There have been jokes about Republicans forgetting who was president in 2020, but the GOP’s habit of forgetting about the Jan. 6 attack is far less funny.
There have been plenty of jokes about Republicans forgetting who was president in 2020, but the party’s habit of forgetting about the Jan. 6 attack is far less funny.
Speaker Mike Johnson, I’m looking in your direction. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...
— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2025-10-15T19:29:17.179Z
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/jan-6-attack-gets-way-republican-party-talking-points-rcna237847
The GOP leader added, in reference to funding questions surrounding the ongoing government shutdown: “
We’ve always stood with Capitol Police and law enforcement. We’ve shown that in word and deed.”
Mike Johnson: "We've always stood with Capitol police and law enforcement. We've shown that in word and deed."
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-10-15T14:51:22.110Z
.....What’s more, as Johnson really ought to know, Congress commissioned a plaque to honor those officers who put their own lives on the line to protect him and his colleagues — though the Republican congressman still refuses to put it up, despite a statutory requirement.
Making matters a bit worse, the House speaker isn’t the only one who keeps tripping over the 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol.
White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller recently said the country couldn’t tolerate “unlawful” and “riotous” assemblies around government buildings, despite the “unlawful” and “riotous” events surrounding the Capitol on Jan. 6.
Donald Trump recently condemned demonstrators who “scream” at police officers, “an inch away from their face, and then they start spitting in their face.” Of course, Jan. 6 rioters, many of whom did far more than just spit on police officers at the Capitol, nevertheless received presidential pardons from the Republican president just hours after his second inaugural.
Attorney General Pam Bondi recently declared, “If you touch a law enforcement officer, if you spit a law enforcement officer, if you batter a law enforcement officer, we are coming after you. No longer will you abuse the great men and women of law enforcement.”
Around the same time, Bondi’s Justice Department hired a Jan. 6 rioter who was literally filmed urging his fellow insurrectionists to “kill” police officers.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt recently declared from her podium, “This administration wants anyone who has ever committed a crime to be held accountable.” It wasn’t long before observers took note of the inconvenient fact that Trump keeps pardoning criminals — including violent felons who attacked police officers on Jan. 6 — making sure they aren’t held accountable.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection recently used its social media platform to issue a statement that read, “Let this be clear: Anyone who assaults or impedes a federal law enforcement officer or agent in the performance of their duties will be arrested and swiftly prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Attack a cop, and life long consequences will follow!” Trump’s Jan. 6 pardons proved otherwise.
FBI Director Kash Patel recently added in a statement of his own: “Hit a cop, you’re going to jail.” He neglected to mention the Jan. 6 rioters who hit cops and were rewarded by the president with get-out-of-jail-free cards.
The bottom line is simple: Republican talking points are routinely rooted in the idea that Jan. 6 either didn’t happen or has been forgotten, which is every bit as ridiculous as it sounds.
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