Trump’s favorite part of January 6 is Laughing Before Trauma

There are several things that make Donald Trump delight when he thinking about January 6th, and long-term consequences of the riot. But it was the pain and hurt that really sparked his joy.

In a year since the deadly, Trump-inspired attack on the United States Capitol, some legislators, Police Officer, and reporters those there have openly shared the lingering suffering they still feel stemming from the anti-democratic violence and body count of the day.

According to three people with direct knowledge of the matter, the twice-impeached former president drew attention to emotional accounts, particularly from the Democratic congresswoman. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Some he found annoying. However, others became the usual target of ridicule and ridicule for him.

In several conversations with close allies over the past 12 months, Trump has repeatedly joked that certain lawmakers, police officers or journalists have been traumatized by the violent events of the day, according to reports. this source. There were moments when the former president speculated that his critics were “faking” their pain and anxiety for attention. Other times, he plays poorly, lamenting while posing as opposing legislators weeping about the riot.

Trump’s callousness towards his real and perceived enemies, regardless of the extent of the trauma inflicted, is the standard value for Trump: a man who has built much of his political legacy and his appeal by demeaning and vilifying those who spoke out against him. For example, despite his frequent statements about being “in favor of green,” Trump privately referred to several police officers present on Capitol Hill that day as “pussies, The Daily Beast before reported.

He’s spent the past year working hard and expanding his lies about that day. Through press releases, protests, and interviews with allies, he defends and smears violent rioters, calls for suffrage, and suppresses suffrage across the country. nation, and in doing so reinforced far-right revisionism on January 6 and “big lie“As the pillars of modern conservative fundamentalism.

And both in terms of policy and messaging, virtually every corner of questionable American rights is ready to go along with it.

In the hours after rioters stormed the Capitol on January 6, it seemed at least some part of the Republican Party could turn against then-President Trump. A handful of Senate Republicans have reversed plans to vote against Joe Biden’s endorsement, despite 147 Republican lawmakers in both houses. still voted against certification. Several top Trump officials, including two Cabinet secretaries, resignation from the government after the riots.

“Yesterday was the worst day for the Republican Party since Lincoln was assassinated,” Joe Grogan, who served as Trump’s top domestic policy adviser at the White House, told The Daily Beast a day later. Attacks in Washington, D.C. “It was a disgrace and a tragedy…[Trump] there were plenty of opportunities to get ahead of this. “

A year later, however, Trump’s grip on the party is almost as strong as it was when he was president. His social media access is gone, but Republican lawmakers still live in fear of Trump confirming a major challenger.

Deputies Adam Kinzinger (IL) and Liz Cheney (WY), the two Republican members of Congress most opposed to Trump, are unlikely to have a future in the Trump-controlled party. Kinzinger announced his retirement in October, while Cheney faced a Trump-backed opponent in the preliminaries.

And many of those who spoke up soon after reversed the process, as the Minority Leader in the Family”My Kevin“McCarthy, or stop talking about events together.

For example, when asked about his feelings about the one-year anniversary of the riots, Grogan simply declined to comment further on the subject. His comments from A year ago lags behind where the mainstream GOP landed at the time President Biden took office.

If anything, with the passing of a calendar year, the Republican Party has only become more radical. The January 6 defendants were recast in the right-wing media as political prisoners. QAnon, the conspiracy theory that triggered many rioters, has made new inroads into the GOP. In May, Allen West, then head of the Texas Republican Party, joined Representative Louie Gohmert (R-TX) at a QAnon convention in Dallas. Appearing at the event, former three-star general and Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn authentication the idea of ​​a Myanmar-style coup taking place on American soil.

The right-wing media outlets have spent the past year laying the groundwork for a contradictory narrative of January 6. Their plot immediately portrays the riot as a nonviolent march. tourist movement through the Capitol and a nefarious plot hatched and left behind by the FBI- Anti-fascists embarrass Trump that day by committing acts of violence on his behalf ta. At Fox News, the center of conservative media, top host Tucker Carlson steam Previous internal protests over the airing of a fake documentary show that the riots are a false flag carried out by the forces of the “deep nation”.

Furthermore, Republican consultants and longtime party strategists — many of whom claim to have felt the (short-lived) discomfort on the day of the bloody riots. history — feel encouraged by what they see as general disinterest from the majority of the public during the committee’s investigations on January 6, specifically looking into the pivotal 2022 midterm elections.

Republican post-riot efforts to reduce the violence and causes of the January 6 attacks have helped create partisan divides over how it views it. In one Washington Post-University of Maryland poll taken in mid-December, 92 percent of Democrats and 57 percent of independents said Trump deserves considerable responsibility for the riot, while only 27 percent of Republicans feel so. Republicans are also willing to ignore the violence that occurred during the riot, with 26% of Republicans polled describing rioters as “mostly violent,” compared with 78% of Democrats. and 55% of independents said the same.

Nor did January 6 inspire Republicans to abandon their false claims about the 2020 election. The likes of MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell and Trumpist attorney Sidney Powell have become celebrities. stars among the party’s grassroots for carrying out the “Big Lie” even after the uprising. Trump supporters flocked to events around the country where Lindell, Powell and their countrymen talked about their plans to overturn the election. Meanwhile, elected Republicans at the state level have seized on false claims of Biden’s victory to pass legislation restricting the vote and win over conservative activists by doing so. presently check bogus votes.

Over the past year, Trump has grown to the point of being encouraged by the unwavering support of conservative voters, right-wing media, and heavy GOP supporters that he has begun planning his presidency. second term, whether he receives a term or not.

Earlier this year, according to two people familiar with the situation, the former president began asking friends and fellow golfers which they think he should pick for senior administration and cabinet positions, whether he will return to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave after the 2024 election.

Some of the potential options that have been floating around Trump’s brain are Specifically Trump-y. One of the possible options he asked several confidants about last year was the former Fox Business star Lou Dobbs, another Trumpist DEADMAN who has for many years acted as top informal advisor. Two sources say that Trump has considered adding “Lou” to his cabinet, if he gets the chance.

Thanks to the Republican Party’s continued protection and promotion of Trump, and the party’s sustained efforts to vindicate January 6, he may well stand a chance.