Bill Barr Is Happy to Debase Himself for Donald Trump Again

The former attorney general doesn’t seem to mind the mockery.

Abaca Press/Sipa USA via AP

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Once again, there’s not much love lost between Bill Barr and the man he accused of betraying the Oval Office, Donald Trump. When the former attorney general confirmed this week that he would support the Republican presidential ticket in November, his former boss took the opportunity to mock Barr as “slow-moving” and “lazy.” 

“That’s classic Trump,” Barr chuckled on Friday when CNN’s Kaitlan Collins asked about the insults. “What’s the question?”

He went on to express frustration that voters are faced with a rematch between Joe Biden and Trump. But given that choice, Barr explained that he would happily vote for Trump, who, he revealed in the same interview, routinely broached the idea of executing his rivals.

“But he’s mocking you,” Collins pressed.

“So? It’s not about me.”

The endorsement aligns with much of what Barr has already told us despite the occasional condemnation. As he said during a 2022 book tour, “I believe that the greatest threat to the country is the progressive agenda being pushed by the Democratic Party—it’s inconceivable to me that I wouldn’t vote for the Republican nominee.” Those remarks are almost exactly what he told CNN to claim that the “progressive movement and the Biden administration” were the biggest threats facing the United States today. 

For Barr, these remarks fit the story he keeps telling. That above all, he’s just a principled, just-doing-my-job law enforcement official stuck with tough choices. That, of course, couldn’t be further from the truth

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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