy to see the mob assembled outside his workplace; he cheered them on.

Shortly before the group of conspiracists and reactionaries broke into the building—vandalizing offices, taking selfies amid the wreckage, and dramatically halting business on both the House and Senate floors as lawmakers were evacuated to secure locations, sometimes fearing for their lives—Hawley had been photographed giving them a raised fist of encouragement.

Earlier that morning, then–President Donald Trump had addressed a rally at the National Mall. “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol, and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women,” he directed. “And we’re probably not going to be cheering so much for some of them, because you’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength, and you have to be strong.”

This story is from the April 2021 edition of Reason magazine.

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