Republicans have always condoned Trump's violence
Opinion by Jennifer Rubin
House impeachment managers continue to stitch together an unbreakable chain of events linking former president Donald Trump to the violent insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6. Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) on Thursday meticulously matched the disgraced ex-president’s language to the language of the rioters. This was a call-and-response symphony: Trump directed the mob (and belatedly sent them home — with “love”), and they repeated his rhetoric and followed his direction.
From the mouths of the rioters themselves, we heard them explain that their commander in chief had sent them to the Capitol. We heard audio of them telling the police they had been invited there. And after they were arrested, they explained that they had followed his direction.
The presentation shifted to Rep. Jamie B. Raskin (D-Md.), the lead House manager, who took senators through Trump’s history of invoking violence. “These tactics were road-tested. Jan. 6 was a culmination of the president’s actions, not an aberration from them,” Raskin said. “The insurrection was the most violent and dangerous episode so far in Donald Trump’s continuing pattern and practice of inciting violence.” He emphasized “so far.” From his exhortation of crowds during his 2016 campaign, to his praise of then-Republican congressional candidate Greg Gianforte for body-slamming a reporter, to his incitement of Michigan extremists (Liberate Michigan!), the former president repeatedly bonded with his MAGA crowd through violent rhetoric and refused to condemn white supremacists.
In a haunting closing, Raskin said, “President Trump declared his conduct totally appropriate. So, if he gets back into office and it happens again, we’ll have no one to blame but ourselves.” He asked, “Would you bet the lives of more police officers on it? Would you bet the safety of your family on it? Would you bet your democracy on it?” It was horrifying, because the honest answer for most Republicans is almost certainly “yes.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/02/11/republicans-have-always-condoned-trumps-violence/
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