Posting Through It: Trump Spends Two Days Knocking New Fav Punching Bag Jack Smith

Former US President Donald Trump speaks at the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, on November 15, 2022. - Donald Trump pulled the trigger on a third White House run on November 15, setting the stage for a bruisi... Former US President Donald Trump speaks at the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, on November 15, 2022. - Donald Trump pulled the trigger on a third White House run on November 15, setting the stage for a bruising Republican nomination battle after a poor midterm election showing by his hand-picked candidates weakened his grip on the party. Trump filed his official candidacy papers with the US election authority moments before he was due to publicly announce his candidacy. (Photo by ALON SKUY / AFP) (Photo by ALON SKUY/AFP via Getty Images) MORE LESS
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Former President Donald Trump has spent the past two days shitposting on his off-brand Twitter app about Special Counsel Jack Smith — who was appointed less than two weeks ago to oversee two federal criminal investigations involving now-candidate Trump. 

In his flurry of Truth Social posts, Trump called Smith a “political hit man who is totally compromised,” and ranted about his belief that he will not be treated fairly. Attorney General Merrick Garland said while appointing Smith that it was in the public’s best interest to have Smith oversee the investigations and weigh charges in the DOJ’s probes into the 2020 election and the Mar-a-Lago classified records case, primarily due to Trump’s recent 2024 announcement. 

Deflection, pointing the finger at others, playing the victim and claiming he did nothing wrong are staples of the Trump-reaction playbook. It’s no surprise that Trump claimed he was being “persecuted” by a “fully weaponized monster,” referring to Smith’s appointment. 

“This fully weaponized monster, Jack Smith, shouldn’t be let anywhere near the political persecution of “President Donald J. Trump,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. “I did nothing wrong on January 6th, and nothing wrong with the Democrats’ fix on the Document Hoax, that is, unless the six previous Presidents did something wrong also….”

Trump also seized upon reports currently percolating in the right-wing media echo chamber, ranting that he won’t get a fair assessment from Smith because, as Fox News and others have been claiming, Smith and his wife are democrats — even though Smith is registered to vote as a political independent, according to POLITICO.

Trump also added the classic “I’m being singled out” argument to his Truth Social screed, saying past presidents and the Biden family should also be investigated.

“When will you invade the other Presidents’ homes in search of documents, which are voluminous, which they took with them, but not nearly so openly and transparently as I did?” he asked in another post.

Trump’s unsurprising attack on Smith comes 10 days after Smith was appointed to the special counsel role. Trump engaged in similar disinformation campaigns when Robert Mueller was appointed to investigate Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election and allegations of conspiracy and coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign. Trump called Mueller’s probe a “Witch Hunt” and a “hoax” for years on end, saying he should have never been selected to lead the investigation.

But Trump had one nice, weird thing to say about Smith: he has a “nice, soft name.” That’s one compliment Mueller did not get.

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