Opinion: Which Politicians Made This Year’s Naughty List?
Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat, and Santa Claus has dotted the i’s and crossed the t’s on his lists of who has been naughty and who has been nice. Politicians feature prominently on the naughty list each year, inspiring the Daily Beast to compile our top contenders for 2024.
It’s not the condoning violence list, or the weakening democracy list, or the ruining lives list. It’s just the naughty list. In that spirit, here are the politicians from across the political spectrum whose stocking are destined to be filled with coal.
JD Vance for dumping on childless cat ladies.
What did childless cat ladies ever to do Vice President-elect JD Vance? In July, an old interview resurfaced of the vice president-elect complaining that the Democratic Party was run by “a bunch of [miserable] childless cat ladies.” But not only are childless cat ladies generally not miserable, they also happen to be national—and international—treasures.
Musicians Taylor Swift, Enya and Carly Rae Jepsen, feminist activist Gloria Steinem, actor and comedian Kate McKinnon, and Queer Eye star Jonathan Van Ness all fit the bill. And that’s not even counting all the delightful high-profile childless cat men, like actor and comedian Marc Maron, or the anonymous childless cat ladies working as teachers, doctors, researchers, artists, farmers, fire fighters and so on. All of whom have done far more than Vance to make the world a better place for future generations.
Rep. Matt Gaetz for being such a creep that even his own party didn’t defend him.
Die-hard Democrats often express frustration that their party members aren’t as loyal as Republicans. From extramarital affairs to financial mismanagement, and even lies about the outcome of presidential elections, Republicans have a habit of rallying around their own. But occasionally a Republican comes along who is so odious that even their fellow party members refuse to defend them.
Such was the case for former Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, who was tapped as president-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general—until his nomination was derailed by allegations of sexual misconduct and drug use. Gaetz denied the claims, but even his Republican colleagues in Congress wanted nothing to do with him after he allegedly told lurid stories about crushing erectile dysfunction medicine and hooking up with multiple women—and showed videos of the women in question. Which may not be illegal, depending on the circumstances, but it sure is gross.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene for being a tease.
One House Republican who did come to Gaetz’s defense was his friend Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia. As the House Ethics Committee debated whether to release the findings of its report into Gaetz’s alleged misconduct, Greene sort of came to his defense by saying that if the committee released the Gaetz report, ethics complaints against other Republican lawmakers should also be made public.
“All the ethics reports and claims, including the one I filed,” should be made public, she said. “All your sexual harassment and assault claims that were secretly settled paying off victims with tax payer money. The entire Jeffrey Epstein files, tapes, recordings, witness interviews.”
And yet, more than a month later, we’re still wondering what’s in the Epstein reports. Here’s hoping for a more transparent 2025.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for being the world’s most unhealthy health freak.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. isn’t entirely wrong about America’s poor health epidemic. Fast food is indeed poison, overly processed food isn’t great either, and several weird and possibly dangerous food chemicals are legal in the U.S., despite being banned in Europe.
But if anyone is going to be a credible messenger for the “make America healthy again” movement, it’s not Kennedy. This is a guy who used heroin as a study aid, peddles deadly and debunked conspiracy theories about vaccines, keeps road kill in his freezer, and evangelizes raw milk, which was recently found to be vulnerable to infection from bird flu. Ten out of 10 doctors agree that heroin, infectious diseases and road kill lead to negative health outcomes.
President Joe Biden for not stepping down sooner.
President Joe Biden has undeniably been one of the most productive presidents in recent history, shepherding both a major infrastructure bill and the most significant climate legislation in U.S. history through a starkly divided Congress. But originally the plan was to serve just one term, not mount a re-election campaign only to drop out just a few months before the election and name Vice President Kamala Harris as the heir apparent.
It’s possible that Harris would have prevailed in a normal Democratic primary. It’s possible she would have been able to beat Trump if she’d had more time to make her case. The problem is we’ll never know. Biden didn’t step aside sooner, the process didn’t get to play out, and Democrats will always wonder what might have been.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi for denying us a steady stream of Trump-AOC showdowns.
New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) doesn’t have much in common politically with Trump, but like the president-elect, she has a fighting spirit—and a preternatural gift for media and communication. After Republicans swept all three branches of government in November, Ocasio-Cortez announced earlier this month she was running to be the Democrats’ leading voice on the powerful House Oversight committee. Come January, the move promised to set her up for a series of epic political battles against a newly emboldened Trump.
But Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) had other plans. The 84-year-old personally lobbied to get Ocasio-Cortez’s 74-year-old opponent, Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA), elected chair. Connolly prevailed, touting his long record of experience. But many progressives were quick to mourn the outcome as a missed opportunity. What the party really needs, they say, is energy, charisma—and a steady stream of riveting confrontations with Trump.
