‘A Total Failure’: The Proud Boys Now Mock Trump

On Wednesday, the Proud Boys Telegram group welcomed President Biden to office. “At least the incoming administration is honest about their intentions,” the group wrote.

Mr. Kovler said the activity showed that groups that had coalesced around Mr. Trump were now trying to figure out their future direction. By losing his ability to post on Twitter and Facebook, Mr. Trump had also become less useful to the far-right groups, who counted on him to raise their profile on a national stage, Mr. Kovler said.

Mr. Tarrio, the leader of the Proud Boys, could not be reached for comment. A spokesman for Mr. Trump did not respond to a request for comment.

The Proud Boys were founded in 2016 by Gavin McInnes, who also was a founder of the online publication Vice, as a club for men. It soon attracted people who appeared eager to engage in violence and who frequently espoused anti-Muslim and anti-Semitic views. The group had supported Mr. Trump since he assumed office.

The change in that support happened slowly. After November’s election, the group’s private Telegram channels, Gab pages and posts on the alternative social networking site Parler were filled with calls to keep the faith with Mr. Trump. Many Proud Boys, echoing Mr. Trump’s falsehoods, said the election had been rigged, according to a review of messages.

The Proud Boys urged their members to attend “Stop the Steal” rallies. One Nov. 23 message on a Proud Boys Telegram page read, “No Trump, no peace.” The message linked to information about a rally in front of the governor’s home in Georgia.

As Mr. Trump’s legal team battled the election result with lawsuits, the Proud Boys closely followed the court cases and appeals in different states, posting frequent links in their Telegram channels to news reports.

But when Mr. Trump’s legal efforts failed, the Proud Boys called for him on social media to use his presidential powers to stay in office. Some urged him to declare martial law or take control by force. In the last two weeks of December, they pushed Mr. Trump in their protests and on social media to “Cross the Rubicon.”

“They wanted to arm themselves and start a second civil war and take down the government on Trump’s behalf,” said Marc-André Argentino, a researcher who studies the far right and a Ph.D. candidate at Concordia University. “But ultimately, he couldn’t be the authoritarian they wanted him to be.”

Then came the week of the Capitol storming. On Jan. 4, Mr. Tarrio was arrested by the Metropolitan Police on suspicion of burning a Black Lives Matter banner torn from a Black church in Washington. Two days later, other Proud Boys members were part of the mob that breached the Capitol. Some posted dozens of videos of the rioters on social media, celebrating them as a show of “collective strength.”

The group expected Mr. Trump to champion the mob, according to their social media messages. Instead, Mr. Trump released a video on Jan. 8 denouncing the violence.

The disappointment was immediately palpable. One Proud Boys Telegram channel posted: “It really is important for us all to see how much Trump betrayed his supporters this week. We are nationalists 1st and always. Trump was just a man and as it turns out an extraordinarily weak one at the end.”

Since then, at least five men who identified as members of the Proud Boys have been arrested in connection to the Capitol riots.

Some Proud Boys became furious that Mr. Trump did not appear interested in issuing presidential pardons for their members who were arrested. In a Telegram post on Friday, they accused Mr. Trump of “instigating” the events at the Capitol, adding that he then “washed his hands of it.”

“They thought they had his support and that, ultimately, Trump would come through for them, including with a pardon if they should need it,” said Jared Holt, a visiting research fellow at the Atlantic Council’s DFR Lab. “Now they realize they went too far in the riots.”

Some Proud Boys now say in online posts that the group should “go dark” and retreat from political life by cutting its affiliation to any political party. They are encouraging one another to focus their energies on secessionist movements and local protests.

“To all demoralized Trump supporters: There is hope,” read one message in a Proud Boys Telegram channel on Wednesday. “There is an alternative. Abandon the GOP and the Dems.”

Do these dipsticks not realize that Trump left his supporters who attacked the Capitol to swing in the wind when he did not issue pardons to them? Pardons only went to those who might have compromising information on Trump or who will be able to reimburse him financially. If you have no money you're not allowed at Trump's table.

R3 exactly

Trump discarded them like trash, lol.

R5, well, it is what they are...

R3, no these pieces of shit will never learn.

