Trump, his fans to treat Jan. 6 as anniversary to celebrate – The San Diego Union-Tribune

The events of Jan. 6 will resonate for decades, and maybe longer. The violent attempt by Donald Trumps supporters to prevent members of Congress at the Capitol from certifying the victory of Joe Biden in last Novembers presidential election has no precedent in American history.

Unfortunately, not only will the wounds of that day not heal any time soon, it now looks close to certain that each Jan. 6 going forward, the wounds will be reopened when Trump admirers treat the day as an anniversary to celebrate. Every Jan. 6, most of the media, Democratic officeholders and the Mitt Romney-Liz Cheney branch of the Republican Party will lament the terrible events at the Capitol. But every Jan. 6, Fox News, other Trump-friendly media organizations and millions of MAGA stans will treat the day as akin to the Boston Tea Party the day (some) Americans declared war on tyranny.

Initially, Trump didnt frame the events of that day so tidily. He conceded there was mayhem but said the violent rioters were Antifa members wearing Trump gear. He did so even though House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield told him in a Jan. 6 phone call that it was your people rampaging in the Capitol not Antifa.

But the Antifa spin was quickly refuted by the backgrounds of those being prosecuted for participating in the insurrection. Not one of the 700 people arrested for their actions have been linked to Antifa. Many were documented Trump fans.

When the Antifa conspiracy theory was demolished, Trump, his followers and some GOP lawmakers had to come up with another way to frame Jan. 6.

The first was to pretend that what tens of millions of Americans saw in real time didnt happen. In a March appearance on Fox News, Trump called Jan. 6 a lovefest, describing a scene in which supporters were hugging and kissing the police. The same month, in a radio interview, Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin, depicted rioters as well-meaning, innocent Americans: Those are people that love this country, that truly respect law enforcement [and] would never do anything to break the law.

But when that didnt go well, in July, Trump praised the Jan. 6 rioters as patriots who acted as part of a noble revolution to save a nation that had lost its way. Yes, he went there.

If you think this is alarmism over empty rhetoric and are reassured that GOP candidate Glenn Youngkin won the Virginia governors race this week after keeping Trump at a firm distance, I invite you to read The Washington Posts massive multimedia presentation on the lead-up to the riot, the events of Jan. 6 and the subsequent fallout. It captures the sense of righteousness and abiding anger of those who sincerely believe Trump is the victim of a Deep State-media-Democratic conspiracy.

Some GOP officials, knowing that they were putting their careers at risk, have had the guts to push back. I get it that you think youre responding to what you think is the will of your constituents, Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan told the Post. But at the end of the day, youve got to be honest with them. When someone says the Earth is flat, youve got to vehemently disagree with them because you know its not flat.

But far more elected Republicans went along with or kept silent about the bizarre claims of Trump and his followers, including McCarthy and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. And many continued to echo and act on Trumps claim that he was the victim of a massive plot to deny him victory. Nineteen states adopted 33 new laws intended to make it harder for Americans to vote.

It has to be noted that these are complicated times. The Russian analyst who was the primary source for the error-ridden 2016 Steele dossier linking Trump to Russian operatives a document widely treated as fact or close to it by many journalists and MSNBC hosts was arrested this week for lying to the FBI about the dossier. This strongly strengthens the view of Republicans and prominent progressive journalists like Glenn Greenwald and Matt Taibbi that Russiagate was deeply exaggerated by many with an anti-Trump animus. Trump fans with a nonexistent case the 2020 election was stolen have reason to wonder why a weak case the 2016 election was stolen was taken so seriously. A backlash was inevitable.

What I did not anticipate was a backlash so intense that actual, open attempts to steal elections by manipulating voting results or invalidating legal counts probably will be made next year by elected Republicans in Trump strongholds.

Heres hoping Im wrong. Yet that may not be the worst of it. Trumps decision to celebrate Jan. 6 will legitimize and encourage political violence by his admirers against individuals and institutions targeted by the former president.

Remember what happened that day at the Capitol Trump supporters chanted that they wanted to lynch Vice President Mike Pence and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Then hold on.

A nightmare is coming.

Reed is deputy editor of the editorial and opinion section. Column archive: sdut.us/chrisreed. Twitter: @calwhine. Email: chris.reed@sduniontribune.com.

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Trump, his fans to treat Jan. 6 as anniversary to celebrate - The San Diego Union-Tribune