Since well before the election, President Donald Trump played the narrative that the only way he was going to lose was if it was fraudulent. Through his lies, he has encouraged his voters to unequivocally support him in all his efforts to change the results of the election. He knew that his supporters were indoctrinated enough that they would follow his lead – even if it meant violence.
When it was first announced that Joe Biden was to be the President-Elect, outgoing President Trump spewed conspiracy theories and lies that the election was a fraud. Trump continued to say that the election was stolen from him, when in fact this was one of the most secure elections in history. These lies appealed to Trump loyalists and his diehard supporters who hang on to his every word.
Trump allowed loyalists like his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani to attempt to overturn the election by taking most of the states he lost to court; however, Trump did not let it go when that failed as well. After the states rejected his bids to overturn the election results, his next recourse was to turn to the Supreme Court. President Trump believed the Supreme Court would overturn the election for him because he had appointed judges that he assumed were loyal to him. The Supreme Court did not allow Trump to alter the election results, so in typical Trump fashion, he kept the lies going. Trump’s next resort was to say that on Sunday, Dec. 13, the electors would not certify Biden as the winner of those states. Nonetheless, the electors certified Biden’s win. Trump said that on Wednesday, Jan. 6, his loyalists in the House, the Senate, and Vice President Pence would object to the official certification.
On the day of Jan. 6, Trump continued to push the narrative that the election was stolen from him. Trump and his devoted followers held a “Save America” rally, and at that event, they lit the flame of violence. “Now it is up to Congress to confront this egregious assault on our democracy,” President Trump said before the riot. “And after this, we’re going to walk down, and I’ll be there with you…We are going to the Capitol.” His words added fuel to a fire that had been building for months, and finally, when his reckless words incited a mob riot, he did nothing to stop it.
“If we are wrong we will be made fools of, but if we’re right a lot of them will go to jail,” Giuliani, Trump’s right-hand man, said. “So let’s have a trial by combat.” Freshman Congressman Madison Cawthrown had previously made comments about “lightly threatening” lawmakers if they refused to overturn the results and also spoke at the “Save America” rally. “There is a new Republican Party on the rise that will represent this country, that will go and fight in Washington, D.C,” Cawthorn said. All of these words led to the defiling of the most sacred walls of our democracy and eventually to the deaths of five people, including one police officer. Trump supporters believed they were doing exactly what Trump wanted from them, and that is why this horrible insurrection occurred.
As easy as it is to just blame Trump for the insurrection, his enablers need to be held accountable for their major part in pushing his lies. People like Senator Ted Cruz, Senator Josh Hawley, Representative Mo Brooks, Representative Madison Cawthorn, and Representative Majorie Taylor Greene are prime examples of Trump enablers. They still objected to the certification, even after violence occurred, and they encouraged his lies to be heard.
This insurrection did not happen in a vacuum. It was the culmination of his supporters hanging onto his every word for the past four years. His supporters couldn’t see past his lies to realize that their views are clouded by his manipulation.
