Jim Jordan faces backlash over ‘real America’ tweet

An Ohio congressman caught the ire of left-leaning Twitter users on Monday after a seemingly-innocuous tweet about “working hard” and paying your bills.

Maybe because the congressman in question is one of Donald Trump’s most vocal allies in the US House.

Jim Jordan posted the tweet on Monday morning, writing that “In Real America, you work hard, pay your bills, and provide for your family. Isn’t that how it should be?”

The otherwise unremarkable message was mocked by Democrats over the seeming hypocrisy of Mr Jordan’s belief in “working hard” given his support for Mr Trump, who has publicly used the bankruptcy system to his advantage and stands accused of defrauding banks and other financial authorities through falsely raising or lowering the values of his assets.

Others simply mocked the appeal to an honest living in the tweet, given Mr Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election based on outright lies about election fraud after his defeat to Joe Biden.

Mr Jordan’s own scant record of passing legislation was targeted as well, with critics referencing a study that found him to be one of the least effective members of Ohio’s congressional delegtion in terms of passing legislation. That’s not the only measure of an effective legislator of course, and Mr Jordan is set to chair the powerful judiciary committee if Republicans take the House in the fall. He’s also been floated as a possible Trump-backed contender for Speaker.

The Ohio congressman was also mocked on the platform for supposedly being one of the Republican members of Congress who reportedly asked Donald Trump for a pardon for their efforts to help him overturn the election after January 6. In actuality, a witness to the House select committee investigating the attack testified that Mr Jordan inquired about whether members of Congress generally were going to receive pardons, but never specifically asked for one to her knowledge.

“Mr Jordan talked about Congressional pardons, but he never asked me for one,” Cassidy Hutchinson said in June. “It was more for an update on whether the White House was going to pardon members of Congress.”