The Enemy of Your Enemy Is Not Your Friend

Former Congressman and conservative talk radio host Joe Walsh announced that he is entering the Republican primary to take on Donald Trump. I don’t know how popular Joe Walsh is in the world, but he’s a fixture on Twitter, where he’s frequently tweeted into my timeline because he’s the rare conservative who speaks out against Trump.

Joe Walsh: "This election's about Trump, period. This election is a referendum on him, the man. He's unqualified. He's unfit. He's a child. He's reckless. He's erratic … I certainly would never take on this fight … unless I was making this a referendum on Trump." @Morning_Joe

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) August 26, 2019

Recently, Walsh apologized for helping elect an “unfit” man into office, even though he was one of his biggest supporters before the 2016 election.

On November 8th, I'm voting for Trump.

On November 9th, if Trump loses, I'm grabbing my musket.

You in?

— Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) October 26, 2016

Yeah, this is that guy. (Also he’s the deadbeat Dad whose failure to pay child support cost him reelection in 2012). Granted, in recent months, Walsh has pivoted into one of Trump’s harshest critics on the right, which again feels more opportunistic than genuine, particularly given Walsh’s own history. To wit:

The single greatest act of racism in American history was the election of Barack Obama.

People voted for him simply because he was black.

— Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) June 26, 2016

Michelle Obama, black First Lady, tells black college graduates that America is still racist.

Please explain irony to this ungrateful woman

— Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) April 25, 2016

.@angela_rye And your way wrong on your main point Angela. We LOWERED the bar for Obama. He was held to a lower standard cuz he was black. https://t.co/OMXphLZUTj

— Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) March 28, 2017

Hey PREET….does THIS answer your question???😡 pic.twitter.com/h7WNCuaiEn

— HRCFanGal (@HRCFanGal) August 26, 2019

Obama is a Muslim

Happy New Year!

— Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) January 1, 2017

In other words, everything that Joe Walsh says here can be accurate …

.@WalshFreedom on why he’s running against Donald Trump, "he’s unqualified, he’s unfit, he’s a child, he’s reckless, he’s erratic, he’s a narcissist, he’s mean, he’s cruel, he lies every time he opens his mouth." pic.twitter.com/qH3bMNhscM

— Morning Joe (@Morning_Joe) August 26, 2019

… but it doesn’t make Joe Walsh someone for whom to root, except maybe — as George Conway (another anti-Trump conservative) suggests — as a means to hasten Trump’s breakdown.

Even there, I don’t think Walsh is the right guy, not when there is someone else much more capable of getting under Trump’s thin skin and into his head.

Joe Walsh's indefensible views and Donald Trump's indefensible views are a perfect circle. Don't let any media-driven redemption campaign cloud your eyes.

Walsh called LGBT Americans "Constitutional terrorists."
He called Obama a Muslim
He threatened armed resistance

— Max Burns (@themaxburns) August 25, 2019

We have enough racists running for President in 2020. We don’t need another just because he opposes Trump.