This is just ugly for Josh Hawley

On January 6, 2021, Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley became the first Republican senator to object to the ballot results of Joe Biden’s win as the 46th President of the United States. Hawley is also well remembered for his fist pump showing solidarity with the protestors who would soon storm the Capitol. Now, three years after the January 6 attack, a pair of opinion pieces are slamming Hawley in new ways, hitting close to home.

Marking the anniversary, the editorial board of one of Missouri’s leading newspapers, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, wrote an op-ed pointing out the unprecedented nature of the Capitol attack. After recounting Donald Trump’s role, the board fingered Hawley for leading the “damnable, self-serving stunt” that required Congress to debate Biden’s “undebatable legitimacy.” Several Republicans in both houses of Congress joined Hawley in support, and the surreal hearing then became an irresistible target for “the MAGA madness of Jan. 6.”

On Friday, another leading Missouri newspaper, the Kansas City Star, published a guest commentary by Jared Young — who voted for Hawley in 2018 but is now running as an Independent to unseat him in 2024. Although Young appears to cut Hawley some slack with what happened that day, he nevertheless finds Hawley’s actions in the ensuing weeks to be proof that he is “completely unfit for his office.”

Hawley should have issued a statement the next day displaying his condemnation and regret, emphasizing that this “behavior has no place in our democracy,” according to Young. Instead, Hawley embraced his role, hoping to attract more Republican voters for a future presidential run, even going so far as to promote his actions through merchandise showcasing his infamous fist pump.

As Biden said in a Pennsylvania speech ahead of the third anniversary of the January 6 attack, “You can’t be pro-insurrectionist and pro-American.” Hawley is one of many Republicans who would like us to think otherwise. A strong, clear message at the ballot box on November 5 can put this existential issue to bed.