Republicans’ support for a bully and liar like Alex Jones shows their true colours

The disgraced conspiracy theorist’s grotesque behaviour is reason enough for some conservatives to back him

Alex Jones has been ordered to pay $1bn to the families he spent years lying about (AP)

It’s not a surprise when the Republican party defends grotesque immorality, hypocrisy, and cruelty. Still, conservative reaction to the verdict in the trial of Infowars host Alex Jones makes it unusually and starkly clear that for the right, immorality and cruelty are not just instrumental, but are goals in themselves.

Jones is not really a political or partisan figure. He’s just a liar and a bully. The only reason to embrace him is if you love liars and bullies, and aspire to be one yourself.

As the host of the website Infowars, Jones has broadcast numerous conspiracy theories. He’s best known, though, for his lies about the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting in Newtown, CT. The massacre left 26 people, including 20 six and seven year olds, dead.

Infowars insisted that the shooting didn’t happen, and that the grieving parents were liars and “crisis actors” who were making up their stories for money.

Jones’ lies led some of his listeners and fans to harass the grieving families for years. Those affected have finally managed to bring lawsuits against him for defamation. This week — 10 years after the massacre — a Connecticut jury awarded Jones’ victims nearly a billion dollars in damages.

Jones has half-heartedly acknowledged the Sandy Hook shooting happened, but he’s shown little remorse for his actions. To most people, the judgement seems like a rare instance in which a powerful, wealthy, serial liar was held accountable for his actions.

Many on the right, though, see Jones as an embattled free speech hero. Ohio Senate Candidate JD Vance last year called Jones “a far more reputable source” than liberal journalist Rachel Maddow. Charlie Kirk, founder of the influential conservative Republican activist group Turning Points USA, has honored Jones at TPU events.

Following the verdict, Kirk tweeted “This isn’t about calculating real damages from Alex Jones. This is about sending a message: If you upset the Regime, they will destroy you, completely and utterly, forever.” The regime, apparently, is composed of grieving families whose children were murdered.

Again, there’s nothing especially new or unusual about conservatives defending terrible people or terrible actions. Just this month, Georgia Republican Senate Candidate Herschel Walker’s son publicly accused his father of domestic abuse; that matches accusations form Walker’s ex-wife. Also this month, ex-President Donald Trump has been ordered to give a deposition in a lawsuit by writer E Jean Carroll, who accuses Trump of raping her. She is one of more than 20 women who have accused Trump of sexual assault, harassment, or misconduct.

Republicans have not denounced Walker. On the contrary, they have rallied to him, insisting that the accusations are false, or that he has repented, or that it shouldn’t matter anyway. Similarly, Republicans have insulted Carroll and have ignored Trump’s long history of alleged sexual violence for years.

The GOP’s refusal to condemn Walker or Trump is despicable. But it’s despicable within a recognizable partisan frame. Walker is the party’s candidate in a very close Senate election that could easily decide control of the chamber in November. If the GOP abandons him, they will materially damage their electoral chances in the Senate. That could divide the party in ways that might hurt them in other races, like the Georgia governor’s contest.

Similarly, while Trump is no longer in office, he retains widespread support in the Republican base; Republican politicians who go against him tend to have their careers severely curtailed.

Party interest and self-interest can help to explain why Republicans support horrible people like Walker and Trump. But Alex Jones is a different story. Jones is not a politician; he’s never held political office. He’s just some jerk who turns on a camera and spouts lies.

It’s true that many of those lies help to advance right wing talking points in one way or another — Jones’ conspiracy theories about Sandy Hook were designed to undermine calls for gun control. But lots of people make bad faith arguments against gun control. Jones does so in ways which are not only incredibly cruel, but which effectively delegitimize less rabid commenters.

At best, if you’re on the right, Jones is unnecessary. At worst he’s counterproductive. In any case, there’s no reason to defend him when he gets his just desserts. Unless, that is, you think that lies and harassment are awesome.

Unfortunately, lots of Republicans do think lies and harassment are awesome. Jones’ use of conspiracy theories to whip up hatred and violence doesn’t make him a pariah on the right. It makes him a hero. Republicans like Kirk, who helped coordinate the January 6 protest-turned-insurrection, have embraced lies, hatred, and violence as key organizational tools. They see themselves in Jones. And they like what they see.

Adam Serwer at The Atlantic famously said that for Trump and his followers, “the cruelty is the point.” The GOP revels in abusing those who can’t fight back. There are few purer demonstrations of that than the conservative enthusiasm for Jones, a man who has absolutely nothing to recommend him unless, like many on the right, you think sadism itself is a recommendation.