Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), whose photo showing his fist pump to protesters outside of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, received widespread scrutiny, has put the picture on a coffee mug and is selling it via his campaign for $20.
The ceramic coffee mug emblazoned with the words “Show Me strong” uses the same photo of Hawley outside of the Capitol with his fist raised to protesters on the day of the insurrection.
Some thought that photo could come back to haunt Hawley, widely seen as a potential presidential candidate, after a mob of Trump supporters invaded the Capitol on Jan. 6.
But Hawley is now using the image to tout his conservative bona fides to the GOP base, a clear signal it sees the image as a big net positive.
His campaign says the mug “is the perfect way to enjoy Coffee, Tea, or Liberal Tears,” New York Times journalist Shane Goldmacher tweeted.
Hawley’s campaign did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment.
The Missouri Republican, who led efforts to challenge the 2020 election results in Congress, has previously defended his fist pump to protesters and called it a “slur” to lump in demonstrators outside of the Capitol with rioters who breached the building later on Jan. 6.
“That was as I was entering the House chamber the morning of the 6th,” Hawley told The Washington Post Live in April last year. “Those were demonstrators who were out there on the plaza, on the far end of the plaza … standing behind barricades, waving American flags.”
Hawley was the first Republican senator to publicly announce that he would formally challenge the election results in Congress.