Trump rewrites Jan. 6 for fans who don't care about truth. But we must remember. | Opinion
'You do not represent our country' rings ridiculous now from a politician about to represent our country while promising to set free a bunch of violent goons because they swear allegiance only to him.
Donald Trump was a president on his way out of office four years ago Tuesday, on Jan. 7, 2021, as Washington, D.C., was grappling with the abhorrent violence at the U.S. Capitol the day before – from a riot he helped incite because his fragile ego could not accept that he had been defeated.
Trump knew then how bad all that looked and how badly it looked for him. Consider what he said four years ago in a videotaped statement from the White House about "the heinous attack" on the Capitol.
"Like all Americans, I am outraged by the violence, lawlessness and mayhem," Trump said. "The demonstrators who infiltrated the Capitol have defiled the seat of American democracy. To those who engaged in the acts of violence and destruction, you do not represent our country. And to those who broke the law, you will pay."
Donald Trump wasn't actually 'outraged' by the riot
Now, let's fact-check those claims because Trump is two weeks away from again being sworn in as president.
First, he clearly was not outraged by the "violence, lawlessness and mayhem." He campaigned through 2024 on a pledge to pardon the criminals convicted of rioting that day, including thugs who attacked police officers with all kinds of weapons, smashed windows to break into the Capitol and looted government property inside.
Next, "you do not represent our country" rings ridiculous now from a politician about to once again represent our country while promising to set free a bunch of violent goons because they swear allegiance only to him.
Finally, "those who broke the law, you will pay" can be confounding since Trump's victory in the November election closed – for now – the federal criminal case against him for his actions before, during and after Jan. 6, 2021.
America's institutions survived Trump once. They will again.
It's easy to find all that exasperating. I think that's what Trump wants.
He and his fans revel in a distortion of reality that suits their political and pugnacious purposes. If you remember the Jan. 6 riot as a terrible stain on our history, they want you to be irked by their deceitful feigns at amnesia.
Don't take that bait.
Focus instead on the justice that has been slowly but steadily delivered for more than 1,000 criminals who participated in the siege on our Capitol.
This shows that American institutions endured during Trump's first term, holding fast through a dark time. I think it also shows that those institutions will hold again, despite Trump's announced plans to batter them all over again.
Trump won reelection. But he hasn't memory-holed the anger about Jan. 6. A Washington Post-University of Maryland national poll last month found that 2 out of 3 people among the 1,251 surveyed are opposed to Trump's proposal to pardon rioters.
The poll also found a startling split when those surveyed thought Trump "will try to rule as a dictator": 40% said yes, 41% said no and 19% said they were unsure.
That's scary stuff until the people surveyed were asked if American institutions like Congress, the Supreme Court or the military would stop Trump as a dictator: 71% said yes, 25% said no.
So faith in our institutions holds. Another example – Vice President Kamala Harris, in her role as president of the Senate, oversaw the certification of the 2024 presidential election Monday, confirming the win of the man who beat her.
That's the job Trump so desperately wanted his own vice president, Mike Pence, to walk away from four years ago while Trump fans were swarming the Capitol, promising to harm or kill Pence.
Remember Trump on Jan. 7, 2021, decrying "a heinous attack"? Investigators found he was rooting for the crowd and against Pence the previous day.
We have to remember the truths that Trump wants us to forget
This week, the U.S. Department of Justice said nearly 1,600 people have been federally charged in Capitol breach cases. Of those, 64% have pleaded guilty, while more than 16% were found guilty at trial.
The charges run the gamut, from misdemeanors for entering the Capitol illegally to seditious conspiracy for trying to overthrow the 2020 election.
There are still about 300 cases that have not been adjudicated, Politico reported Monday, and 60% of the defendants in those cases are facing felony charges of assaulting or obstructing police officers that day.
The department is still evaluating whether to charge nearly 200 people who were investigated by the FBI.
Through all that, just two people have been acquitted at trial for charges stemming from Jan. 6.
Jan. 6 started with a Trump rally in Washington, where he told supporters to "fight like hell" and march on the Capitol. Trump is holding another rally in Washington on Jan. 19, the day before his second inauguration.
He won't have to lie about a stolen election because he won. He won't have to incite an insurrection because Congress did its duty and certified his win.
He'll likely stoke more division with lies about the people convicted for assaulting the U.S. Capitol four years ago. Don't stew about that. Just remember the truth and tell it as often as necessary to those who would pretend to forget.
Follow Paste BN elections columnist Chris Brennan on X, formerly known as Twitter: @ByChrisBrennan