To the extent that Rep. Joe Wilson is known to national audiences, the South Carolina Republican might be remembered as the congressman who heckled Barack Obama during an address to Congress, shouting, “You lie!” (The Democratic president was not, in fact, lying.)
Nearly 16 years later, however, Wilson might soon be known for a different kind of presidential response. The State newspaper in South Carolina reported:
Those who carry cash would have a denomination as an option with President Donald Trump’s face, at least under the idea of one of South Carolina’s congressmen. U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, R-Springdale, a staunch supporter of Trump, says he’s planning to propose a $250 dollar bill to include the president’s portrait.
This is, evidently, an actual legislative proposal, called the Donald J. Trump $250 Bill Act, which according to Wilson’s press release, would direct “the Bureau of Printing and Engraving to design and print a $250 dollar bill of legal U.S. tender that bears the image” of the incumbent Republican president.
What about an existing federal law that prohibits any living person from being depicted on U.S. currency? The GOP congressman has apparently thought of that, too: Wilson’s bill would create a one-time exception to the legal prohibition.
(The press release also features a mockup of what the $250 dollar bill would look like. The image was created, of course, by way of the AI program built into Elon Musk’s social media platform.)
For good measure, let’s also note the fact that three sitting Republican members of Congress — Reps. Diana Harshbarger of Tennessee, Ralph Norman of South Carolina and Darrell Issa of California — signed on to Wilson’s bill as original co-sponsors.
To be sure, it’s tempting to ignore this silly legislative effort, which will almost certainly go ignored, but there’s a larger pattern that’s worth appreciating.
Nearly two weeks ago, for example, Republican Rep. Claudia Tenney of New York introduced legislation to make Trump’s birthday a federal holiday. The GOP congresswoman, in apparent seriousness, argued that such a move would “recognize him as the founder of America’s Golden Age.”
As regular readers might recall, that bill came on the heels of a bill intended to carve Trump’s face into Mount Rushmore, which came on the heels of a measure to allow Trump to seek a third term.
There are also pending bills to rename Washington Dulles International Airport after Trump, as well as legislation to “expunge” Trump’s first two impeachments.
As The New York Times recently summarized, “A competition of sorts has broken out for whom the Republican base will see as the most pro-Trump member.” From the article: The rush of flattering legislation, some of which even the lawmakers concede is unlikely to pass, stands apart from merely carrying out Mr. Trump’s agenda. … “It shows the power that Donald Trump has within the Republican Party these days, and that Republican members want to stay on his good side,” said Sean M. Theriault, government professor at the University of Texas at Austin. “A lot of these people are in really safe districts, but they’re also thinking about what their next step is. And so if they have designs on being in the Senate or running for governor or even a position in the administration, then there’s no better way to get on his good side than to do these over-the-top moves toward him.”
This was published before Wilson’s and Tenney’s bills were introduced. I’m reminded anew of the response to the Ogles bill from Filipe Campante, a professor at Johns Hopkins University: “The reason why this is bad is the very fact that it’s transparently ridiculous: It shows how this is becoming a Kim Jong-Un-style cult of personality, where the sycophants try to outdo one another in their groveling to get the attention of Dear Leader.” That competition, alas, is apparently getting more intense. This post updates our related earlier coverage.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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