The night that Donald Trump was indicted, Republican politicians again swore their allegiance to the man and the base for which he stands. Most invoked banana republics, but a bolder faction suggested retaliation. “We have now reached a war phase,” wrote Representative Andy Biggs on Twitter. “Eye for an eye.” Speaking in Georgia, Arizona’s failed gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake—continuing her audition for VP on Trump’s ticket—promised that 75 million armed Americans stood between Trump and prosecution. “That’s not a threat,” she smirked. “That’s a public-service announcement.” But Representative Clay Higgins of Louisiana, a former sheriff’s deputy, issued the most strident statement of all. He advised followers on Twitter:
What? Liberals on Twitter at first delighted in what they saw as sputtering incoherence and reacted in their own cinematic vernacular: Monty Python memes, GIFs from Austin Powers and Anchorman. Then there was the ready-made response of the Trumpocene, the faux expression of concern for the speaker’s mental health. “Do you need help?”