Sen. Portman announces he will not seek reelection in 2022
Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, shares why he made the decision on ‘America’s Newsroom.’
Former Ohio State Treasurer and GOP senate hopeful Josh Mandel blasted the "left-wing" media and called cancel culture and social media censorship "enormous" problems.
In an interview with Fox News, Mandel, a Marine Corps and Iraq War veteran who took to the stage at this year's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), slammed the media as a "wing" of the Democratic Party, insisting there's "really no differentiation" between the two.
"We don't pay a lot of attention to what the media has to say. What we pay attention to is what the people have to say," Mandel said about the media coverage of his campaign.
At CPAC 2021, the issue of cancel culture is such a dominant topic that the theme of this year's conference is "America Uncanceled."
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Mandel, a staunch supporter of former President Trump, warned about the ongoing dangers of cancel culture he says is targeting him and other backers of the 45th president.
"I think cancel culture is an enormous problem in our society. It's been going on for a long time at college campuses where the faculty and administrations have purported to embrace academic freedom," Mandel told Fox News. "But in reality, they only want freedom of speech for folks who agree with them. so they've been canceling conservative kids on college campuses for a long time and now that movement has just exploded into this disgusting 'woke' atmosphere where the left and the media are just trying to cancel people like me who are outspoken in their support for President Trump."
FILE – In this Nov. 4, 2014, file photo, Ohio State Treasurer Josh Mandel speaks at the Ohio Republican Party election night celebration in Columbus, Ohio. Mandel, a Marine veteran and former state treasurer, says he will make a third run for the U.S. Senate in Ohio, taking a pro-Trump message in a bid for the seat being vacated by the GOP’s Rob Portman. Mandel planned to launch his campaign Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021, against the backdrop of a second round of impeachment proceedings against the former Republican president. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak, File)
Mandel expressed that the "censorship of conservatives" on social media "stems from the arrogance out of Silicon Valley."
"These big tech companies think they are above the law," Mandel said. "Just like the Hollywood actors, they want to lecture those of us in the middle of the country in places like Youngstown and Toledo and Dayton."
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"And, you know, seven days a week and twice on Sunday, I trust the instincts and the opinions of Joe and Jane Taxpayer in Ohio much more than some radical elitist in Silicon Valley or in Hollywood."
On what inspired his Senate run, Mandel referred to the recent impeachment of former President Donald Trump, which resulted in an acquittal.
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"I got so angry with the sham impeachment of President Trump that I decided for the United States Senate," Mandel told Fox News. "I'm going to Washington to advance the Trump America First agenda, I'm going there to stand up for the Constitution, and I'm going there to not just drain the swamp but blow up the swamp."
Mandel is hoping to fill Ohio's senate seat that will be left vacant by Republican Sen. Rob Portman, who is not seeking reelection.
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