Social media platforms can be bowls of dumb on any given day (that goes double for BlueSky), and Monday was no exception, with the certification of Donald Trump’s November election victory bringing out some fresh cray-cray from Democrats and their media allies.
Though the President-Elect certainly does bring out the worst in his critics, it wasn’t Trump himself some of them had in mind when they began circulating a video on social media of Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE) at the ceremonial swearing-in event from Friday, being sworn into office for her third term by Vice President Kamala Harris.
It wasn’t Fischer herself who was the object of their ire. It was her husband, Bruce, who was with her for the ceremony.
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Video from the moment showed Harris extending her hand out to shake Bruce Fischer’s and him not taking it, and also that he only briefly looked her in the eye as he said “thank you.”
Soon after the clip began making the rounds, “news” outlets like Newsweek, The Grio, and HuffPost pounced and seized, with The Grio predictably suggesting racism and sexism were at play and Newsweek and HuffPost declaring, also without evidence, that Mr. Fischer “refused” to shake the twice-failed Democrat presidential candidate’s hand.
It prompted negative reactions from leftists and NeverTrump sellouts. But what did the critics leave out? The fact that Bruce Fischer was holding a Bible with one hand, and a cane with the other.
In fact, if you look closely, it’s in the very video that is circulating courtesy of a guy with an incredibly ironic Twitter/X name considering the subject matter:
Images from their meeting make it even clearer:
We anxiously await apologies from those who rushed to judgment:
I saw some folks suggest that Fischer could have shaken her hand after he gave the Bible back to the Senator. But the full video clip shows that Mr. Fischer looked a little unsteady on his feet and was watching the floor, perhaps to make sure he didn’t fall:
Speaking from my role as a caregiver, I watched my dad constantly look down when he used his cane over the years and then later his walker, terrified he was going to fall. My mom has done the same. Dad did not like to be touched (hand on back, shoulder, handshake, etc), either, while using the cane and walker for the same reasons.
Is it possible Mr. Fischer’s actions were deliberate? Maybe. Some conservative Twitter/X accounts were praising him for the same reasons Cohen and others were criticizing him. But my money is on Mr. Fischer likely being far more concerned about losing his balance and falling than for being viewed as “low character” by low-character clout-seeking social media mobs for not shaking Harris’ hand.
Just my .02.
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Just more media disinformation! It’s difficult to offer your hand, when both hands are full, one holding the Bible, the other hanging onto a walking cane to be able to stand. It’s easy for the media to play games with their pictures, cutting out what they don’t want one to see.