Democrats’ efforts to impeach President Donald Trump are going over with the public like a juicy, wet fart.
Seriously. Such wind was broken live on MSNBC on Monday night on the eve of the Democrats’ next round of impeachment hearings on Tuesday, where a Democrat Congressman helping lead the charge for impeachment was being interviewed by a network host. Then, mid-interview, a loud fart broke out on air.
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) denied Monday evening that it was he who ripped the massive fart live on MSNBC during an interview with Chris Matthews on Hardball.
Meanwhile, Matthews and MSNBC remain silent on whether they are owning up to the blast of flatulence that interrupted the top Democrat’s argument backing House Democrats’ push for the impeachment of President Donald Trump.
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During the video, as the fart was being ripped, Swalwell pauses and appears to smirk as he says, “The evidence is un-contradicted that the president used taxpayer dollars…”:
Eric Swalwell appears to drop a massive fart during live on television
Turn the sound on, this is real pic.twitter.com/DyElNSwYog
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) November 19, 2019
BuzzFeed, the leftist website, conducted an immediate investigation into who passed gas on MSNBC. The outlet’s Addy Baird noticed Swalwell’s pause and smirk, too, writing: “The Democrat, who sits on the House Intelligence Committee, appeared to react to the fart with a brief pause, while attempting not to smile.”
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Baird then writes that the clip went viral online, causing Swalwell to deny it on the record to BuzzFeed:
As the clip of Swalwell quickly circulated on the internet, some began to speculate that the California representative was the one behind the loud flatulence.
But in a text to BuzzFeed News on Monday night, Swalwell denied having anything to do with it.
“It was not me!!!!!” he wrote. “Ha. And I didn’t hear it when I was speaking.”
Pressed by this reporter, Swalwell denied again having heard the fart, before adding, “It’s funny tho.”
Many on Twitter mocked Swalwell’s denial, because, as everyone knows when it comes to the old rules of flatulence, he who denied it supplied it:
Eric Swalwell has denied that he farted
But as we know, he who denied it supplied it https://t.co/8jkXi2prFm
— Madison Underwood (@MadisonU) November 19, 2019
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I know few things in this world. I make no claims to wisdom or insight. But if I know anything, it is this, and this alone. He who denied it supplied it. https://t.co/T78BNFyxd4
— Luke Thompson (@ltthompso) November 19, 2019
House rules state that he who hath denied it, and so forth. https://t.co/bFmQODpCAT
— Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) November 19, 2019
This old tweet of Swalwell talking about wind behind him resurfaced Monday evening amid the controversy:
"May the wind always be at your back, but let your ideas move you forward" — to the Ala. Co. @CA_Dem St. Paddy's Day pic.twitter.com/qmqyrU19np
— Eric Swalwell (@ericswalwell) March 22, 2013
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Trump blocks South Africa from 2026 G20 summit for alleged ‘horrific human rights abuses’
Two National Guard members shot near White House, suspect in custody: police
Russia denies leaking Witkoff call, claims it was meant to undermine negotiations
They helped China push propaganda. Then they became feds
Suspect in Colorado Planned Parenthood shooting dies in federal custody
Military officers in Guinea-Bissau say they seized ‘total control’ and arrested president in coup
Noem greenlit deportation flights after judge’s emergency order, DOJ reveals — fueling contempt fight
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BuzzFeed’s Baird notes in her investigation that MSNBC did not respond to BuzzFeed’s comment request. “MSNBC did not immediately respond to a request for comment,” Baird wrote.
But the show’s official Twitter feed later tweeted this out, after removing a now-deleted Spiderman v. Spiderman meme:
Sorry to disappoint the conspiracy theorists – it was the #hardball mug scraping across the desk. Get yours today and let’s get back to the news! https://t.co/SG8Owm2IBw
— Hardball (@hardball) November 19, 2019
But as others have pointed out, right before the fart, the camera cut to a one-shot with just Swalwell on screen, hiding for a moment Matthews from his program’s viewers:
THREAD: I hate to let the air out of these #fartgate theories, but the inimitable laws of physics clearly point to Chris as the culprit. For one, Swalwell’s mic wouldn’t likely have picked it up in the noisy liveshot location…
— S.E. Cupp (@secupp) November 19, 2019
Update: National Guard Troops Shot in DC Were Ambushed, Shot at Point-Blank Range
‘We Will Never Back Down’: Trump, Hegseth Refuse to Yield After National Guardsmen Shot, Sending 500 More Troops to DC
Bipartisan support, outrage pour in after ‘targeted’ DC shooting of National Guardsmen: ‘Horrific’
Fox News Politics Newsletter: US envoy gave Russian aide tips on selling Ukraine deal
BREAKING: White House Locked Down After National Guard Troops Shot in DC
Breaking: Trump Bans South Africa from G20 Summit Over Refusing to Acknowledge ‘Killing’ of ‘White People’
Weakening incomes add new strain to households already hit by high prices
Trump blocks South Africa from 2026 G20 summit for alleged ‘horrific human rights abuses’
Two National Guard members shot near White House, suspect in custody: police
Russia denies leaking Witkoff call, claims it was meant to undermine negotiations
They helped China push propaganda. Then they became feds
Suspect in Colorado Planned Parenthood shooting dies in federal custody
Military officers in Guinea-Bissau say they seized ‘total control’ and arrested president in coup
