How could anyone think a riot would overturn an election and keep an unelected person in office?
That more than two centuries of carefully nurtured democracy could be trashed in a few hours?
18 months ago we watched in stunned disbelief as our Capitol was attacked, police officers were brutalized and beaten, and bizarre characters wandered the halls, stole mementos and put their feet up on desks, ascended to the podium and eerily called for the heads of the Speaker of the House and Vice President.
For me, yesterday’s January 6 hearing made the insanity of it all stunningly clear. The testimony of a very young staffer crystallized how far we’d gone off track, and why.
Cassidy Hutchinson’s placid, calm recounting stood in stark contrast to the events she was describing, none more jarring than her description of then-President Trump’s furious and frantic effort to get his Secret Service detail to open up the Capitol, remove magnetic detectors and thereby allow his “wonderful people” to bring guns, knives, automatic weapons, pistols, bear spray, and spears to wreak mayhem on Congress’ certification of the 2020 election.
Trump’s megalomania, narcissism and bloody-minded pursuit of power at any price was on full display yesterday. Hutchinson’s recounting of agents describing Trump as irate because the agent wouldn’t drive him to the Capitol so he could “let his people in” says it all.
Five police officers died as a result of the insurrection.
Dozens more may well have been killed if the Secret Service had bowed to Trump’s insane demands.
For what?
What made Trump think that he could stay in office, prevent Biden from assuming the Presidency, reject the will of the American people?
How could Trump possibly think he could stay in office? That a bunch of weirdos, military fetishists, tinfoil-hat-wearing simpletons and assorted other nutjobs could turn the United States into a banana republic, one where a strongman could keep power because a few thousand criminally-stupid idiots wanted him to?
Did Trump actually think our entire government, our military, our law enforcement and security and intelligence operations, all of us would stand by and let him stay in the White House? Because a moron wearing a buffalo headdress says so?
Hutchinson’s testimony made it clear Trump is completely detached from reality.
Trump wants power at any price – up to and including killing police officers, destroying our Capitol, and ending the United States of America as we know it.
What does this mean for us?
We are each individually responsible. Ensuring our kids and grandkids live in a free country is up to each of us.
Thank you for this, well said.
Thanks for the note Michael –
be well Joe
Couldn’t have said it better Joe. And love your reporting on Ukraine. Lucid, direct and emphatic.
Thanks Tom – much appreciated!
be well Joe
Thanks for taking time to address this important issue, Joe. If not for the omnipresent economic challenges, the Commission’s work would be getting the attention it truly deserves. President Reagan’s quote “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction” is as relevant now as it has been since he first said it.
Thanks Jeff – appreciate your perspective; I concur with former President Reagan’s eloquent statement.
be well Joe
Her testimony was stunning! Miss Hutchinson is a brave and patriot woman who must be commended for her honesty!!
Thanks Anon – note I changed your name to avoid any association with a company.
and thanks for your note – appreciate you sharing your perspective.
be well Joe
I listened to Cassidy’s testimony. I didn’t hear her say that Trump wanted the Secret Service to open up the Capitol; what he wanted was for them to remove the magnetic gun detectors in the area where he was holding his rally — so the crowd could be (and look) bigger. Also, I didn’t hear her say he wanted to go to the Capitol to “let his people in.” As I recall, he wanted to “be with his people.” I’m going to go re-listen to those parts now. Your version is even more horrible and inflammatory — and I’m not sure it’s accurate.
Hello Jennifer – always good to hear from you.
Your interpretation of these statements is inconsistent with what I heard and read.
Trump wanted magnetometers removed to “let his people in” to the event on the Ellipse after which they would …”march to the Capitol”. Trump aides allegedly told Hutchinson that Trump was going to go to the Capitol.
https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2022-06-28/jan-6-bombshell-takeaways-surprise-hearing-cassidy-hutchinson
As to whether “My” version is is even more horrible and inflammatory…well, five police officers died; our electoral process was in serious jeopardy; rioters trashed offices, stole and looted; rioters were looking for Mike Pence so they could hang him, and Trump allegedly said “Mike deserves it.”
That’s about as horrible as it can get. My fear is the hearings to come will show just how close we came, and exactly how some elected and appointed officials were complicit in an attempt to overthrow our government.
Be well Joe
I am sorry that you don’t see the “theater” behind all of this. You are a sensible person and I read your information regarding compani9es such as OCCM and Worker’s Comp issues because I am in the industry myself. However, I read in disbelief the rhetoric of your column. The testimony of the young lady was total “hearsay” and not based on her actual presence to witness. In addition, the “riot” on January 6 was comprised of mostly peaceful people who were not involved in the violence that occurred in only some of the areas of the Capitol. Trump, a businessman, had his issues, however not nearly as many as the “empty suit” currently in (alleged) charge of this Country. At least we were on a much more balanced and positive path because of someone who actually knows how to negotiate and support capitalism. What we have now is abject disloyalty to the American people in favor of anarchy, illegal admissions at the border, Marxism and the destruction of our young by a BOE that seeks to destroy the foundation of this great Nation through brainwashing and subversion of our history and the truth. Shame on you!
Hello Pamela
welcome to MCM and thanks for taking the time to share your perspective.
Please allow me to respond to a couple of your observations.
1. This was not a judicial/court session, it was port of a Congressional inquiry. Rules of evidence are different.
2. Ms Hutchinson was under oath and any misstatements or false statements could result in criminal charges of perjury.
3. My post focused on the rioters’ entrance to the Capitol; the five police officers that died as a result of that riot are prima facie evidence of the rioters’ disregard for law and order. Were there some peaceful people on the Ellipse? Sure. That’s not relevant to my post, which was about
4. How and why Trump could have thought that stopping Congress from approving the electoral vote would work.
We will have to agree to disagree on the path this country is on now and was under Trump.
Be well Joe
Trump’s phrase “let them in” referred to letting the demonstrator/mob into the area on the Elllipse where he was going to give his speech. He wanted the Secret Service to remove the gun detectors they wanted to avoid. He was NOT referring to letting them into the Capitol. He DID intend to WALK WITH THEM to the Capitol — or ride alongside them in his limousine (“the Beast”).
Please see my response to your other comment.
Trump bears responsibility in those five deaths, that is for certain. The idea that he will not pay some significant price for those deaths is __________, I cannot think of the word. I am also very troubled by the fact that a portion of our country is in denial of these facts. Making those lost lives and the PTSD for many who survived the event, meaningless to those in denial.
Thanks for your heartfelt response David.
What’s really upsetting is how other commenters have ignored the murder of five police officers by these rioters. Somehow that just hasn’t been worthy of comment.
be well Joe
So many un-nerving aspects to this situation. The fact that it takes so much courage to do the right thing is one. How easily people let themselves get fooled is another. How you lose in life says much about who you are. So many “losers” in this scenario.
Thanks for the note Fred.
What really scares me about this type of scenario is how short the path is from where we are to an autocracy. That’s happening in other countries – Hungary and Turkey are two examples.
For all the talk about protecting “freedoms”, some people seem entirely fine supporting a person who is totally uninterested in living by the laws that protect those freedoms.
be well – Joe