Yesterday, President Trump made history. He is the first American President to incited violence in an effort to overturn an election. He led the first American coup attempt. For weeks, Trump had been rallying his base for mobbing Washington DC on the day Congress would certify the Electoral College vote.
Trump bears primary responsibility for inciting this insurrection, and he should be held accountable for it. His persistent and unfounded claims of voter fraud fueled the insurrection and gave elected members of Congress1 an excuse to challenge votes of the Electoral College. Trump’s supporters were in Washington DC to support that challenge. Those Senators and Representatives were pandering to Trump’s base by promoting Trump’s lies and challenging the election.2 By doing so, they cheered on the mob and they are also responsibile for yesterday’s historic insurrection.
Hold them accountable.
U.S. Senators who challenged certification of electoral college ballots (* withdrew their challenge before certification)
U.S. Representatives who challenged certification of electoral college ballots (* withdrew their challenge before certification)
Washington Post, https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2021/politics/congress-electoral-college-count-tracker/, 7 January 2021. ↩
Some members of Congress challenged the votes for strategic reasons, thikning they were safe in the knowledge that the challenge would be voted down and would have no effect on the election. Boy, were they wrong! ↩