Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) caused a lot of head-scratching on Sunday when he tweeted a quote from fascist dictator Benito Mussolini:
“We were the first to assert that the more complicated the forms assumed by civilization, the more restricted the freedom of the individual must become.” Benito Mussolini
— Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) February 24, 2019
Cornyn later retweeted a message explaining that he was warning “against an overly powerful central government” ― and then added a message of his own saying that democratic socialists “have forgotten or never learned the lessons of history, and how their ideology is incompatible with freedom.”
He also complained about the criticism:
Did I over estimate the intelligence of some in the twitter sphere? https://t.co/Cf8nUY3NUO
— Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) February 25, 2019
However, as the senator’s critics were quick to point out, the quote seemed more than a little unusual given that Mussolini had abandoned socialism and embraced fascism before he seized power in Italy.
The unusual tweets caused the name “Mussolini” to trend on Twitter on Sunday, and many people wondered why Cornyn was highlighting the thoughts of a friend of Hitler’s:
You see what John Cornyn is up to?
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) February 24, 2019
Oh. Just casually quoting Mussolini. https://t.co/33ZE0WULUf
When you consider the number of Democratic Socialists who were jailed and murdered for opposing Mussolini and Hitler, the true obscenity of this tweet becomes glaring. https://t.co/pHl4nRx4d6
— Jeet Heer (@HeerJeet) February 24, 2019
Lie down with Trump, wake up quoting Benito Mussolini. https://t.co/C75xTkhgT6
— Molly Jong-Fast (@MollyJongFast) February 25, 2019
Here's the thing about the Cornyn tweet: Either he erroneously thinks that Mussolini was bragging that Italian fascism curtailed liberty, or he knows that Mussolini was saying fascists are opposed to regulatory left-wing forms of government. Either one is really bad. https://t.co/El7z9qLXXn
— Respectable Lawyer (@RespectableLaw) February 25, 2019
Oooh, do Hitler next #Mussolini https://t.co/i4MQn1rHP0
— Tara F’n Dublin (@taradublinrocks) February 24, 2019
Quoting Mussolini without any context. Niiice. Are GOP Senators celebrating Weird Tweets About Dictators Day? https://t.co/qLMHWzCPn5
— Adam Best (@adamcbest) February 24, 2019
“No, you don’t get it, I was tweeting a context-less Mussolini quote to attack democratic socialists, whom fascists like Mussolini hated. Haha tricked you libs. You thought it was one of the regular times a congressman tweets Mussolini lmao”
— Kelly Weill (@KELLYWEILL) February 24, 2019
Ah yes Mussolini, whose reign was famously defined by his love of socialists https://t.co/GpyoTMbfUi
— Kate Aronoff (@KateAronoff) February 24, 2019
Me: Why is "Mussolini" trending? That can't be good.
— Parker Molloy (@ParkerMolloy) February 24, 2019
[looks it up]
Me: Yeah, that tracks.
Apparently we’re at the “elected official quotes Mussolini” stage of the fascist creep. pic.twitter.com/iqQwlczYFU
— New York City Antifa (@NYCAntifa) February 24, 2019
You know who else hated Democratic Socialists, Bud?
— David Walsh (@DavidAstinWalsh) February 24, 2019
Mussolini. https://t.co/1o23D0LCHx
I’m told this is actually a right-wing talking point and what he’s saying is that Mussolini is bad, much like the libs.
— David Klion (@DavidKlion) February 24, 2019
I don’t care, it’s insane either way.
Trump also likes to quote Mussolini. If you’re going full fascist, just get on with it.
— Alt. U.S. Press Sec. (@AltUSPressSec) February 24, 2019
Surprised you are a fan of Mussolini, John...
— Laura Beck (@LLBe11) February 25, 2019
Just kidding. I’m actually not surprised.
The GOP is such a broken party that you have one of the highest senators in the country quoting fascist dictator Benito Mussolini.
— Erick Fernandez (@ErickFernandez) February 25, 2019
Very normal, not deranged political party. https://t.co/8mOBgSyBWK
Republicans: Stop comparing us to Nazis and Mussolini.
— JRehling (@JRehling) February 24, 2019
Also Republicans:https://t.co/L7kcUL8faq
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