This week, Senator Eric Schmitt of Missouri was introduced in a puffed-up Axios “scoop” as “buzz attracting” in the morning as a possible running mate for JD Vance’s 2028 presidential run.
Hours later, he crashed and burned during a Senate hearing while pathetically attempting to set a perjury trap for former special counsel Jack Smith. Dramatically holding up signs of text messages between Smith and his team that Schmitt had obtained, he claimed that Smith had just lied when he said he was not in Atlanta for a Hawks game in February 2024. But Schmitt, his aides and his GOP Senate colleagues, in their zeal, had gotten their teams and their cities wrong. Smith was in College Park, Maryland to watch the Iowa Hawkeyes play at the University of Maryland.
Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar criticized Schmitt for calling Smith a “dirty bag” and being wrong with his cities and staff as Democrats humiliated Schmitt, while Republican Sen. Katie Britt, sitting next to Schmitt, looked horrified — captured by an MSNOW clip that went viral — reflecting how many Republicans should feel.
And even though Smith had been in Atlanta on that date, the crazy conspiracy Schmitt was hatching was wild: It supposedly revolved around the fact that Fulton County Prosecutor Fani Willis had just publicly acknowledged her relationship with her special counsel, Nathan Wade. So, supposedly being in the same city for a basketball game, Schmitt suggested, meant Smith was trying to meet Willis. I know, it doesn’t make any sense!
This humiliating exchange dominated coverage of the hearing and virtually ended it for the GOP. But the ratings were really bad for the GOP long before that.
Let’s just start by holding the hearing a little over a month before the midterm elections. It showed voters that the Republican Party is not concerned about the pressing issues voters care about, from inflation and gas prices to the war in Iran and government corruption, and is still trying to impress its beloved leader by going after his perceived enemies. This was the third time Smith had been called before Congress to answer questions about his investigations, and there was nothing new.
One by one, the Republican presidential candidates put on a show, with Sen. Ted Cruz offering his “congratulations,” telling Smith, in an Orwellian twist, that he “succeeded where Richard Nixon failed, which arms the Justice Department to go after your political opponents.”
As if it wasn’t bad enough to bring Trump and his horrific actions — and the defense of his conduct — back to the forefront before the election, Republicans focused largely on the fact that Smith obtained the phone records of some Republican senators in his investigation of Trump regarding the January 6 insurrection. Smith testified that obtaining such toll records is a legal and common practice in complex investigations. The recordings did not include the content of the senators’ calls, just metadata, including the date and duration of the calls.
At a time when Americans are being watched by Flock cameras and are worried about AI and how the technology will be used against them – and, again, they are worried about today’s economy – the last thing they want to see before an election is a bunch of wealthy senators, many of them multi-millionaires, complaining about their phone records being accessed during a crime investigation.
It was simply a glaring example of elites only caring about themselves, when one of the driving forces behind the election is the belief that Washington doesn’t care about the rest of us, while people struggle every day.
But probably the most devastating thing for Republicans — worse than Schmitt’s complete botch, which was a spectacular example of confirmation bias — was having the courageous former prosecutor sit there and defend his investigation.
Jack Smith is unflappable, and no matter where you stand on the political spectrum, he comes across as balanced and self-assured. Unlike so many others who might fear and suffer retaliation from Trump, Smith has remained true to his principles.
“Our investigation established proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in serious crimes against our nation,” he said. “Rather than accept his defeat in the 2020 presidential election, President Trump engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results and prevent the lawful transfer of power. »
Smith also explained how perplexed he was by this hostile attitude from Republicans, since his strongest witnesses in the January 6 affair were Republican officials – Trump administration officials, state officials and even members of Congress.
When South Carolina Sen. Darline Graham expressed outrage over viewing her late brother’s phone records, Smith had the perfect response.
“Do you really believe Lindsey was going to destroy evidence that wasn’t even in her possession?” she asked.
“No,” Smith replied. “I believe your brother was a patriotic public servant. He was not the target of our investigation, and in fact, he probably would have been a witness in our case (against Trump).”
And Smith talked about what’s happened since Trump took office: “History teaches that the rule of law is rarely destroyed in one fell swoop. It is often weakened by attacks on the institutions and officials sworn to uphold it. Since January 2025, we have witnessed just such an effort.”
At a time when polls show millions of voters have doubts about Trump, this message coming from a cool-as-a-cucumber law enforcement official who was doing what he saw as his patriotic duty was damaging to the Republican Party. Much of Trump’s most die-hard base will believe MAGA’s claims about Smith, the election, and Trump’s alleged crimes.
But in 2024, many more people voted for Trump who had never voted for him before, thinking he was going to do something for the economy. I think many of these people didn’t like that Trump celebrated insurrectionists, nor did they believe that Trump won the 2020 election — or that Trump didn’t commit crimes. But they voted for him, some perhaps reluctantly, at a time of economic despair, because they believed he would make things better.
And these are among the people the GOP must now reclaim. Reminding these people how dishonest and reckless Trump is – especially those whose first instinct may have been not to vote for Trump – is not a winning formula. Smith did America a great service, not only when he served as Special Advisor, but also when he sat before the Senate this week and once again told the truth.
Gn usa
