In an interview conducted this week — which included the day that marked the one-year anniversary of the attack on the Capitol by supporters of then-President Donald Trump, House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) spoke of the urgent need for people to join together against the kind of anti-democratic machinations perpetrated by the former president and his allies. Besides Trump’s direct incitement of the violence at the Capitol through his lies about the integrity of the election, he also continues to cling to excuses for what went down… helping leave the opportunity open for something similar to happen in the future. Through those troubling developments, Republican leaders have stood by him.
Biden, leaving the Capitol, tells the press of his remarks about Trump: "The way you have to heal is you have to recognize the extent of the wound."
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) January 6, 2022
As Pelosi poignantly explained things, discussing the original Capitol attack:
‘Make no mistake, our democracy was on the brink of catastrophe… Democracy won that night… These people, because of the courageous work of the Capitol Police and Metropolitan Police and others, they were deterred in their action to stop the peaceful transfer of power. They lost… This has to be a period of remembrance, of reconciliation… Lincoln said, With malice toward none, with charity toward all… We have to extend the hand of friendship… I think now people are alerted to the fact that there can be rogue presidents… We cannot shirk our responsibility. We have the power and we have the responsibility and we will live up to that to keep our country together… Let’s hope that we never elect a president who will incite an insurrection on the Congress of the United States.’
Marjorie Taylor Greene, Ted Cruz, Matt Gaetz, etc aren't fringe. They represent the new Republican mainstream, where loyalty to Trump is more important than loyalty to country and preserving power matters more than preserving democracy.
— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) January 6, 2022
On a more acute note, the House committee investigating the Capitol riot and the Justice Department are continuing their work to dive into the circumstances surrounding the violence, and the riot panel in particular has been reported to be examining potential recommendations for legal changes to help avert the possibility of another January 6. Besides the violence perpetrated by Trump’s supporters, Republican members of Congress tried to derail the formal certification of Biden’s presidential election victory that was scheduled for that day, and in so doing, they utilized an old law called the Electoral Count Act that allows for objections to certain electoral votes. Possible changes to that law include raising the number of Congresspeople required to back an objection before it goes to a vote and changing the grounds that are allowed for an objection.
Former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham tells CNN that during the attack on the Capitol, Trump was "gleefully" watching the riot from the White House dining room.
She said he kept hitting rewind and saying, "Look at all those people fighting for me."
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) January 6, 2022
The problem is that most Republican members of Congress have proven themselves to be — let’s just say not exactly interested in the kind of unification against corruption that Pelosi referenced. Some refuse to acknowledge that the attack on the Capitol was even all that bad. How can you collaborate with such people? Voting them out is in order as well.
What I just said in the Senate on the January 6th anniversary:
The attack didn’t come out of the blue
It was an attempt to reverse our election
Violent insurrection—Call it what it is!
It was spurred by Trump’s Big Lie, still with us now
We will act to protect our democracy
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) January 6, 2022