At this point, a Donald Trump nominee saying and doing Nazi stuff is a bit of a dog bites man story. But, even by the rock bottom standards of the rest of this Rogue’s Gallery, Paul Ingrassia really takes the biscuit with his winning combination of evil and stupidity.
Ingrassia is Trump’s nominee to lead the Office of Special Counsel and was already a controversial pick. Now, a 2024 group chat he participated in has leaked, and it makes for deeply depressing reading.
During a discussion of a Trump staffer who was working with minority voters, Paul apparently began ranting to the point that a participant commented: “Paul belongs in the Hitler Youth with Ubergruppenfuhrer Steve Bannon”. Ingrassia’s response:
“I do have a Nazi streak in me from time to time. I will admit it.”
Ingrassia also seems to have enjoyed the nickname “Paul Adolf Ingrassia”, described Martin Luthor King Jr as “the 1960s George Floyd” and said his national holiday should be “ended and tossed into the seventh circle of hell”, and that “The founding fathers were wrong that all men are created equal … We need to reject that part of our heritage.”
Even those in the group chat seemed disturbed and disgusted by Ingrassia. One said: “Paul you are coming across as a white nationalist which is beneficial to nobody”, another said he had “a tinge of racism” and another simply summed him up as “a scumbag”.
It’s uh, all a joke?
But don’t worry, Ingrassia’s lawyer Edward Andrew Paltzik is on the case, saying that all this is just a silly joke that we shouldn’t take seriously. In comments to Politico, they said:
“These texts could be manipulated or are being provided with material context omitted. However, arguendo, even if the texts are authentic, they clearly read as self-deprecating and satirical humor making fun of the fact that liberals outlandishly and routinely call MAGA supporters ‘Nazis’”
Uh-huh. Sure buddy. And then, in a classic case of overegging the pudding, they concluded:
“In reality, Mr. Ingrassia has incredible support from the Jewish community because Jews know that Mr. Ingrassia is the furthest thing from a Nazi.”
I mean, I dunno, he really really sounds like a Nazi…
But even if Ingrassia is somehow just repeatedly making jokes about himself being a Nazi and doesn’t mean all that horrible stuff he proudly said, that’s still bad! After all, the Trump administration wants to put this guy in a position where he’s handling highly confidential information and working on matters of critical national importance.
Ingrassia also can’t say he wasn’t warned, with one person pointedly telling him, “this s**t will be around forever brother.” Anyone stupid enough to post this stuff – even as a joke – is too dumb to be allowed near the levers of power. Heck, I’d have reservations letting this bozo near the levers of a slot machine!
