Josh Hawley attracts fire from former Missouri Republican senator as approval rating slides

Former Missouri Senator Jack Danforth strongly criticized Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) after his decision to support objections to some results from the Electoral College on January 6.

Danforth, a Republican, represented Missouri in the Senate from 1976 to 1995 and is considered a political mentor to Hawley and strongly encouraged his political ambitions.

The former senator told Lawrence O’Donnell of MSNBC on Monday that he now regrets having endorsed Hawley and said he is responsible for the deadly Capitol riot.

“With his action, he was creating a time and place that would be the focal point for what turned out to be the darkest day in American history, at least one of the darkest days in American history,” said Danforth.

Danforth dismissed Hawley’s claims that he was now being attacked for saying what he thought, pointing out that Hawley did not speak in the Senate plenary about opposing Pennsylvania Electoral College votes.

“He created a situation and without him the situation would not have happened,” said the former senator.

Danforth also criticized Hawley’s recent article in The New York Post where the senator complained about “America’s gagging”. His article aimed at the so-called “cancellation culture”.

“Their bottom line is: it’s us against them,” said Danforth. “It’s fun and silly. I never imagined the ultra-populist, us against them, a conspiracy – that kind of confusion – would have occurred. I never would have agreed to that.”

His criticism comes when a Morning Consult poll shows that Hawley’s approval rating in Missouri dropped from 42% to 36% after the events of January 6.

While most Republicans in the state still support Hawley, his approval among Republican voters fell 9 points as of January 18. The senator had 63% approval among Republicans in the typically red state, up from 72%.

Hawley defeated then-current Missouri senator Claire McCaskill, a Democrat, by 51.4% of the vote, against 45.6% in 2018, and he cannot be re-elected until 2024.

Danforth had already called to support Hawley and helping elect him to the Senate was “the worst mistake I’ve ever made”. He linked Hawley’s objections to the election results to the Capitol riot.

“Yesterday was the physical culmination of the long attempt (by Hawley and others) to foster public confidence in our democratic system. It is very dangerous for the United States to continue pushing this idea that the government does not work and that voting was fraudulent. “Said Danforth on January 7.