I wish they would split up the Republican Party but they are so pathetic and useless they’ll fail at that too.

So the proud boys are no longer... proud?

They just wait for the new extreme conservative figurehead who will rise up to the occasion to out-trump Trump.

My guess is Josh Hawley.

We knew he was scum, and we knew he would be illoyal to his friends and allies. But we never imagined it could happen to us, too.

Like their erstwhile god, they can never admit they were wrong themselves. So rather than recognize that what they expected him to do was impossible and insane, they’ll blame him now for chickening out.

Cue Hawley to fill the void in 5, 4, 3...

No R11

Hawley is a rich white boy playing at being an angry populist and even Helen Keller can see through him.

He appeals to people who work at conservative think tanks, not actual Trump voters

To wit, Hawley claims to be from a small town in MO, but he's actually from a posh suburb of Kansas City and went to private school in KC.

[quote] Cue Hawley to fill the void in 5, 4, 3...

Fat chance! Isn't Little Rich Boy Hawley what they (in their own words) consider a 'soyboy?'

It's not like Trump himself is a rags-to-riches success story.

The Tea Party idiots fell for him, because he promised to find and release the long form birth certificate of Barack Obama proving he was born in Kenya and not in the US (therefore not allowed to run for and be POTUS).

All Hawley needs is a similar bogus quest for the QAnon folk to lap it up like it's liquid gold.

Trump comes off like one of them though R15

He's Rodney Dangerfield in Caddyshack.

Hawley comes off like every other rich boy who "thinks he's better than us"

Dump is white trash with money and power. That’s why they love him.

[quote] Trump comes off like one of them though [R15]

HOW?

Not a loyal fan base. Not a dignified fan base.

There is nothing privileged about Hawley. He's a douche perfect for the Proud Boys with their douche prep clothing.

For realz R18?

Because if they had money that's exactly what they would do.

While Hawley will pose with his wife and kids in LL Bean gear and a golden retriever in front of a fireplace or at their beach house at "golden hour"

Hawley is everything deplorables hate a rich, educated elitist with zero charisma. Hawley really overplayed his hand and is now done for

From WIkipedia:

Hawley was born in Springdale, Arkansas, but soon moved to Lexington, Missouri in 1981 after his father, Ronald Hawley, a banker, joined a division of Boatmen's Bancshares in the city.[4] Hawley's mother, Virginia, was a Stanford-educated teacher.[5][6][7][8]

Hawley attended secondary school at Rockhurst High School, a private boys' prep school in Kansas City, Missouri, from which he graduated in 1998. He then studied history as a legacy student at Stanford University, graduating in 2002 with a Bachelor of Arts degree with highest honors and Phi Beta Kappa membership.[9] Hawley studied under Stanford professor David M. Kennedy, who later contributed the foreword to a book Hawley wrote on Theodore Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt: Preacher of Righteousness.[10]

After spending a year in London as a teacher at St Paul's School from 2002 to 2003,[5] Hawley returned to the United States to attend Yale Law School, graduating in 2006 with a Juris Doctor degree.[7][10] While at Yale, Hawley was an editor of the Yale Law Journal and served as president of the school's Federalist Society chapter.[10]

[quote] Because if they had money that's exactly what they would do.

But they don't have the money. They may look up to him, but he's most certainly not one of them. For whatever reason they allowed him to talk down to them. Even before he announced to run for president it was well known that he stiffs contractors and is a sleazy businessman. And yet they call him "one of them"? Because it's ok to stiff guys like them trying to make a living? That's why I don't believe in the "he's one of them argument". What I rather believe is that they thought he's part of the "elite" who fights for them who is willing to turn on his own (drain the swamp!) in order to make the Deplorables' lives better.

^^ It's been said a 1000 times, Trump's main appeal to deplorables was that he hated the same people they did and that's all that really mattered

R25, aside from sharing his hatred, they also related well to his 2nd grade-capacity vocabulary and spelling.

[quote]Last week, Nicholas Fuentes, the leader of America First, wrote in his Telegram channel that Mr. Trump’s response to the Capitol rampage was “very weak and flaccid”

That's not the only thing about Trump that's flaccid.....

