Summary
- Jim Bob Duggar used TV as a tool to showcase the impact of their religion, but fame may have gone to family members' heads.
- Duggars supported Rick Santorum in 2012, with Josh giving a speech, showcasing fame's impacts on their behavior and interactions.
- Attendee reveals Duggar kids' chaotic behavior, lack of proper schooling, and fame-induced aloofness during a political event.
The Duggar family grew to fame due to reality TV, but Jim Bob Duggar always proclaimed the family's work to be of the religious sort. From footage of 19 Kids and Counting, it's clear that Jim Bob saw his family being on TV as the ultimate method of showing the world the impact of their religion.
However, after meeting some of the Duggars while on the campaign trail in 2012, one attendee found that all the rumors and awkwardness surrounding the Duggars was not actually rumor at all. Their behavior in public also suggested that fame had gone to the family's heads.
A Duggar Snarker And Fans Attended A Duggar-Supported Political Event
In 2012, some of the Duggars attended a political event for Rick Santorum
In February 2012, Rick Santorum's campaign published a press release noting that the Duggar family was "traveling the country in support of Rick Santorum." The release also pointed out that the Duggars would be available for radio and TV interviews in February of that year while in Michigan on the campaign trail.
This was all before Josh Duggar's political appointment in Washington DC, which led to Josh offering a woman a job offer she is now glad she rejected.
The press release did not specifically say which Duggars would be involved, but that didn't stop a self-identifying Duggar snarker from tagging along to one event in the deep South. At that event, the not-quite-a-fan was able to speak with family members like Josh, Anna, Jill, Joy, and Joseph, while other members of the family were more elusive.
However, Josh seemed to be the subject of primary interest during the event, even giving a speech in support of Rick Santorum.
Interestingly, when news later broke of Josh's scandals, Rick Santorum called the allegations "sickening" and said he was praying for the victims. In contrast, the Duggars' next preferred political candidate, Mike Huckabee, suggested that Josh could be forgiven (via a Facebook post) and that the story was being sensationalized.
The Duggar Kids' Behavior Seemed To Prove Multiple Duggar Theories
Josie ran wild, Joseph couldn't sign his name, and Jana didn't speak to anyone
Over the years, fans and critics of the Duggars have come up with various theories about the family's lives behind the cameras of their reality TV shows. At the 2012 event in the southern US, various theories were proven true, at least according to a self-proclaimed Duggar snarker.
The anonymous Redditor posted a recap of the entire Rick Santorum-Duggar family event based on their experiences, which involved tagging along to the political event with someone who was a fan. While they were there, the Redditor noted that Josie — three years old at the time, and the youngest of the Duggars — was running wild all alone.
At one point, Anna Duggar was apparently responsible for watching Josie, but no one was around when the toddler "face-planted into the gravel so hard that her shoes came off." Consultation with the Duggars' buddy list, which would have been in effect at the time, suggested that Jana was Josie's buddy, but the oldest and as-yet unmarried Duggar sister stayed inside the air-conditioned building most of the time and, according to the Redditor who was there, didn't speak to anyone.
The saddest part of the event was apparently interactions with the Duggars who posed for pictures and signed their names in the snarker's copy of the family's book (the Duggar book circa 2008 that is still revealing secrets today). Joseph (who was 17) "took a LONG time to sign" the book, and the resulting signature made the Redditor "feel sad to think that he could have an undiagnosed learning disorder and obviously didn’t get enough attention for it at the school of the dining room table."
To critics of the Duggars, that only reinforced that their at-home education must have been lacking. That, coupled with the fact that the kids weren't being parented (Michelle and Jim Bob were not present) seemed to reinforce the criticism that the Duggars don't raise their own children or tend to their needs.
Another point toward critics' theories about the Duggars' lack of home education came up when Josh gave a speech. Afterward, the pastor queried Josh about his speaking skills, which then created an awkward scenario.
"The Pastor of the church asked Josh 'Josh, how did you learn to communicate so well? It must be the home schooling.' Josh: 'yes but it takes a lot of patience to home school. My mom is the epiphany of that.'"
The Duggars' Event Showcased How Fame Impacted The Family
Attendees thought that the Duggars were aloof and that Josh was full of himself
The attendee thought that Josh seemed full of himself, both while giving his speech and afterward while signing their book. But that wasn't the only impact of the Duggar family's fame; Jill was "so professional, like she was giving a performance" while rattling off a political spiel.
Other Duggars were not quite as friendly, according to the attendee and her friend; "Jinger and Jessa thought they were rock stars, they didn’t answer or turn their heads when people said their names."
They weren't able to get near Jessa at all and called her "aloof." Joy gave an autograph but the conversation was not noteworthy. However, speaking with Josh was quite an interesting event, according to the Redditor. She purchased a secondhand copy of the Duggars' book, which she then asked them to sign, but the copy she received was an "Advanced Uncorrected proof - not for sale." Josh apparently noticed this and questioned where she got the book from, before signing it and writing "Matt 6:3" under his name.
The not-quite-a-fan tried to make small talk and asked Josh if he was eating well while visiting, a question that he apparently gave a "flip, sneering answer" to.
Josh's fellow inmates might think he's a regular nice guy now, but while on the campaign trail, the eldest Duggar was not a fan favorite — and the entire family's behavior aligned with all the snarky rumors about them.
