Chalk this up to an early April Fool’s Day prank.
Or maybe Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) was just having a little fun getting the press all riled up about something that was never happening — namely a Gohmert run for the White House.
“Ted is a good friend and would be an outstanding president; however, I haven’t ruled out an exploratory committee myself,” he said in an email to The Hill through his spokesperson Thursday.
After the Capitol Hill newspaper ran with it, Gohmert acted surprised, saying he’d been joking around.
Even The Hill‘s Editor-in-Chief Bob Cusack mocked the Texas lawmaker after Gohmert’s office released a statement saying people in Washington don’t recognize a joke.
In an email to reporters, Gohmert cited his baldness as one of the reasons he won’t be running for the White House.
“Washington D.C. contains too many who do not recognize statements made with a figurative tongue in cheek, sometimes known as being ironic,” said the email. “To more completely describe his actual beliefs, Congressman Gohmert notes the Kennedy-Nixon debates created a line of demarcation beyond which television became the critical factor in being elected President which also meant there would be no more bald Presidents in his lifetime.”
But he certainly had reporters and politicos all lathered up about it. Aside from The Hill, The Texas Tribune, HuffPost, TheBlaze, Mediaite, NewsMax, and TheRightScoop all ran stories on his short-lived non-existent presidential aspirations.
TheRightScoop‘s headline was particularly ridiculous:
That was at 7:55 p.m. By 11:47 p.m., well after his joke was revealed, TheRightScoop had no update. Mediaite was on the ball — they had their report updated in the headline, as did The Texas Tribune.
HuffPost got right to the point — which is he ain’t running.
TheBlaze, meanwhile, an outlet that’s cozy with Gohmert because of his close friendship with Glenn Beck, assured that he is indeed “considering” a run. By 11:51 p.m. there was no update.
At 11:55 p.m., the dopes over at the Raw Story still had their heads up their asses (which is their usual state of being). Theirs was more of a boring explainer piece. They had no update on the reality of the situation.
Be forewarned, Gohmert. The Hill‘s Cusack is a prolific practical joker. It may not be now, but one day he may get you back and if he does, you won’t see it coming.