Each of these traits are on show in a solution that the previous president gave to ABC’s Jon Karl when requested in regards to the January 6 riot and — particularly — the chants of “Hold Mike Pence!” from some within the crowd.
“Nicely, the individuals had been very offended,” defined Trump, earlier than including that “I assumed (Pence) was properly protected and I had heard that he was in good condition.”
Which is simple for Trump to say! He spent the whole afternoon of January 6 — as rioters had been overrunning the Capitol, developing a gallows exterior the constructing and ransacking varied Congressional workplaces — ensconced within the White Home watching the proceedings on TV.
What Trump’s interview with Karl makes clear is that he had completely no downside with individuals chanting to homicide his vice chairman. In Trump’s eyes, this was an affordable response to the truth that individuals imagine the 2020 election had been stolen from him. They, after all, solely believed that as a result of Trump and his allies lied about (nonexistent) voter fraud and poll irregularities for months after the election.
In Trump’s world, no matter his supporters really feel is justified. They felt offended. They chanted that they wished to hold the vice chairman for not participating in Trump’s lie. How can he presumably say that what they did was flawed? In spite of everything, as he mentioned, “the individuals had been very offended.” Would possibly makes proper!
Nobody who has paid consideration to Trump since he burst onto the political scene in the summertime of 2015 needs to be shocked by this. However, you have to be appalled by it. As a result of that is the previous president of the USA taking the facet of rioters who had been threatening the lifetime of the vice chairman of the USA. And his solely justification for selecting the rioters’ facet is as a result of they had been “very offended.”
What’s maybe probably the most brutal coda to all of that is that Pence has remained largely loyal to Trump.
“Within the Oval workplace, Trump didn’t apologize to Pence. They saved their dialogue restricted, with curt and imprecise statements about how they might serve out their time period collectively. Pence largely listened. It lasted for about an hour.”
“‘I simply need you to know, I am nonetheless praying for you, Mr. President,’ Pence mentioned.”
“‘We have all been by means of loads, it has been a making an attempt time for all of us, however I have not stopped.'”
“‘Thanks, Mike,’ Trump mentioned.”
That Pence hasn’t disavowed Trump — even within the face of feedback like those the previous president made to Karl — speaks to the power and energy of the cult of character that dominates the present model of the Republican occasion. If you cannot stroll away from a person who takes the facet of these chanting to homicide you, who are you able to stroll away from?
