MAGA is absolutely furious with Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune, going as far as to call him a “traitor” because he has stalled on bringing a doomed bill to the floor for a vote.
Thune has repeatedly said that the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, also known as the SAVE America Act, does not have the 60 votes needed in the Senate, where Republicans hold a 53-seat majority, to pass. In its current form, the act would require all states to mandate voters show ID and proof of citizenship to vote.
Thune said Thursday that he will bring the bill to the Senate floor, while stipulating that he cannot “guarantee an outcome on this legislation.”
Several Senate Republicans have demanded that Thune end the filibuster to pass the legislation, but Thune has repeatedly resisted calls for its dismantlement, calling it “way more complicated” than many realize.
“The one thing I’ve said all along is, and I’ve told him and others, that I can’t guarantee an outcome,” Thune said of Trump. “I can’t guarantee a result. If the result is only achieved by nuking the legislative filibuster, we don’t have the votes to do that, and so that’s not a—that’s just not a realistic option.”
“I’m the person who has to deliver, sometimes, the not-so-good news that the math doesn’t add up, but those are the facts, and there’s no getting around it,” he said.
But MAGA is still fuming that Thune has not yet brought it up for a vote that is all but certain to fail on the Senate floor.
Fox News fixture Tomi Lahren called on her followers to “tweet our traitorous Senate leader.”
“He’s an embarrassment to the position. An embarrassment to President Trump, the party, and my home state of South Dakota. Perhaps he would be better suited riding off into the sunset on horseback along side Kristi than leading Senate Republicans,” Lahren said in a dig at outgoing DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.
“Sack up or ship out, ‘Leader’ Thune,” she added.
Trump’s best friend-turned-foe Elon Musk reposted several tweets calling for the SAVE Act to be somehow miraculously passed. He reposted an elaborate theory from Sean Davis, CEO of the far-right outlet the Federalist, which claims Thune and GOP leadership are attempting to avoid a simple majority vote “because they think you’re stupid.”
“Understand what Thune is doing right now. It’s not enough for him to kill the SAVE America Act. Thune has to kill it while also protecting his worst RINO colleagues from being exposed for opposing it,” Davis alleged in a lengthy post.
Scott Presler, MAGA’s voter mobilization darling, has been on a 70-day-long posting rampage demanding Thune find the votes to pass the bill. He said he will travel to South Daoka later this month to advocate for the bill’s passage.
“This moment in history calls for bold, courageous leadership — not theater, not strongly-worded letters, not hiding behind 60 vote thresholds,” he posted. “We elected a Republican majority; if you aren’t willing to do everything in your power to advance conservatism, then what are you doing?”
MAGA online personality Cleta Mitchell said that Thune “grew up in the shadow of these great American leaders” on Mount Rushmore.
“Whose faces are chiseled in mountain rock in YOUR state!” she posted. “And you know their contributions to building this country and YOU can’t even bring yourself to lead your conference to work a few weekends to fight for election integrity? What is WRONG with you??”
Trump advisor and prominent election denier Roger Stone said in a post, “Right about now I bet President Trump wishes he supported Sen. Rick Scott rather Karl Rove puppet John Thune for Senate Majority Leader.”
Some of MAGA have also been engaged in a bizarre conspiracy that claims that the insider D.C. publication Punchbowl News controls Thune, which is supposedly why Thune will not eliminate the filibuster to bring forward a vote on the SAVE Act. Jennica Pounds, who goes by “Data Republican,” online and kicked off the theory, claimed that because Thune appeared on the outlet’s podcast, he is controlled by them.
Disgraced former Rep. Matt Gaetz and MAGA Sen. Mike Lee have both amplified her unfounded claim.
The Daily Beast reached out to Thune’s office for comment.
Trump singled out Thune in his State of the Union address last month while he called upon Congress to pass the legislation.
“We have to do it, John,” he said.
Trump has also repeatedly said that he wants additional provisions added to the bill that were not included in the House-approved text, such as “NO MEN IN WOMEN’S SPORTS” and “NO TRANSGENDER MUTILIZATION [sic] FOR CHILDREN.”
Earlier this week, the president went on a late-night Truth Social rant, complaining about the bill’s name.
He posted, “It’s not the Save Act, it’s The Save America Act! A MUCH better, and more important, name!!!”
