Josh Hawley mocked for “Manhood” book after video of him fleeing Jan. 6 mob

Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri has been mercilessly mocked over his plans to release a book on “masculine virtues” following the release of video showing him frantically fleeing rioters at the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Hawley’s book, Manhood: The Masculine Virtues Americans Need, is set to hit bookstore shelves next May, according to The Kansas City Star. The book will reportedly focus on traits that Hawley says are masculine—such as “responsibility, bravery, fidelity and leadership”—and builds off a speech that the Republican senator previously gave in which he slammed Democrats for supposedly teaching men “that their manhood is the problem.”

An opinion article published by the Star last week dubbed Hawley “a laughingstock” after the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol played a video showing him running out of the Senate chamber as rioters entered the Capitol, not long after he had greeted many of the same people on the way in with a “fist pump” salute.

The video elicited immediate laughter when it first played at the July 21 hearing and inspired online ridicule soon after. Hawley told CNN reporter Manu Raju that the footage was “just an attempt to troll” by the committee. When news of the senator’s forthcoming book emerged on Thursday, many others reacted with additional mockery on Twitter.

“Stop,” tweeted actor Ken Olin. “Josh ‘I’m Out of Here’ Hawley is writing a book called ‘Manhood’?! Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. Wait. Is it fiction?
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.”

“If Josh Hawley’s manhood is up for sale, I have a feeling nobody’s buying,” journalist Leigh Giangreco tweeted.

“They should send a copy to Trump so he can officially own Josh Hawley’s Manhood,” television personality John Fugelsang tweeted.

“Josh Hawley is writing book on masculinity,” tweeted writer Jennifer Rubin. “Senator’s ‘Manhood’ goes on sale next May. … who’s ghostwriting?”

“Hawley titling his book ‘Manhood’ is the funniest thing I’ve heard in a very long time,” writer Brett Pransky tweeted.

“I am so baffled,” law professor Jennifer Taub tweeted. “Josh Hawley presents as quite feminine. Does he even shave? I’m more butch on the average day then he is even when he’s raising his fist to the rioters.”

“Under the rules of manliness, I hereby challenge @HawleyMO to a 1-vs-1 in the sport of his choosing—anything other than track,” tweeted lawyer Max Kennerly.

“MANHOOD?! Is Hawley trolling himself?” asked actor and filmmaker Kit Williamson. “Can’t wait for the reviews HAWLEY’S MANHOOD DISAPPOINTS CRITICS …but at least it’s short!”

“Josh Hawley’s manhood is always on sale, in the ‘70% off’ bin,” tweeted Cathy Young, a writer and a cultural studies fellow at the Libertarian think tank the Cato Institute.

While few supporters appeared to have weighed in on Hawley’s Manhood at the time of publication, some conservatives previously offered support while he was being mocked over the January 6 video.

Fox News host Mark Levin claimed on Sunday that it was “unconstitutional” for the committee to “humiliate Senator Hawley.” The senator has also used the attention he received over the video in his fundraising efforts.

Newsweek reached out to Hawley’s office for comment.