Trump Trying to Guarantee Post-Election Nightmare

No matter how it turns out, he seeks violence and instability. All for himself.

Ever grotesque and abusive, Donald Trump is rewriting the story of January 6. He claims that instead of the bloody attack that drove Congress into hiding, his followers held a “love fest.” According to him, the mob that seized control of the U.S. Capitol was composed of “patriots,” and the defendants jailed as they await trial are “hostages.” He has also made it clear that if he becomes president again this fall, he will issue pardons to many, if not all, of those convicted of January 6 crimes.

In other words, Trump, acting as a cult leader, is reassuring his base supporters that they needn’t regret or be ashamed of January 6. He’s asking the rest of us, “Who do you believe, me or your lying eyes?”

No one in the history of high-level politics has practiced distortion as much as Trump. He routinely lies about serious topics and concocts false claims about his opponents. His intent, which he has followed since his days as a businessman, is to get the press to affirm his deceptions by reporting them. Unfortunately, too many journalists fall into the trap as they strive to be “fair.”

Instead of playing along, the press should always respond to Trump’s January 6 lies with the facts presented by the House investigating committee over ten days of hearings in 2022. With access to more than 1,000 interviews, many hundreds of hours of video, and a substantial volume of documents (all of which can be found here), the committee established the facts of what happened on the worst day in the modern history of our democracy. Let's review, briefly:

• Trump stoked the rage of his political base with the Big Lie that the 2020 election was stolen from him, marking the first time in history a losing presidential candidate refused to accept defeat.

• Trump advisors and operatives organized a massive rally for the day when Congress would certify Joe Biden’s victory, aiming to halt the proceedings.

• Eager to rev up his followers, Trump urged them to come to Washington for an event that would be “wild.”

• At the rally, warm-up speakers riled tens of thousands of Trump supporters with incendiary remarks. For instance, Rudy Giuliani urged them to pursue “trial by combat.”

• Trump himself instructed the crowd to march to the Capitol. Thousands, including many armed individuals, complied.

• Enraged and ready for action, the crowd turned into a mob, breaching the Capitol building, overwhelming the police, and forcing members of Congress and Vice President Mike Pence to flee for their lives.

• As Trump refused to call them off, the attackers injured 174 police officers. One member of the mob was killed by police as she tried to enter the House chamber, and one officer died of his injuries. Others, distraught and depressed by their experience, took their own lives.

With the nation expressing shock and outrage, the Justice Department used videotape to identify and prosecute members of the mob, securing approximately 900 convictions on charges including assault, resisting or impeding officers, and obstructing an official proceeding. In a truth-defying feat of distortion, Trump and his supporters now claim that the Justice Department overreached for political reasons, despite these investigations beginning under HIS Justice Department. This claim can be added to other baseless claims Trumpists have raised to suggest that the government is somehow out to get them.

As a member of the January 6 committee, I know that a mountain of evidence supports the facts understood by everyone outside Trump’s cult. Having studied January 6 as closely as anyone, I also know that Trump is laying the groundwork for another attack. Here, as with so many other things, Trump is taking a page from the dictator's playbook – destroying history, elevating himself above the truth, and justifying political violence.

In response, we need to stand up for the truth and pressure the press to do the same. We must also prepare for a frightening reality. If Trump wins, we will face years of retribution as he attacks the Justice Department, other parts of the government, and those who have opposed him. If he loses, he will once again refuse to accept the results. His followers will become even more furious, and January 6-style riots could occur around the country.

We are in the danger zone. And that’s no lie.