Today is January 6th, a date that America should pay close attention to.
Three years ago, on January 6th, 2021, Donald Trump urged his supporters en masse to storm the Capitol and forcibly overturn Democracy. Nine people died as a result, and more than 450 people have been sentenced to prison for their participation in the attack.
That day, Trump stood on the White House grounds and told the crowd to “fight like hell,” and if they didn’t “You’re not going to have a country anymore.”
As Trump ramps up his campaign for 2024, he continues to push the “Big Lie” about a stolen election and that January 6th was a peaceful protest, etc. If you’ve been watching coverage of the Iowa caucuses, it’s more of the same: Lies, conspiracy theories, and speeches right out of Mein Kampf.
MAGA supporters on the Hill parrot such garbage.
For example, Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA), who was not in Congress during the attack, called January 6th the “lamest ‘insurrection’” in history, and called for January 6 defendants to be pardoned, claiming that the rioters were not armed.
GOP presidential candidate Ron Desantis said January 6th was not an insurrection but merely a “protest” that “ended up devolving, you know, in a way that was unfortunate, of course.” Vivek Ramaswamy, entrepreneur, and GOP presidential candidate, went as far as to push a more “fringy” theory that said that the insurrection was an “inside job” perpetrated by federal law enforcement.
Let’s cut the lies and wild conspiracy theories: January 6th was a violent attempt to overturn Democracy.
President Biden said it well in a recent campaign speech at Valley Forge, New York:
Today, we gather in a new year, some 246 years later, just one day before January 6th, a day forever shared in our memory because it was on that day that we nearly lost America — lost it all.
Today, we’re here to answer the most important of questions. Is democracy still America’s sacred cause? I mean it.
This is not rhetorical, academic, or hypothetical. Whether democracy is still America’s sacred cause is the most urgent question of our time, and it’s what the 2024 election is all about.
The choice is clear. Donald Trump’s campaign is about him, not America, not you. Donald Trump’s campaign is obsessed with the past, not the future. He’s willing to sacrifice our democracy and put himself in power.
Yes, that’s it. Trump, like all aspiring dictators, wants to put himself in power. He has no use for Democracy.
The irony is that so many Americans see the “former guy” as some sort of savior, a messiah, a strong man who can save America from “wokeness,” immigrants, Democrats, drag queens, and books about race and gender identity.
Take note America. Never forget what truly happened on January 6th, and who fanned the flames.