Commercial
Supported by
On politics with Lisa Lerer
Whether Trump is convicted or not, the extremism that flourished in his management is rooted in our politics.
By Lisa Lerer
Sign up here to get On Politics in your inbox every single day of the week.
It was an ordinary moment.
As a crowd of troublemakers made his way through the Senate corridors, Capitol police officer Eugene Goodman advanced Senator Mitt Romney and desperately ordered him to cover himself. The former Republican presidential candidate ran, taking off in the opposite direction. Explanation of why to flee: The day before, Trump’s supporters had interrupted M. Romney on his way to Washington, shouting “traitor, traitor, traitor” on a crowded plane.
The world has noticed so many photographs of this painful day, but almost everything was aimed at the attackers themselves. In Donald Trump’s political trial in the Senate, we’ve noticed a new angle: members of Congress are fighting for their lives.
I heard almost every single moment of the trial, moving around my apartment over the hours, first in the living room I saw it on TV, then from the kitchen I listened to the radio while making coffee, and later my computer in the room once the kids were delivered home, so I can avoid explaining why , exactly, those other people were breaking windows with masts and all the other questions to which, despite the detailed presentation, I still can’t answer with much confidence. You ask as if everyone will go to jail and whether each and every one is safe now.
It’s the latter that persists. Trump seems about to be acquitted, but does this unprecedented moment in American history mark the beginning of the end of a violent era or the end of the beginning?
During the trial, House leaders tried to show how things that once seemed normal have become a popular political struggle, such as “Shut Up” chants and violence in political demonstrations, yes, right or left.
“In 2017, for many of us it is incomprehensible to think that Charlottesville can happen,” Rep. Diana DeGette of Colorado, one of the House Democratic staff members, told senators, and said that Mr. Justice’s acquittal. Trump could inspire more violence. ” Frankly, what unsonable horrors can await us if we don’t stand up and say, “No, it’s rarely so America?”
But what if this question has already been answered? Whether Trump is doomed or not, the extremism that flourished under his management has taken root in our politics.
Robert Pape, an expert in political violence at the University of Chicago, analyzed the background and statements of some 200 attackers on Capitol Hill. His research revealed that most were middle-aged and middle-class or wealthiest people. Many had smart jobs. To the maximum, 89% had no obvious association with a well-known militant organization.
“The Capitol has revealed a new force in American politics, not only a combination of right-wing organizations, but a broader mass political movement that has violence at its center and gains its strength even from places where Trump supporters are in the minority. “wrote in The Atlantic.
This force shows few signs of retrospective: two weeks ago, the Department of Homeland Security issued a rare terrorism warning warning that violent extremists were emboldened by the attack and motivated through “the presidential transition, like other perceived complaints fueled by false narratives. “”
It turns out that these acts of violence have the effect of some Americans, especially within the Republican Party. A survey conducted through the American Enterprise Institute this week found that 55% of Republicans use force as a way to “stop the decline of the classic American lifestyle,” compared to 35 percent of independents and 22 percent of Democrats.
In his defense of the impe trial, Trump focused not on the attackers, but on the former president, arguing that he did not aim to incite a violent attack. Parts of his rhetoric cited through The House’s political trial officials were “selectively edited”. and the video was manipulated, they said. Trump’s team showed video montages of Democrats with the word “fight” – additional torture to a piece of political rhetoric already spent. (Of course, none of these politicians, deserves to be noticed, was tried to incite a mutiny. )
And they used Trump’s comments in 2017 after the occasions in Charlottesville, Virginia, that there were “other very intelligent people on both sides,” to argue that his comments had long been misunderstood. that encouraged extremists.
It is very likely that many Republicans in Congress will be in favor of this question of intent. Even with Trump absent from office, the former president’s assembly would mean alienating a vital component of his base, such as Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, who promoted unfounded accusations. Trump’s electoral fraud that led to the looting of the Capitol shows no signs that he has changed his mind. It is very likely that the final number of Republicans who will vote for the conviction is well below the required two-thirds majority.
Finally, trump’s guilt debate will be left in the history books, but what will remain indisputable is that his words mattered: extremist violence flourished under his leadership. And uprooting will be a much more complicated national issue than a few long days in the Senate.
Do you want to see more? We’d like to hear from you. Email us at onpolitics@nytimes. com and stay with me on Twitter at @llerer.
Is Senator Bill Cassidy a GOP unicorn?
Earlier this week, Louisianan made headlines after adjusting the Senate Republican to replace positions and vote to continue the political trial.
Cassidy claimed that he influenced Cassidy and Trump’s poor functionality in their final arguments.
“It was disorganized, random, they communicated about a lot of things, but they didn’t communicate about the problem,” he said.
The democrats’ business is whether more Cassidys can come.
That doesn’t seem likely. Including Cassidy, only six Republicans voted with Democrats this week to reject Cassidy and Trump’s constitutional objection to a trial of a former president. At least 17 Republican senators are expected to unsern the 50 Democrats to convict Trump by a two-thirds majority.
This would require a mind replacement. According to a New York Times whip count, three dozen Republicans have already said they oppose a conviction, and thirteen senators are undecided.
The reports of our Senate colleagues offer a review of the existing Republican mindset.
Senators Ted Cruz of Texas and Mike Lee of Utah were noticed in a room with Trump’s legal team Thursday night. The next day, senators presented their arguments for acquittal to some of their Republican colleagues.
Others flaunt their lack of interest as House administrators presented their arguments. Sometimes a dozen or more Republican senators were far from their mahogany desks. Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina retired to his party locker room to read on his phone. You may notice that Senator Rick Scott completes a blank map of Asia, which raises the hypothesis of whether Florida’s junior senator would be in Wuhan than in Washington this week.
And on Friday, even Cassidy reported that he may soon mingle with the herd. He was seen through piercing-eyed hounds dressed in a draft indicating that he was making plans to acquit Trump.
Just say no to the slime. You — and your sanity — will thank you.
Thanks for reading. On Politics is part of the political news cycle, bringing clarity to chaos.
On Politics will also be published as a newsletter. Sign up here to get it in your inbox.
Commercial