Noem greenlit deportation flights after judge’s emergency order, DOJ reveals — fueling contempt fight
BREAKING: Georgia Prosecutor to Abandon Election Interference Case Against Trump
S.E. Cupp also argued in the thread that the acoustics of the two different potential culprits’ locations lean more towards Matthews letting one rip:
Second, the fart conveniently manifests when it goes to a one-shot, where Chris is off camera to let it rip without anyone seeing…
— S.E. Cupp (@secupp) November 19, 2019
Unless you’re telling me that thing bounced through the echoey Capitol building, into Swalwell’s lav mic, through control to the main audio, then that is one magic fart. There is also, of course, the possibility that there was a second farter. #fartgate #fin
— S.E. Cupp (@secupp) November 19, 2019
Update: National Guard Troops Shot in DC Were Ambushed, Shot at Point-Blank Range
‘We Will Never Back Down’: Trump, Hegseth Refuse to Yield After National Guardsmen Shot, Sending 500 More Troops to DC
Bipartisan support, outrage pour in after ‘targeted’ DC shooting of National Guardsmen: ‘Horrific’
Fox News Politics Newsletter: US envoy gave Russian aide tips on selling Ukraine deal
BREAKING: White House Locked Down After National Guard Troops Shot in DC
Breaking: Trump Bans South Africa from G20 Summit Over Refusing to Acknowledge ‘Killing’ of ‘White People’
Weakening incomes add new strain to households already hit by high prices
Trump blocks South Africa from 2026 G20 summit for alleged ‘horrific human rights abuses’
Two National Guard members shot near White House, suspect in custody: police
Russia denies leaking Witkoff call, claims it was meant to undermine negotiations
They helped China push propaganda. Then they became feds
Suspect in Colorado Planned Parenthood shooting dies in federal custody
Military officers in Guinea-Bissau say they seized ‘total control’ and arrested president in coup
Noem greenlit deportation flights after judge’s emergency order, DOJ reveals — fueling contempt fight
BREAKING: Georgia Prosecutor to Abandon Election Interference Case Against Trump
Swalwell later took the Hardball tweet and turned the Democrats’ impeachment inquiry into a giant fart joke by claiming it was “TOTAL EXONERATION,” like how Trump claimed the report from Special Counsel Robert Mueller was “total exoneration” of him when it came to now-proven-false allegations he or his 2016 campaign colluded with Russians to interfere in the 2016 election and the false claims that he obstructed Mueller’s investigation:
TOTAL EXONERATION! https://t.co/JAuTsnCjAC
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) November 19, 2019
The controversy sent the hashtag #FartGate trending on Twitter–uniting people from all political perspectives ranging from Donald Trump, Jr., and other right-wingers to people throughout the establishment media and even leftist actress Alyssa Milano:
Update: National Guard Troops Shot in DC Were Ambushed, Shot at Point-Blank Range
‘We Will Never Back Down’: Trump, Hegseth Refuse to Yield After National Guardsmen Shot, Sending 500 More Troops to DC
Bipartisan support, outrage pour in after ‘targeted’ DC shooting of National Guardsmen: ‘Horrific’
Fox News Politics Newsletter: US envoy gave Russian aide tips on selling Ukraine deal
BREAKING: White House Locked Down After National Guard Troops Shot in DC
Breaking: Trump Bans South Africa from G20 Summit Over Refusing to Acknowledge ‘Killing’ of ‘White People’
Weakening incomes add new strain to households already hit by high prices
Trump blocks South Africa from 2026 G20 summit for alleged ‘horrific human rights abuses’
Two National Guard members shot near White House, suspect in custody: police
Russia denies leaking Witkoff call, claims it was meant to undermine negotiations
They helped China push propaganda. Then they became feds
Suspect in Colorado Planned Parenthood shooting dies in federal custody
Military officers in Guinea-Bissau say they seized ‘total control’ and arrested president in coup
Noem greenlit deportation flights after judge’s emergency order, DOJ reveals — fueling contempt fight
BREAKING: Georgia Prosecutor to Abandon Election Interference Case Against Trump
Most intelligible thing to come out of Swalwell in years. #fartgate https://t.co/LT7MXAkIRB
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) November 19, 2019
I'm dying. Absolutely dying. #fartgate
No matter how famous you are, you will never compete with cheeky Eric Swalwell's MSNBC flatulence, which is now trending on Twitter.
A fart is trending.
A fart.
Trending.
We must get to the bottom of this scandal.
— David Martosko (@dmartosko) November 19, 2019
I guess #fartgate will distract us all from the many times Joe Biden has literally full-blown shit himself onstage
— Michael Malice (@michaelmalice) November 19, 2019
Swalwell sounds like he just shit his pants on television. #fartgate https://t.co/yz78fhx6BZ
— Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) November 19, 2019
I get that some of you think Chris Matthews was the farter, but do you really think he has the skill and control to not only drop it perfectly between Swalwell's words, but also choreograph it seamlessly with Swalwell's body movement? #fartgate pic.twitter.com/6qYw8r0fTf
— Josh Jordan (@NumbersMuncher) November 19, 2019
There are two types of people in the world—
1. People who think farts are funny.
2. People who don’t think farts are funny.
It is pretty much all you need to know about a person. Which are you?
(I think they’re hilarious.)#fartgate
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) November 19, 2019
What’s more, sources on Capitol Hill tell Breitbart News that Republicans are currently formulating the best possible ways to bring #FartGate into this week’s hearings. It remains to be seen if they will actually do it or not, but #FartGate is just the latest air to come out of the Democrats’ case for impeachment.
Story cited here.
