As Donald Trump watched rioters storm the Capitol on television on January 6, 2021, one of the president’s top aides drafted Trump’s first tweet that urged protesters to remain peaceful, ABC News reported.

Last year, a congressional panel investigating Trump’s role in the January 6 events outlined how the former president was reluctant to call in additional law enforcement to stop rioters during the first few hours of the Capitol breach and instead spent much of his time watching television or making calls to his attorney and Republican allies.

New details of what went on inside the White House during that time show Trump needed the hand of Dan Scavino, who was his deputy chief of staff and is now senior advisor to Trump’s reelection campaign, to try to calm protesters.

  • @jballs
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    146 months ago

    Thanks for posting this much better article. It makes it clear how Trump really didn’t give a fuck that democracy was crumbling all around him, and his family and most senior aides were begging him to put a stop to it. Rather than trying to stop it, he continued (and still does to this day) to fan the flames.

    • @[email protected]
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      36 months ago

      I still wonder if all those Trump aides testifying the way they are is to try and convince juries that Trump really did believe he won.

      It’s clear he knew he lost, because otherwise he wouldn’t have needed fake electors and for Georgia to “I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have”

      He fucking knew he lost (dementia aside), and no amount of bullshit testimony can change his own admissions on recorded phone calls.

      • @[email protected]
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        16 months ago

        I just listened to the recorded phone call where Trump mentions this. Yes, he knew that he lost, but he was (at least back then) on a delusion that somehow the votes were either forged/miscounted etc. … all based on rumours from Trump media.