Like his spirit animal, Donald Trump, Rep. Clay Higgins first sought out reality TV before bringing his shtick to Washington.

Opinion columnist

LZ Granderson

LZ Granderson writes about culture, politics, sports, and navigating life in America.

And if “American Justice With Clay Higgins” had gotten off the ground, the people of Springfield, Ohio, might have one less congressman who would use their small town to drive racists to the polls, as they did with his since-deleted tweet They call Haitian immigrants ‘thugs’ and ‘gangsters’.

And make no mistake: Higgins himself would probably have chosen reality TV fame over a seat in Congress.

In 2015, as a police officer in Louisiana, he attracted some national attention through a series of campy online videos called “Crime Stoppers.” That taste of fame captured his imagination, and by 2016 Higgins had both a nickname — “Cajun John Wayne” — and interest from the executive producer of “Duck Dynasty.”

Captain Higgins also had many work emails that showed him negotiating compensation for personal appearances and merchandising opportunities during work hours. That wasn’t the only reason he was forced to resign. We’ll come back to that later. Just know that when he was no longer a police officer, the possibility of the “Duck Dynasty” fell apart.

In January 2016, the film “Ride along 2” was released, in which Ice Cube and Kevin Hart played police officers. The following month, Higgins resigned. He then released “Higgins Ride along 2” on Captain Clay Higgins’ YouTube channel, in which he played a cop.

In the YouTube video, a camera followed Higgins as he drove a muscle car down the highway. He wore a cutoff that ironically showed a lack of definition. The black spot on the bag opposite the camera read “SHERIFF,” although Higgins never was. On the other hand, Higgins embraced “Cajun John Wayne,” and he is not Cajun.

‘Will it be a television programme? Don’t know,” he said, claiming that more than two dozen television executives had contacted him. ‘I’m not going to be a clown, I can tell you that. It will carry my message that is righteous, otherwise it will not exist.”

In May 2016, Higgins had a gun in his holster and was wearing a shirt with sleeves when he announced he was a candidate for Congress. He wanted to be rich and famous before he wanted to serve in Congress, and this bid for the House of Representatives was a last-ditch effort to salvage what was left of his fifteen minutes of fame. He understands, like Trump, that the best way to get people to talk about you is to give them something to talk about.

Even if it encourages violence or is racist.

Think about this: in January, Higgins said, “The Fed is waging a civil war, and Texas must stand its ground” after a Supreme Court ruling sided with the U.S. Constitution. In April, Higgins was heard on a conservative podcast claiming that the Trump-inspired Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol was “a nefarious agenda to entrap MAGA Americans” from the FBI.

After deleting his recent racist post about the immigrants in Springfield – which started with “Lol. These Haitians are wild,” before falling into much worse situations. Higgins later said, “You never want to intentionally hurt anyone’s feelings.”

Which brings us to his career as an officer and why he was forced to resign.

In one of his “Crime Stoppers” videos, he refers to alleged gang members being wanted by authorities like animals. He describes the investigation as a hunt in which the suspects had to be trapped. The people shown on the screen were predominantly black and brown. After Higgins resigned, he capitalized on a rumor that the video had forced his resignation – as if he were a victim of ‘political correctness’. That misconception contributed to Higgins’ late entry into the field in 2016 and made him a member of Congress.

The truth is, the sheriff would fire him because of the pages and pages of personal stuff in emails. Higgins was also accused of assaulting an unarmed black man while an officer.

So it’s not just about hurting feelings. It is about the character of an individual who has been given too much power. Republicans placed Higgins on committees related to civil rights, government accountability and border security — with full knowledge of everything you just read about his background. Rep. Mike Johnson, fellow Republican from Louisiana, called Higgins a friend. Some “friend”; Higgins did not support Johnson to become Speaker of the House of Representatives during the first three rounds of voting. In fact, John A. Boehner, who left Congress more than a decade ago and did so a lobbyist for the marijuana industrywon a vote for speaker before Republicans ultimately settled on Johnson. And that was only because Trump told the MAGA Republicans they made the party look bad.

So to keep his job, Johnson has to pretend that Higgins is a good member of Congress, while Higgins pretends that he really wants to be there.

If only he had gotten that TV show.

@LZGranderson