Day 1,448: Trump incites failed insurrection, as MAGA mob storms Capitol
The single most ignominious day of Donald Trump’s tenure in office began with him imploring his followers to not let the election results be certified by Congress and ended with many calls for his immediate removal from office.
Wednesday morning, Trump pushed his supporters to march on the Capitol, telling them “I’ll be with you.” He implored them to pressure Congress to not count the votes from certain states in a last-ditch, impossible effort to steal the election. During an event he’s touted for weeks, he even called out his own vice president, falsely claiming that Mike Pence, as president of the Senate, had certain powers that would allow a Trump victory.
Mr. Trump repeated false claims that the election was rigged, that Mr. Biden didn’t win, and that Vice President Mike Pence can change the outcome of the election.
“I hope Mike is going to do the right thing, I hope so. I hope so. Because if Mike Pence does the right thing, we win the election,” Mr. Trump falsely said. “… He has the absolute right to do it. We’re supposed to protect our country, support our country, support our Constitution, and protect our Constitution.”
The MAGA mob followed Trump’s advice and stormed the Capitol, breaching the barriers in a manner not seen in 200 years.
The angry group of hundreds, clad in Trump gear and military cosplay, broke windows, slammed on doors and forced their way inside the building.
By the time order was restored, a woman had been shot dead, three others were dead from what authorities called “medical emergencies,” and many others were taken to the hospital. While there was plenty of clean up to do, Congress reconvened in the evening to certify the vote.
Trump, while the violence was occurring, was continuing to slam Pence on Twitter. He alleged, “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify. USA demands the truth!” He later tweeted a video attempting to justify the mob’s actions, and tweeted a similar message.
Even during the violence, Trump was only thinking about himself. Twitter mercifully suspended his account and deleted at least the three tweets noted above.
Republican enthusiasm for objecting to the certification of the election — already waning — almost entirely evaporated, save for a few extremists determined to sow more discord in the country. It had been replaced by renewed calls for Trump’s removal.
Democrats scrambled to draft new articles of impeachment, despite just two weeks left in Trump’s tenure. Trump’s cabinet, meanwhile, in an extraordinary act, is reportedly discussing his ouster by way of the 25th Amendment.
Trump has spent four years cozying up to white nationalists, domestic terrorists and anyone else that would do his bidding and support him no matter what. Wednesday, a tranche of that group flooded one of the most sacred buildings in the country, hoping to engineer a coup to keep Trump in office.
January 6 will be remembered as an infamous day in American history, one that saw a president try to incite an insurrection, in a desperate attempt to retain power after losing a fair and democratic election.
One way or another, Trump will be out of office in two weeks.
1,448 days in, 14 to go
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