2-10-21
Okay folks, let’s get one thing abundantly clear: Donald Trump absolutely encouraged, instigated, and incited the angry mob who stormed the US Capitol Building on January 6th.
He did.
Trump started attacking the election months before the first ballot was even cast. Think about how he began assaulting mail in voting before the first ballot was even sent out to people. He made outrageous claims like his saying that the only way he could lose the election was if it was stolen from him. And this was before any voting actually occurred.
Then we come to the election itself. Joe Biden won, and Donald Trump lost. Fair and square. Every single state, including those run by Republicans, certified the election. There were also international observers from multiple countries who monitored the process. On top of this, in all the ballot counting rooms in all the states, there were Republican, Democrat, and Independent monitors overseeing the counting process and who were present to answer questions if any arose. Trump and his people lost over 60 lawsuits that were based on their false claims about the election, and many of the judges who ruled against Trump were Republicans themselves.
The fact is that this was a free and fair election. There was no widespread fraud or irregularities. Joe Biden was the elected legitimately and honestly by winning the popular vote as well as the electoral college vote.
Yet Donald Trump’s outrageous, false claims and rhetoric with regards to the election got worse and worse. He repeatedly told his followers with fury and anger how the election had supposedly been stolen from him. He kept making these ridiculous and utterly false claims over and over which got his followers more and more outraged.
Then we arrive at the fateful day, January 6th.
Trump gave a fiery speech making his sickeningly false claims about the election and further inflaming the angry audience with comments like “our country has had enough” and referring to Joe Biden as “an illegitimate president.” He called the election itself “a catastrophe” and claimed that he had won states that he had clearly lost. Trump made outrageously false accusations that had no basis in reality throughout the speech, but the crowd of devout Trump followers believed every word and got more and more infuriated with every passing minute.
Then he said, “And we fight. We fight like hell. And if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.” Soon after this, he told the angry mob to go to the Capitol.
If you don’t believe me, listen to the speech itself or read the transcript. It’s out there word for word.
So here’s the thing folks. The months of lies and sickeningly outrageous rhetoric making false claims that had no basis in reality set the stage for the tragedy that unfolded. All that was needed was to light the match, which is exactly what Donald Trump did in his speech on January 6th.
Donald Trump undermined and attacked our democratic values throughout his tenure in office, and the events on January 6th were a culmination of this abhorrent and repugnant behavior.
It is clear that Trump is threatening our democracy and should be found guilty by the Senate. He should then be barred from holding federal office ever again. The big question is will enough Republican Senators finally grow some spines and do the right thing to find Donald Trump guilty.
Time will tell. But whatever happens, people know the truth, and History is going to treat Donald Trump very harshly.
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