With Falsehoods About Pelosi Attack, Republicans Mimic Trump - The New York Times

• Nov. 1, 2022Updated 8:01 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON — Speaking connected a blimpish vigor speech amusement connected Tuesday, erstwhile President Donald J. Trump amplified a conspiracy mentation astir the grisly onslaught connected Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, that falsely suggested that Mr. Pelosi whitethorn not person been the unfortunate of a genuine attack.

“Weird things going connected successful that household successful the past mates of weeks,” Mr. Trump said connected the Chris Stigall show, winking astatine a lie that has flourished successful right-wing media and is progressively being fixed credence by Republicans. “The glass, it seems, was breached from the wrong to the retired — truthful it wasn’t a break-in, it was a interruption out.”

There is nary grounds to suggest that. Mr. Pelosi, 82, was attacked connected Friday with a hammer by a fishy who national prosecutors accidental invaded the Pelosis’ San Francisco home, bent connected kidnapping the talker and shattering her kneecaps.

But Mr. Trump, a longtime trafficker successful conspiracy theories who propelled his governmental emergence with the prevarication that President Barack Obama was not calved successful the United States, has ne'er fto specified facts get successful his way.

The absorption to the battle connected Mr. Pelosi among Republicans — who person circulated conspiracy theories astir it, dismissed it arsenic an enactment of random unit and made the Pelosis the punchline of a acheronian gag — underscores however thoroughly the G.O.P. has internalized his example. It suggested that Republicans person travel to reason that, similar Mr. Trump, they volition wage nary governmental terms for attacks connected their opponents, nevertheless meanspirited, inflammatory oregon false.

If anything, immoderate Republicans look to judge they volition beryllium rewarded by their right-wing basal for specified coarseness — oregon adjacent endure governmental consequences if they bash not articulation successful and amusement that they are successful connected the joke.

“LOL,” Representative Claudia Tenney, Republican of New York, who is up for re-election successful a competitory district, tweeted connected Friday night, circulating a photograph that showed a radical of young, achromatic men holding oversized hammers beside a cheery Pride flag.

On Sunday, Representative Clay Higgins, Republican of Louisiana, who is successful enactment to helm a Homeland Security subcommittee if his enactment wins power of the House adjacent week, besides amplified a groundless and homophobic conspiracy mentation hatched connected the close astir the attack. He tweeted, but aboriginal removed, a representation of Ms. Pelosi with her hands covering her eyes, with the caption: “That infinitesimal you recognize the nudist hippie antheral prostitute LSD feline was the crushed your hubby didn’t marque it to your fundraiser.”

On Tuesday, Mr. Trump said helium thought the national ailment detailing the break-in and the onslaught was not telling the full story.

“I don’t know,” Mr. Trump said suggestively. “You perceive the aforesaid things I do.”

Mr. Pelosi, 82, remained successful intensive attraction with a fractured skull, according to a idiosyncratic acquainted with the concern who spoke connected information of anonymity.

In Arizona, the Republican campaigner for governor, Kari Lake, made the onslaught a punchline astatine a run lawsuit connected Monday, noting that portion Ms. Pelosi has information astir her, “apparently her location doesn’t person a batch of protection.” She smiled arsenic her supporters howled with laughter.

Republican leaders person condemned the unit against Mr. Pelosi and person not shared the conspiracy theories oregon sinister memes, but they person not publically condemned those who person done truthful oregon done thing to effort to tamp down connected the watercourse of lies. And implicit the past fewer years, they person consistently demonstrated to their colleagues successful Congress that determination are nary consequences for making vitriolic oregon adjacent convulsive statements.

If anything, specified behaviour has turned those much utmost members into influencers connected the right, who transportation much clout successful Congress.

The intruder who attacked Mr. Pelosi had wanted to instrumentality Ms. Pelosi, whom helium saw arsenic “the ‘leader of the pack’ of lies told by the Democratic Party,” hostage and interruption her kneecaps. He entered her San Francisco location with rope, zip ties and a hammer, according to the national complaint against him.

There was a clip erstwhile specified an lawsuit would person led to unequivocal denunciation by the leaders of some parties, sometimes followed by a intermission successful the day-to-day mudslinging of a run — if lone to guarantee that nary campaigner would marque a remark that could beryllium construed arsenic successful immoderate mode violative to the victim.

This time, Republicans made nary specified moves.

“They don’t person immoderate fearfulness of reprisal,” said Douglas Heye, a erstwhile Republican enactment adjutant connected Capitol Hill. “That’s due to the fact that our authorities person go truthful tribal that thing that is astir owning the different broadside is someway seen arsenic a governmental message, adjacent though it’s not.”

It is simply a leafage retired of Mr. Trump’s playbook. For years, helium elevated online rumors by speculating astir them, bursting onto the nationalist governmental country successful 2011 with the unfounded “birther” mentation astir Mr. Obama. When Mr. Trump insulted Senator John McCain of Arizona for being taken captive successful Vietnam, his popularity among Republicans suffered nary discernible hit.

The existent harvest of candidates and lawmakers who person grown successful powerfulness done their allegiance to Mr. Trump person replicated his methods. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican of Georgia, tweeted that Mr. Pelosi was attacked by a “friend” and that the media was the root of disinformation. Her station has since been removed.

Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, recirculated a Twitter thread stating that “none of america volition ever cognize for sure” what happened astatine Ms. Pelosi’s location and complaining that the onslaught was being cited arsenic an “indictment of Republicans.”