Eric Swalwell Ditches Shirt For Camel During Lobbyist-Paid Middle East Trip

We all know there are perks to being a member of Congress. Dining at the best restaurants, maybe getting tickets to a Broadway show, concert, or to see your favorite team up close (even though that’s against ethics rules, wink wink.)

And we all know that Washington D.C. is full of lobbyists, representing this group or that, just waiting to corner the member of Congress they think will be sympathetic to their cause or organization.

There are strict rules that lobbyists and member of Congress must abide by, but when part of the package includes camel rides, well, most red-blooded all-American Congressmen are going to start looking for the loopholes.

Far-left California Democrat and Russiagate enthusiast Eric Swalwell is no exception – and he was recently spotted shirtless while riding a camel on a junket in Qatar.

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‘Working’ Vacation!

Swalwell, the spectacularly failed 2020 presidential candidate, took a trip to Qatar, paid for by the US-Qatar Business Council. The New York Post reported that the group says they are “dedicated exclusively to enhancing the bilateral business relationship between the US and Qatar.”

Accompanying Swalwell were Reps. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Luis Correa (D-CA), Sarah Jacobs (D-CA), and Lisa McClain (R-MI).

Correa explained the $84,621.59 trip away:

“Qatar is a major player in the Middle East. They have immense economic and strategic power. They also house one of the US’s largest military bases, which is critical to regional security. As Qatar continues to expand its regional diplomatic power and natural-gas production, it is in the United States’ interest that we deepen our relationship.”

Swalwell said he brought his wife because he saw a chance “to spend some time together while working on behalf of the American people.” 

Sounds like a really serious working vacation!

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Ripe For Funnies

The other thing that most of us know that the one thing that liberals usually fail to do is to look at the long term picture.

Proof of that are all the cities who yelled and screamed about “defund the police!” but a year later are shocked to learn that crime in their cities has skyrocketed.

Liberals also tend to be a bit self-unaware. To put it bluntly, Swalwell, or as Fox News Channel commentator Mark Steyn dubbed him, “Shagwell,” is a young, average looking guy, and appears to be in pretty good shape.

But let’s face it, he’s no Vladimir Putin. He can’t just get up on a camel shirtless and expect that no one will find the humor in this.

So there he was. Shagwell and his congressional buds, arms stretched wide, shirtless, with a sort of “conquering colonialist” look about them.

And who was that innocent person of color in the foreground being subjected to all of this? 

Swalwell is certainly no stranger to political scandal.

In 2019, during an appearance on “Hardball” with Chris Matthews, Swalwell had an unfortunate, shall we say, gastrointestinal incident that could plainly be heard on his mic.

But like the patriot he is, Swalwell didn’t miss a beat – lobbing ridiculous claims at former President Donald Trump. “FartGate” was born.

Later, Matthews claimed it was a mug scraping across his desk. Riiiiigggghhhtt.

And more recently of course, there was, the beautiful and exotic Chinese spy Fang Fang. Business Insider reports that U.S. Counter Intelligence officials believed that Christine Fang, as she was also known, was part of an operation to influence “up and coming” American politicians on behalf of China. 

Fang was suspected of having sexual relationships with at least two midwestern mayors, and helped Swalwell fundraise.

Swalwell has never disclosed if he had a sexual relationship with Fang. 

We can only speculate as to whether or not Fang knew all the right things to say and do to ensure that a nice American boy like Swalwell was mere putty in her hands.

The real question might be, would Fang have given up her lucrative spy career and the Chinese Communist Party in a nanosecond had she glimpsed Swalwell shirtless on a camel? 

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Midnight At The Oasis

On Monday night, Fox News Channel’s Tucker Carlson wasted no time heaping abuse on Congressman Swalwell. He even brought in reinforcements. Fox News commentator Mark Steyn also joined in the fun.

Carlson likened the picture to Swalwell appearing “to be on safari in southern Rhodesia in 1905.” Steyn took it one step further and asked, “is that the front hump of your camel or are you just glad to see me?”

And there was the obligatory comparison of the Swalwell picture to the now infamous photos of Russian President Vladimir Putin sitting shirtless on a horse.

While it is unclear as to whether or not Swalwell will ever upload ridiculous photos of himself on trips paid for by foreign lobbying groups to Instagram again, he may have gained a theme song courtesy of Tucker Carlson and Mark Steyn:

To see the entire hilarious segment with Tucker Carlson and Mark Steyn see below: