Prominent Trumper sparks outrage after trying to smear Biden for kissing his son

One trait that pops up again and again in the most diehard supporters of Donald Trump is a profound lack of empathy. They seem to be specifically drawn to this president because of his penchant for gleeful cruelty rather than in spite of it. It’s as if something fundamental is missing in these people that makes them want to lash out at the world and President Trump has allowed them to extend the reach of that lashing globally. Their rationale seems to be if they can’t be happy, nobody can.

For prominent Trump supporter and right-wing media figure John Cardillo, healthy and loving father/son relationships seems to be his trigger. Last night, Cardillo shared a moving picture of Joe Biden embracing his son Hunter—the target of a recent barrage of far-right lies and character assassination attempts—and kissing him on the cheek. To any normal, functioning adult the picture is a beautiful one, a portrait of a father who supports and treasures his son despite any personal issues he may have had in the past.

To Cardillo, the image is upsetting. “Does this look like an appropriate father/son interaction to you?” he captioned the picture, implying some kind of gross subtext that would only occur to someone unfamiliar with affection. What exactly Cardillo thinks an “appropriate” interaction between a father and son looks like is anyone’s guess, but presumably he prefers the Donald Trump brand of parenting: neglect and abuse.

Almost immediately after posting his ill-advised tweet, Cardillo found himself the target of viral mockery and backlash, as Twitter users swarmed him with satirical facsimiles of his tweet, swapping out the photo of Hunter and Joe with all manner of funny “father/son interactions.” Clearly, Cardillo should invest less time in Twitter and more in therapy.

Does this look like an appropriate father/son interaction to you? pic.twitter.com/XDMIsgjUKI

— John Cardillo (@johncardillo) October 22, 2020

does this look like appropriate father son action to you pic.twitter.com/qyWEr7v1Am

— ᑕᕼᑌᑎK (@chunkled) October 22, 2020

Does this look like an appropriate father/son interaction to you? pic.twitter.com/fOuWQSeFnm

— Nick Lutsko (@NickLutsko) October 22, 2020

Does this look like an appropriate father/son interaction to you? pic.twitter.com/FhE27VnqID

— beth (@bethbourdon) October 22, 2020

Does this look like an appropriate father/son interaction to you? pic.twitter.com/PuzlEYVpdN

— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) October 22, 2020

Does this look like an appropriate uncle/nephew interaction to you? pic.twitter.com/o63eF5DDrb

— ben "unlimited broomsticks" flores (@limitlessjest) October 22, 2020

Does this look like an appropriate Father/son interaction to you pic.twitter.com/bi2z4PDjTu

— Michael S. Pumpkins (@MichaelSWatkins) October 22, 2020

https://twitter.com/AdamSerwer/status/1319107396044816385?s=20

Does this look like an appropriate father/son interaction to you? pic.twitter.com/WvoUDpw6eL

— NoToughQuestionsHat (@Popehat) October 22, 2020

Does this look like an appropriate father/son interaction to you? pic.twitter.com/WN2pgnPSFx

— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) October 22, 2020

does this look like an appropriate father/son interaction to you? pic.twitter.com/P6hP5uZBM6

— The Girl Reading This 2020 (@TheEpicDept) October 22, 2020

Does this look like an appropriate father/son interaction to you? pic.twitter.com/wpwZeMKSLb

— James Urbaniak (@JamesUrbaniak) October 22, 2020

does this look like an appropriate father/son interaction to you? pic.twitter.com/Pb0NZ4KDOG

— Hayes Brown (@HayesBrown) October 22, 2020

Yeah. Does this? pic.twitter.com/owOVthnPHC

— Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) October 22, 2020

What about this pic.twitter.com/fwmWLIMwxH

— Vanessa (@vbutler88) October 22, 2020

https://twitter.com/MilesKlee/status/1319114180054503426?s=20

Man this just makes me miss my Dad and how he’d kiss me on the cheek every time we’d say goodbye.

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) October 22, 2020

I wish my dad was still here to hug me like that. So, yes.

— Ben Stiller (@RedHourBen) October 22, 2020

I bet you thought this tweet said more about Biden than it said about you, didn’t you?

— The Hoarse Whisperer (@TheRealHoarse) October 22, 2020

Yes. Fathers can show their sons love.

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) October 22, 2020

A father loving a son is very appropriate.

— David Weissman (@davidmweissman) October 22, 2020

https://twitter.com/cmclymer/status/1319096100779950080?s=20

I mean, yeah

— Parker Molloy (@ParkerMolloy) October 22, 2020

Lol sorry you had a shitty dad I guess

— Ari Cohn (@AriCohn) October 22, 2020

Yes. Does this look like an appropriate father/daughter interaction to you? pic.twitter.com/eAQ2zdSjAe

— Chillian J. Yikes! (@jilliancyork) October 22, 2020

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