For people looking for ways to shut up the motor mouths at Fox News, Democratic Virginia U.S. House candidate Dan Helmer may have provided the solution. He also may have shown other candidates the perfect way to shut up the biggest motor mouth of all: President Donald Trump.
Helmer is a veteran and is disgusted with what Trump has done to the U.S. presidency, and he is not keeping quiet about the way he feels.
Helmer created a campaign advertisement in which he compared Donald Trump to Osama bin Laden. In the ad he says, “After 9/11, the greatest threat to our democracy lived in a cave. Today, he lives in the White House.” An image of bin Laden is shown before the screen flashes to an image of the White House then a photo of President Trump.
Helmer also went on Twitter to post a link to the ad, and he wrote:
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“No one, not even the President, is above the law. We need to elect leaders who will stand up to him and fight for our progressive values. #VA10”
No one, not even the President, is above the law. We need to elect leaders who will stand up to him and fight for our progressive values. #VA10 pic.twitter.com/YpUe0NvwT6
— Dan Helmer (@HelmerVA) May 30, 2018
As expected, this got the attention of the Trump fans at Fox News, so they invited Helmer to come on Fox & Friends to discuss the rationale for his ad. And Fox host Pege Hegseth definitely came out on the losing side of the interview with Helmer.
Hegseth began by thanking Helmer for his military service in Afghanistan and Iraq, but after that things went downhill fast as Hegseth asked:
“Obviously an ad like that gets noticed. We’re talking about it on the highest rated cable morning show in America. The question I have to you is, do you believe that Donald Trump is the moral equivalent of Osama bin Laden?”
Helmer’s response really hit the mark:
“I actually believe on 9/11 — and my heart goes out to all that we lost that day and their families — I was a cadet at West Point and I knew I was going to be spending the next two years preparing to lead soldiers in combat. And I served combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. And I did it for a simple reason, I swore an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States against enemies foreign and domestic.”
Hegseth next tried to trap Helmer by asking, “Are you saying President Trump is an enemy?”
But Helmer was not fazed and kept right on talking:
“I’m saying that the oath that we took to defend the Constitution, I take seriously. This president doesn’t. And one of the reasons that I’m excited to be here on a show that I know that the president watches every morning is to make sure we deliver a message that change is coming, that no one, not even our president, is above the law.”
Hegseth tried to get the Democratic candidate to top talking, saying“Hold on, hold on,” but Helmer went right on as if the rude Fox host wasn’t even there:
“It’s time to make sure that we have a Congress that holds him accountable. I’m tired of people who think we need to wait and see about a president who has violated our constitution.”
Hegseth then became argumentative and demanded to know how Trump had violated the constitution.
“Let’s be clear,” Helmer said, cutting off Hegseth. “The president has violated the emoluments clause of the Constitution, he has done actions that obstruct justice.”
“He has tampered with witnesses,” Helmer continued. “He has violated campaign finance laws. He has engaged in conduct unbecoming of a president.”
“A equals B,” Hegseth complained. “You are saying that Donald Trump is a terrorist.”
Helmer’s response was classic, and could be a rallying cry for the resistance and all Democratic candidates for office this year. In ending his interview Helmer made one thing perfectly clear:
“The greatest threat to our democracy right now is a president who refuses to uphold his oath to abide by our Constitution and defend it.“
Dan Helmer is a true patriot who believes in the United States, the rule of law, and the U.S. Constitution. He showed his courage first on battlefields, and now in running for political office against Trump and his enablers who threaten everything Helmer believes in.
We can only hope that many other Democratic candidates will watch Helmer in action on Fox & Friends and do the same thing. This American hero has truly shown others the way we can fight against Trump tyranny and win.
I am a lifelong Democrat with a passion for social justice and progressive issues. I have degrees in writing, economics and law from the University of Iowa.
