Adam Kinzinger Insults Trump Jr. for Calling Zelenskyy 'Welfare Queen,' Quickly Reminded of Inconvenient Fact
There are few untouchable people and causes in the world today. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is one of them. With a few deviations, the consensus seems to be he’s basically like the Dalai Lama and Winston Churchill rolled up into one, staring down Vladimir Putin and, if not winning, at least not folding in two weeks the way the rest of the world thought he would.
Granted, there are questions about how much money is being sunk into the Ukraine war, particularly without an endgame in sight; the Ukrainian president tried to allay those fears with a historic visit to Washington, D.C. and an address to a joint session of Congress — delivered in his trademark sweatshirt and cargo pants. He stressed that American “money is not charity. It’s an investment in the global security and democracy that we handle in the most responsible way.”
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy receives a standing ovation after thanking Congress for sending financial and military aid to Ukraine:
“Your money is not charity. It’s an investment in the global security and democracy that we handle in the most responsible way.” pic.twitter.com/PtR2ZxrBaZ
— The Recount (@therecount) December 22, 2022
One of the deviations from the consensus, it’s worth noting, is Donald Trump Jr., son of the former president. He managed to draw the ire of the internet — when does he not? — for calling Zelenskyy a “welfare queen” in advance of his speech.
And yet, somehow, he didn’t come off as the worst person in the exchange — all thanks to Rep. Adam Kinzinger.
Kinzinger, the retiring lachrymose Illinois RINO best known for breaking down in tears during the Jan. 6 committee hearings — he’s one of two Republicans on the Democrat-run charade — decided he was going to own Don Jr. over the Zelenskyy quote. Instead, he ended up with one of the most memorable self-owns in recent Twitter memory.
So, let’s start at the beginning — always a good place to start, unless you’re Quentin Tarantino. This was Don Jr.’s Wednesday morning tweet describing Zelenskyy as “basically an ungrateful international welfare queen” for requesting more funding for the war effort.
Zelensky is basically an ungrateful international welfare queen. https://t.co/WclnckMoCj
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) December 21, 2022
Well, that’s a take, all right. I’m not going to opine on the wisdom of it or the viral debate that followed. I’ll just say this much, which I tend to say about all hot takes that may contain a kernel of truth to them but which are a bit spicier than they need be: Oscar Wilde, who once famously said “[t]here is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about,” put that theory into practice and, because of it, ended up dying a mostly anonymous, penurious death in Paris a decade and a half later. Just saying.
But nevermind. Zelenskyy had a white knight coming to his defense: Kinzinger, who said the tweet proved how “real men” intimidate the cowardly:
Real men intimidate weak scared ones👇👇👇 https://t.co/RWyqZZkw3X
— Adam Kinzinger #fella (@AdamKinzinger) December 21, 2022
See that, Don Jr.? You just got served. Real men inspire outrage in the “weak scared ones.”
Like, uh, Adam Kinzinger.
I know our cultural memory is short, but those of you who recall the month of November will recollect that Kinzinger — an elected U.S. representative who is taken Very Seriously by the national media because of his anti-Trump views — got so outraged over a Ukraine-based meme, he threatened to beat up the conservative social media personality who retweeted it.
Not only that, but said social media personality goes by the pseudonym Catturd™. (Serious question for Mr. Turd, should he be reading: Do I pronounce the ™ or is it silent?)
The meme, mocking the liberal tendency to post the Ukrainian flag anywhere they can on their social media profile in solidarity — as if we’d somehow forget the country if we didn’t — showed an illustration of a prone, man-bunned liberal making the colors of the Ukrainian flag via a blue puddle of tears and a yellow puddle of what the kids like to call “Number 1.”
“It’s dumb that I’m laughing so hard at this,” Catturd™ said in a retweet.
Kinzinger was Not Amused: “Literal evil. If I met you in person it would not end well… for you,” he tweeted. “Sicko Trolls who have never done a thing in their life pretend to be patriots and laugh at real warriors.”
Literal evil. If I met you in person it would not end well… for you. Sicko
Trolls who have never done a thing in their life pretend to be patriots and laugh at real warriors. pic.twitter.com/NrAhC4eAfW
— Adam Kinzinger #fella (@AdamKinzinger) November 22, 2022
So, forget about the reaction then, which was funny enough. You can imagine what it looked like now, after Kinzinger declared that one of the qualities of being a “weak scared” man is being afraid of “real men.” Like Catturd™.
Remember when @catturd2 intimidated you, little fella?
— Alex Bruesewitz 🇺🇸 (@alexbruesewitz) December 21, 2022
Real men try to fight cartoon cats over memes
— Mostly Peaceful Memes (@MostlyPeacefull) December 21, 2022
And if you weren’t going to make fun of Kinzinger for his fight with a cartoon cat, there was always the issue of his crying:
— I Meme Therefore I Am 🇺🇸 (@ImMeme0) December 21, 2022
Also, let’s be clear – while you may not like how Don Jr. phrased his tweet, Kinzinger’s questioning of Trump’s manhood didn’t actually answer the implied question:
Hey Adam – can you account for where every dollar has been spent in Ukraine? If not, Donald Trump Jr. has every reason to be skeptical of these “cash” deals.
— Lex_571 Beat Colorado! #VoteCaruso (@Lex_491) December 21, 2022
But to Kinzinger, that’s not the point. He’s already proved he’s 1) right and 2) the “real man” (or “#fella,” whatever the blazes that is) because 1) he said so and 2) the media believes him at face value. He’s the kind of Republican they like – because he’s basically a Democrat. Look for him on CNN, where he’ll doubtlessly score a commentator gig.
Point is, “real men” fight with facts, not with Catturd™. I hope this little kerfuffle has cleared that up.
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