Trump Didn’t Make the Violence Stop on Jan. 6 and He Won’t Now

AP StoryIt’s another one of those days. Like Jan. 6, only this time it’s the day that one of Trump’s goon fans took a hammer to Paul Pelosi, husband of the Speaker of the House.

Like Jan. 6, we didn’t see this coming. Also like Jan. 6, those who are waiting for the former president to call for an end to the violence will count the time in years until he does.

Much was made of how Trump never condemned the violence and destruction on Jan. 6, 2021, never asked his supporters to stop it. The members of the Jan. 6 committee have made this point repeatedly, as witnesses described how they begged him to do so.

In Mark Leibovitch’s unparalleled new book, Thank You for Your Servitude, he lists person after person who pleaded with Trump to intervene, from Ivanka Trump to Sean Hannity to Chris Christie to every leader in Congress including Kevin McCarthy. But Trump let it roll right along. He sat and watched it live on TV and said and did nothing to bring the killing and marauding to an end.

And here’s the thing. He still hasn’t.

Trump has not only not called for peace in the land to this day, but he continues to gin up his base at midterm rallies and make threats on his Truth Social feed. Earlier this week, he “Truthed” American Jewish people that they should be more appreciative of him “before it’s too late.” And that’s just one example out of too many to regurgitate.

Here’s how the AP put what happened to Paul Pelosi in context:

…the attack raised questions about the safety of members of Congress and their families. Threats to lawmakers are at an all-time high almost two years after the Capitol insurrection…Members of Congress have received additional dollars for security at their homes, but some have pushed for yet more protection as people have shown up at their homes and as members have received an increasing number of threatening communications.

You know why threats are at all-time high? Because of Trump. You know who could make this stop? Trump. You know who hasn’t done that and will never do it because this is what he wants? Trump.

So here we are. You and I are going about our day today but Paul Pelosi is having brain surgery because Trump tells his followers they are justified in making death threats and exacting revenge on those he identifies as enemies. And if you’re not for him, you’re against him.

We can stop waiting for the former president to appeal to his followers’ better angels. We can also stop pretending that clock stopped on Jan. 6.

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