Elon Musk torn up over 158 Democrats refusing to demonize immigrants, forgets 172 Republicans who proudly said no to the Violence Against Women Act

Elon Musk once again used X to spark controversy by sharing a misleading meme about Democratic opposition to immigration legislation while omitting crucial context about Republicans’ shameful voting record when it comes to protecting women from violence.

Musk’s most recent viral misinformation post references the September 2024 vote on the Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act. Crafted by Republican Representative Nancy Mace, the bill was positioned as a measure to protect women from violent criminals who entered the country illegally. The bill would allegedly have expanded deportation categories and changed how domestic violence cases involving immigrants are handled in the legal system. With such flash promises, the House has voted with a 266-158 margin, with all the present Republicans and 51 Democrats supporting the legislation. 158 Democrats, however, opposed the Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act. But why would they?

The answer is in the fine lines of Mace’s proposal. The legislation’s actual text revealed concerning flaws that experts immediately identified. Nearly 180 organizations specializing in domestic violence prevention united in opposition, warning the bill could harm abuse survivors themselves. For instance, Mace’s expanded definition of domestic violence would have swept up survivors who acted in self-defense or were wrongly accused by their abusers – a common tactic in domestic abuse cases. 

Furthermore, the bill threw away legal processing to expedite extraditions, meaning domestic abuse victims could be deported without the possibility of legal resources. To make matters worse, the current U.S. legislation already covers the extradition of sex criminals, be they illegal or legal immigrants, which means the Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act was useless in the best-case scenario.

What is clear from this quick overview is that Republicans used the Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act as a propaganda tool to attack Democrats. In reality, Donald Trump’s party has historically voted against women’s rights.

Elon Musk’s convenient memory loss about Republican opposition to protecting women

While Musk expressed performative outrage over Democrats opposing what experts called a redundant immigration bill, he remained conspicuously silent about an even more troubling vote. Just three years earlier, 172 House Republicans voted against reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), the landmark legislation that has provided crucial protections for abuse survivors since 1994.

The 2021 VAWA reauthorization showcased a stark divide in priorities. The bill aimed to close dangerous loopholes in existing law, including the “boyfriend loophole” that allowed abusers to retain access to firearms if they weren’t married to their victims. Despite mounting evidence that access to guns dramatically increases the lethality of domestic violence, Republicans opposed these enhanced protections. For Republicans, the right of a man to carry firearms is more important than women’s lives, a warped worldview that became clear in the 2021 voting.

Only 29 House Republicans joined Democrats in supporting VAWA’s reauthorization, which passed 244-172. The law, initially authored by Joe Biden during his Senate career, had historically enjoyed broad bipartisan support. So, its recent politicization reflects a troubling shift in how women’s safety is increasingly used as a political football rather than treated as a serious policy issue.

The contrast between Republican opposition to VAWA and their enthusiastic support for the 2024 immigration bill reveals a cynical pattern. When legislation genuinely aims to protect women from violence, regardless of their immigration status, many Republicans balk at supporting it. But when women’s safety can be weaponized against immigrants, they rally behind it – even when experts warn the legislation could harm the very people it claims to protect. Musk’s latest tweet, amplifying misleading narratives about immigration while ignoring his allies’ opposition to fundamental protections for abuse survivors, exemplifies how women’s safety is increasingly treated as a political prop rather than a serious policy priority.

For actual survivors of domestic violence and sexual abuse, the consequences of this political gamesmanship are all too real. While billionaires trade barbs on social media, organizations working directly with abuse survivors continue advocating for meaningful protections that prioritize women’s safety over political messaging – protections that, ironically, many of the same politicians claiming to champion women’s safety have consistently opposed.