![]() Trump supporters try to break through a police barrier, Wednesday, Jan. In it, Trump sought to empathize with the rioters based on the lies he’s spread about a fraudulent election. One top Republican ally called the President’s video a “piece of sh*t.” ![]() ET curfew, even some of his top allies were critical – though, after four years of equivocation and appeasement of his violent base, unsurprised – by the President’s response. ![]() Pottinger’s resignation appeared to be imminent while the others may sleep on the decision.īy evening, as sirens wailed on Capitol Hill and Washington entered a 6 p.m. National security adviser Robert O’Brien, deputy national security adviser Matt Pottinger and deputy chief of staff Chris Liddell were all considering resigning as soon as Wednesday night, according to multiple people familiar with the matter. Trump’s minute-long spot, taped from the White House Rose Garden, was hardly the forceful denunciation of the violence that nearly every one of the President’s allies and advisers were encouraging him to deliver over the course of the afternoon.Īides who had served with him for years began submitting their resignations, including the first lady’s chief of staff Stephanie Grisham, the White House social secretary and a deputy press secretary. Josh Hawley of Missouri will continue his push for an objection. Meanwhile, Giuliani and Trump were calling senators Wednesday evening, urging them to press ahead with objections, according to a source familiar with the discussions, who said it appears Sen. “To those who wreaked havoc in our Capitol today: You did not win,” he said. That was a distant cry from how Pence addressed the rioters during remarks from the Senate floor after the chamber reconvened at 8 p.m. “You’re very special.” Later, he seemed to justify the actions in a tweet, writing, “These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away.” In his video, Trump praised the mob, who broke into the Capitol using force, stole items from its rooms and posed for photographs in the legislative chambers. Instead it appeared the vice president, who was evacuated from the Senate floor where he was presiding over the Electoral College count, was responsible for coordinating the government’s response. Only after pleading from aides and congressional allies inside the besieged Capitol building did Trump release a taped video urging the mass of his supporters – many carrying Trump flags or wearing Trump paraphernalia – to “go home,” while still fanning their misplaced grievances about a stolen election.Īpart from inciting it, Trump appeared otherwise disengaged from the melee. Trump’s Twitter account was temporarily suspended. The messages and video were deleted by Twitter and Facebook in what the companies said was an attempt to prevent more violence. The sitting President, in tweets and a video, offered only mild rebukes while seeking to justify the crimes committed in his name. The mob interrupted the very act that will certify President-elect Joe Biden’s victory and formalize Trump’s loss.īut as predictable as the scene may have been, it nonetheless amounted to a low point for American democracy. In many ways the spectacle was the natural culmination of a presidency built on disregard for democratic norms, antagonizing government institutions and willful ignorance of the far-right’s violent tendencies. Several senior White House staffers resigned and many more – including the President’s national security adviser – were also considering leaving in protest. It left one woman dead, sent members of Congress ducking for cover and forced evacuations after pipe bombs were discovered in nearby office buildings.Ĭoming 14 days before the end of his presidency, the unprecedented episode prompted renewed calls for Trump’s impeachment and fresh talk of the 25th Amendment that would remove him from office. It was a stunning scene Trump encouraged hours beforehand and refused to condemn afterward. Three years, 11 months and 17 days after President Donald Trump warned from the West Front of the US Capitol that “American carnage stops right here,” the very spot he stood was engulfed by his own protesters bringing carnage of their own.
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