Sam Lowry said:
RMF5630 said:
Sam Lowry said:
whiterock said:
Sam Lowry said:
RMF5630 said:
Sam Lowry said:
Controlling the site wasn't the point. It was an attempt to trigger martial law and military action to halt the transfer of power.
That is absolutely foolish, martial law would not have stopped peaceful transfer of power. If anything it would have ensured it.
It was a demonstration turned into a riot by misguided lunatics. They should and will be prosecuted. No matter how you cut it insurrection or coup is a stretch. You saw it, it was televised that looked like an organized coup???
Tell it to the insurrectionists, my friend. It was their plan.
But it wasn't Trump's plan.
And it wasn't anyone else's plan.
Two nutjobs talking.
Two nutjobs who actually thought Trump would pull a coup to hold onto power.
(actually, there are a lot more than two nutjobs who thought/think that, orders of magnitude more on the left.)
Two nutjobs who wanted to be there, to be in place to help when what they thought would happen happened.
Only it didn't happen.
I know a thing or three about coups & coup plotting from places where they actually are part of the political tradition. Trump undertook not a single step to interrupt constitutional process. Not one. But he and members of his admin whose involvement would be necessary took positive steps to support that process.
You know a thing or three about spin. Trump's instructions were to "do whatever is necessary to protect demonstrators that were executing their constitutionally protected rights." He was supporting his people, not the process.
Sam, you are now really pushing it.
If Obama or Biden say that same line, they are protecting Democracy. Trump, protecting his own (even though Trump has a track record on NOT stopping Liberal free speech during the riots of 2020). Those people had EVERY right to protest and demonstrate outside of Congress. Those that overstepped were arrested and prosecuted. Trump did not pardon them,. He let law enforcement handle it. You may think he waited too soon. He may have even enjoyed watching people demonstrate against Congress, but NONE of that is illegal or conspiratorial.
Just because you don't like it or agree, does not make it illegal. The statement you put out in your post is EXACTLY what a President should say, unless your Trump than there are ulterior motives that never seem to be able to be proved...
I was responding to Whiterock's speculation about Trump's motives. There's nothing wrong with the instructions per se. They were part of a brief conversastion with his Secretary of Defense in which he mentioned a need for 10,000 National Guard troops. That in turn is the basis of Whiterock's claim that Trump was supporting the constitutional process. But there's nothing to suggest he was concerned with the constitutional process, and many factors weigh against that conclusion -- his role in instigating the riot, urging the vice president to breach his duty, refusing to act timely to protect the VP and the legislature, professing love for the rioters, suggesting the idea of pardons, etc. If you're going to praise Trump's commitment to the peaceful transfer of power based on one offhand remark, it had better be a clear one. In context, it's not clear that he had anything in mind except protecting his own foot-soldiers.
Did Trump turn over power and leave on Inauguration Day? Yes
Did Pence try and stop the Certification? No
0Who is in charge of the Capital Police Force for Congressional protection? Speaker of the House
Did Trump tell the people to be peaceful? Yes
Did Trump tell them to stand down? Yes
Did he authorize the National Guard? Yes
Did he pardon the people that broke in? No
Were people arrested and tried for breaking in? Yes
You may not like his bluster, you may not like his timeline, and you may believe someone should have done better. But that does not make a conspiracy, insurrection or collusion. Everyone did what they were supposed to do with the exception of Pelosi. Nobody seems to be asking why such a sparse Capitol Police presence when they knew the environment. Gonna be hard to prosecute Trump when ultimately everything was done to stop it. Can you answer one of those differently? That doesn't include I don't think he should of...