Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) is selling what he declares is a “great way for proud, fearless conservatives to support” his campaign: a mug with an image of himself cheering on the mob preparing to storm the Capitol on Jan. 6.
“Liberals are so easily triggered, and this new mug is really whipping the left into a frenzy!” read a Monday campaign email advertising the $20 item. “Josh isn’t scared — he’s show-me strong! This Made in America mug is the perfect way to enjoy Coffee, Tea, or Liberal Tears!”
New: Josh Hawley is officially selling his 1/6 fist-pump as a mug pic.twitter.com/sNzCbaam1B
— Shane Goldmacher (@ShaneGoldmacher) February 14, 2022
It’s unclear if Hawley licensed the viral image for use. The Associated Press told Rolling Stone in an email that they are “not seeing anything in our billing system with that usage,” and that they will be contacting their attorney regarding Hawley’s potentially unlicensed use of the image. Hawley’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Hawley not only raised his fist as a sign of solidarity with the mob — hundreds of which have been arrested, some on charges of seditious conspiracy — before it stormed the Capitol, he also objected to the certification of the election results in Arizona and Pennsylvania. The vote to overturn the election came after rioters attacked police officers and stormed through the Capitol in what the GOP has officially dubbed “legitimate political discourse.”
Weeks after the vote, Hawley had the audacity to deny that he was trying to invalidate the election results. “That’s just a lie,” Hawley told St. Louis radio station KMOX. “That is a lie told by the left-wing mob that now wants to silence me and Ted Cruz and 140 House members and 13 senators and anybody who would dare stand up to them — anyone who is a Trump supporter who refuses to bow the knee. And I’m just not gonna be silenced.”
Hawley added that it was a “lie” that he helped incite the insurrection, despite photographic evidence that he was quite literally urging them on as they congregated outside the Capitol. “I gesture and wave and greet people all the time,” he said, trying to gloss over the significance of the viral image.
Hawley that February again tried to insist he wasn’t trying to overturn the election results while speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference, claiming his actions in the Senate weren’t about rejecting Biden’s win. Rather, all he wanted was “a debate about election integrity.”
