Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird was criticized after telling the audience at the Republican National Convention that the GOP is known to "put criminals where they belong: in jail"—only to then encourage everyone to vote for convicted felon former President Donald Trump.
In May, Trump became the first former president to be convicted of felony crimes. The jury found him guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records to conceal hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels to illegally influence the 2016 election. His sentencing was set for July 11 but has now been delayed in the wake of a Supreme Court decision granting him sweeping immunity protections.
But Bird endorsed a known criminal nonetheless, saying:
"Republicans get justice for victims and we put criminals where they belong: in jail. That's why we need to elect President Donald J. Trump."
You can hear what she said in the video below.
Bird was swiftly called out for her hypocrisy.
While the hypocrisy of the GOP on this matter is nothing new, the call to vote for Trump is all the more ironic given felons can't vote.
Critics have suggested that if a convicted felon like Trump is able to run for the highest office in the country, then other felons should have certain rights restored. Although Trump’s situation is unique, the complexity surrounding voting rights for convicted felons is not. Across the United States, state laws differ significantly regarding whether felons lose their voting rights and how they can regain them.
Additionally, as pointed out by MSNBC's Steve Benen, "the idea that the former president stands with 'the police' isn’t quite that simple."
"It remains true that a party that cares about the rule of law wouldn’t nominate a person convicted of felonies for the nation’s highest office," he noted, further condemning Republicans for publicly declaring to care about law and order despite working to "undermine public confidence in the judicial system without cause."
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