Amid the ongoing US government shutdown over border security funding, politicians and pundits have resorted to unusual behavior to get their points across, from instagramming their dental appointments to grooming on live TV.
Seeking to highlight the role of immigrants in America, Texas Democrat Beto O’Rourke – who narrowly lost his bid to unseat Senator Ted Cruz last November, and is rumored as a potential Democrat presidential candidate in 2020 – put on Instagram his dental cleaning appointment in El Paso.
The oversharing wasn’t just about making O’Rourke seem relatable to ordinary Americans. In a series of Instagram videos, he interviewed his Mexican-American dental hygienist, who spoke of her life in El Paso and how her mother got help from neighbors to pass the US citizenship test.
To many journalists, however sympathetic of O’Rourke, his dental chair stunt appeared a bit cringe-worthy, as they expressed hope he doesn’t instagram another type of medical appointment, going forward.
Many politicians are resorting to sharing videos of themselves doing ‘normal’ things on social media in an effort to appear relatable to voters. For example, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) awkwardly drank a bottle of beer on a live stream after announcing intent to run for president.
Another cringe-worthy visual stunt that went viral on Thursday involved CNN pundit Anna Navarro. Billed as a “Republican strategist,” the frequent critic of everything President Donald Trump does reacted to another guest, who was talking about victims of crime committed by illegal immigrants, by rolling her eyes and filing her fingernails.
“You know who can’t do their nails are people who have been killed, Ana, by dangerous, known illegal aliens who have been allowed to stay in this country because of the leftist policies that people like you promote in so-called sanctuary cities,” pundit Steve Cortes said in response.
Navarro then got angry at being called a leftist, claiming she is a true conservative while Trump is not. Conservative twitter was not amused.
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