Much like his spirit animal Donald Trump, Rep. Clay Higgins first sought out reality TV before taking his job with him 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” was successful, the people of Springfield, Ohio, might have one less congressman using their small town to drive racists to the polls his now deleted tweet They call Haitian immigrants “thugs” and “gangsters.”

And make no mistake, Higgins himself probably would have preferred reality TV fame to a seat in Congress.

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

Captain Higgins also had many work emails that showed him negotiating personal appearance fees and merchandising opportunities while on company time. That wasn’t the only reason he was forced to resign. We’ll get to that later. Just know that the Duck Dynasty opportunity fell through when he was no longer a cop.

In January 2016, the film “Ride Along 2” was released, in which Ice Cube and Kevin Hart played police officers. The next month, Higgins resigned. He then released “Higgins Ride Along 2” on Captain Clay Higgins’ YouTube channel – in the role of a police officer.

In the YouTube video, a camera followed Higgins as he drove a muscle car down the highway. He wore a cut-off that ironically illustrated a lack of definition. The black spot on the bag facing the camera said “SHERIFF,” even though Higgins never was one. Then again, Higgins embraced “Cajun John Wayne,” and he’s not Cajun.

“Will it be a TV show? I don’t know,” he said, claiming that more than 20 television executives had contacted him. “I won’t be a clown, I can tell you that. It will carry my righteous message, otherwise it will not exist.”

In May 2016, Higgins had a gun holstered and was wearing a shirt with sleeves when he made his announcement he ran 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 attempt to salvage what was left of his 15 minutes of fame. He understands, much like Trump, that the best way to get people to talk about you is to give them something to talk about.

Even if it promotes violence or is racist.

Consider this: This January, Higgins said, “The government is waging a civil war, and Texas should stand firm” 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 design by the FBI to entrap MAGA Americans.”

After deleting his recent racist post about the immigrants in Springfield, which ended with “Lol. “Those Haitians are wild,” before descending into much worse – Higgins later said: “You never want to intentionally hurt someone’s feelings.”

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

In one of his “Crime Stoppers” videos, he describes suspected members of a gang wanted by the authorities as animals. He describes the investigation as a hunt to lure the suspects into a trap. The people shown on screen were predominantly black and brown. After Higgins resigned, he exploited the rumor that the video had forced his resignation – as if he were a victim of “political correctness.” This misunderstanding contributed to Higgins’s late involvement in the field in 2016, making him a member of Congress.

The truth is that the sheriff wanted to fire him because of the pages of emails full of personal issues. Higgins was also accused of assaulting an unarmed black man while he was an officer.

So it’s not just about feelings being hurt. It’s about the character of an individual who has been given too much power. Republicans placed Higgins on committees on civil rights, government accountability and border security — with full knowledge of everything you just read about his background. Rep. Mike Johnson, a fellow Republican from Louisiana, called Higgins a friend. Some “friend”; Higgins did not support Johnson to become Speaker of the House in the first three ballots. In fact, John A. Boehner, who left Congress more than 10 years ago and became a marijuana industry lobbyistreceived one vote for speaker before Republicans ultimately chose Johnson. And that was only because Trump told the MAGA Republicans that they would make the party look bad.

So to hold on to his job, Johnson has to act like Higgins is a good member of Congress, while Higgins acts like he actually wants to be there.

If only he had gotten this TV show instead.

@LZGranderson