President Trump—yes, that same guy whose alarmist caricature of Barack Obama involved socialist overlords, gun confiscation, and even Russian loyalty—has now become all of those things.
1. “Obama is a socialist!”
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Rick Perry (R-TX): At a GOP presidential debate on January 8, 2012, he said, “we have a president that’s a socialist.”
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John McCain, Sarah Palin and other GOP figures (2008): They repeatedly framed Obama’s policies as socialism. For instance, Todd Akin called the election “a referendum on socialism,” and Palin warned, “now is no time to experiment with socialism,” echoing McCain’s agreement.
And now Republicans: Trump’s administration owns 10 % of Intel—hardly a free-market move. Technically passive, sure, but still a chunk of corporate equity in a private company. Rand Paul, the free-market purist, was among the Republicans calling it “a step towards socialism.”
So the very same folks demonizing Obama for government involvement in banking wish to look the other way when the president literally wades into the chip-making business. Oh, the convenience of selective outrage.
2. “Obama will take away your guns!”
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Marco Rubio (R-FL): In a campaign ad following the San Bernardino shooting, he claimed Obama’s plan was to “take away our guns.” Fact-checkers rated this claim false, noting Obama never stated that, but the talking point circulated nonetheless.
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Mitch McConnell (R-KY): In January 2013, his campaign warned that “President Obama and his team are doing everything in their power to restrict your constitutional right to keep and bear arms.”
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General rhetoric: The NRA and other gun-rights advocates long stoked fears of Obama as a “gun-grabber,” warning that he was “coming for our guns.”
But Trump? His administration is reportedly mulling a plan to strip trans people of their Second Amendment rights, labeling them mentally ill—literally weaponizing stigma to revoke gun rights. That’s right: the “Obama gun-grab” alarm now belongs to Trump.
Talk about playing both sides of the “protect our guns” fence—until it’s politically convenient not to.
3. “Obama is a Russian asset!”
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Donald Trump: Launched the “Obamagate” narrative, accusing Obama of spying on his campaign and even calling it “the biggest political crime.”
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Tulsi Gabbard (R-appointed DNI in 2025): Alleged that Obama and his administration participated in a “treasonous conspiracy” to undermine Trump’s election—a claim widely debunked.
Now Trump’s turn: He has openly boasted about his camaraderie with Putin, called him “pretty smart,” and seemed more eager to hear from Moscow than from Europe or Ukraine. The former GOP scream-line about Russian allegiance just got a glow-up.
Irony reached peak orbit when Republicans spent years shouting “Russian puppet melting down!”—and then their guy made “Putin fan club president” the job of a lifetime.
More Contradictions? Oh, we’ve got ‘em:
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Military Occupation by Way of Executive Order: Unlike Obama's occasional troop deployments with safeguards, Trump turned cities into mini-bases—D.C. got 2,200+ troops, posters filed lawsuits—because nothing says “law and order” like federal rifles on every corner.
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From Anti-State to State-Investor Overnight: The same party that called Obama a “big government bloater” cheered or stayed silent while Trump sunk billions into industrial policy.
Conclusion: Hypocrisy, thy name is Republican Panic
Republican voters and pundits spent eight years spinning tales about Obama—“socialist,” “gun-grabber,” “force-mobilizer,” “Putin-loving traitor.” Now Trump doesn’t just mimic those specters; he outdoes them. It's like watching a tar-and-feather performance—except the feather gets replaced by a full suit of contradictory armor. One almost has to admire the audacity: if you’re going to swallow your own rhetoric whole, may as well pretend it never existed.
Cue more panic, more fear-mongering, and more headlines about “Democrats would do this”—while looking right in the mirror at a GOP doing exactly that… only better. It’s hypocrisy 2.0, starring The Donald.