[quote] It's been said a 1000 times, Trump's main appeal to deplorables was that he hated the same people they did and that's all that really mattered.

And yet some posters claim that Hawley isn't going to be Trump's successor even though he apparently shares the Deplorables' hate for the very same people including illegal aliens.

[quote] They just wait for the new extreme conservative figurehead who will rise up to the occasion to out-trump Trump. My guess is Josh Hawley.

Weak guess. He does not have the appeal and he won’t in 4 years.

Trump looked at them and his complaint wasn't what they did, but that they had the look of "low class."

As many of us have been saying for years: These fucking morons seem to think their epidermis alone makes them acceptable to Trump. Many of them are blue collar trash. Trump has zero in common with them beyond shared racism and bigotry, yet Trump would sooner have dinner with Hollywood "pedo" elites and wealthy Muslims than any of their stupid, low-rent, white trash asses.

Hell, Trump even looks down on educated southerners. Recall his comment on Sessions? It's so ridiculous when these idiots in flyover and the south go off about "coastal elites" because those re the only people Trump wants to be around. He's desperate for their approval.

R28, Hawley is not Trump. Millions of shitheads only worship Trump. Hawley will never get them and even if he did, he'll still end up losing millions for his participation in insurrection.

Hawley is beloved by the conservative intellectual establishment who all hated Trump

Try again Hawley Troll

The arguments against Hawley are just murky at best for some reason.

Hawley is not one of them, but Donald Trump is because he hates the same people and Hawley is an elite rich boy, while Trump is ... uh, one of them, because he has a tacky taste.

Trump was a fucking draft dodger (bone spurs!) and yet for them he's a true patriot. Their devotion for Trump never made sense beyond him making them believe that they share common enemies. But, of course, they will not fall for that again. No, sir!

Oh, my .... Are the Proud Boys feeling used and abused?

And Trump didn't even buy them 🍔🍟🥤 dinner first?

R32, Hawley is poison to corporations. His corporate donors are abandoning him, and without that $$, he's toast. It doesn't help that other Republicans want him gone yesterday.

R32, Hawley has no charisma. Trump was like a stand-up comic to them, or the drunk guy at the end of the bar who said things they agreed with.

It was a cult of PERSONALITY, and Hawley has none. By all means keep beating the Hawley drum if it makes you feel smart.

R30 yes there's much trash, but the classism here irks me sometimes. We have a more poor, blue collar types in our party than Republicans. Trumps supporters averaged 100k annually. A lot of those arrested weren't living in trailer parks, but nice homes. As many that came from Kentucky, there were just as many that came from elite cities. With some taking a private plane there.

I don't like to see our side use put downs about class issues, like calling them all junkies, being blue collar, or joking about teeth. It isn't a message we should spread. What's that look like to Dems with those issues in their own homes?

Good night nurse, those “at home” pix at r18 are horrifying. Wonder what the Royal Trump Dump Toilet looks like? Marble? Gold? Who could live in such garish bad taste....well other that tRUMP.

Will he sell it now that he lives in Florida?

But here's the thing: The fact Hawley is losing sponsors and donors BECAUSE he was seen supporting the coup attempt doesn't seem to have endeared him to the Deplorables? Why? Now he's not successful and powerful enough for the Deplorables? But they still hold on to Trump who threw them under the bus and didn't even bother to pardon the ones who got caught?

Trump used the media brilliant and knew how to provide sound bytes to his supporters that glued them to him. His ability at speaking and manipulating came from years of being in the public and he had the added benefit of years of reality TV. All that is not easily replicated.

They need to just stick with Lady G. Belle. When they do, they leave happy.

these little pussies were afraid to go out and protest the inauguration. They were afraid to get arrested

They fell for a weak phony and a madman who threw them under the bus, with a long history of weakly being phony, mad and throwing his allies under the bus.

"There's still hope" for a civil war that will install a fascist regime over America?!

These lunatics should "Go dark," all right. Coffins six feet under the ground are dark.

[quote]Hawley has no charisma.

He worries me a lot. Where trump was ignorant, bumbling idiot, hawley is smart

The dems need to make sure he gets prosecuted or he and ted cruz will become their biggest nightmare. They'll make trump's term look like a day in the park

R36, I wasn't denigrating them due to being blue collar. I'm pointing out that their delusions of grandeur blind them to their reality. And frankly, even someone making 100K is beneath Trump. Even those stupid women going off at the mall -clearly well-off- saying they'll only shop where Ivanka shops, are pathetic. Ivanka is repulsed by them.

If you are not worth millions/billions and/or not a HOLLYWOOD celebrity, Trump has no use for you. Do fools like Scott Baio and Kevin Sorbo think Trump would rather be with them than George Clooney or Tom Hanks? Trump is solely about money and status.

[quote]Trump discarded them like trash, lol.

HE FINALLY BECAME PRESIDENTIAL!

Didn’t Trump hate how ugly and poorly dressed they were?

[quote] Trump used the media brilliant and knew how to provide sound bytes to his supporters that glued them to him

His last 3 years were just drugged out craziness

We're really lucky he is such a stupid and lazy guy. I hate to think what could have become of this country had he been a little more motivated or had we not had social media to help call him out

[quote] hawley is smart

If that little January 6th stunt was Hawley being smart, I'd hate to see what stupid looks like.

Because, r18, that’s exactly how they would decorate if they had money

[quote] If you are not worth millions/billions and/or not a HOLLYWOOD celebrity, Trump has no use for you. Do fools like Scott Baio and Kevin Sorbo think Trump would rather be with them than George Clooney or Tom Hanks? Trump is solely about money and status.

He was selling pardons for $2 million. He pardoned traitors (mostly jewish and you know jared handled that $$$$), people who actually stole from or defrauded the government, people who committed crimes against humanity (again in exchange for $$$$) , democratic politician criminals, rappers and assorted other trash

R50, which is why it was laughable that those idiots arrested for their part in the insurrection thought Trump would pardon them. He views everyone around him in terms of how they can personally benefit HIM. Some fool from AR with his feet up on Pelosi's desk is meaningless to Trump. A loser with no where near the money needed to get the pardon.

This makes me happy. The whole thing is unraveling and people are realizing their "mission" was based on a bunch of make believe.

So does the money from the sold pardons go to him? I don't see how that flies.

Many of you still don't get it.

Trump made politics fun for people who previously had zero interest in politics.

Going to a Trump rally was like going to a show for them. There were fun cheers ("Lock her up!") and Trump spent most of his time playing insult comic to the uptight elites they couldn't stand either. And if you were with him, Trump was actually pretty funny and he put on a good show.

Many Trump voters rarely voted prior to Trump. But they liked him because he spoke at a level they understood. Not "immigration quotas, H1B, DACA and other "gobbledygook" but rather "build the wall!" "stop the caravans!"

There is no one in the GOP right now with that kind of appeal.

Least of all Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz who are both boring ass lawyers who sound like boring ass lawyers

Proud Boys last names like Tarrio and Fuentes... are they Cubans?

Tarrio is Afro-Cuban.

I don't get it either R55

Everything has gone downhill these days. Back in my day, the KKK members were white.

I get it. It's like that rancid cunt Candace Owen or Ben Shapiro or Laura Loomis. They've inspired terrorist attacks in Quebec and NZ. These are scumbags who do the bidding of white supremacy thinking they'll be "accepted" because they all hate the same people.

Heard an interesting piece on NPR on Trump's rhetoric. Very insightful:

R54 NAILS IT. Perfect summary of Dump and his appeal. R39 posted the most important difference between Trumpy and the equally vile Hawley and Cruz - the Trump name has been in the public conscience for 40 years. You can just "create" that. He has been a tabloid scumbag fixture well before I was born and while his brand has always been iffy for anyone who actually possesses intellect and/or style - it's still a well-known commodity. His Apprentice franchise made him relevant to the younger deplorables while the old trashy seniors were already Repugs anyway and again they knew him well from the 80's and 90's. Fox "News" annointed him the next coming of Jesus for their cult members, but he already had name recognition in spades which was a large component to his initial political fame. No one who doesn't keep up with the news has ever heard of Hawley or even Cruz and those that do aren't likely to find either inspiring.