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This Saturday night on the eve of the five month anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack of our Capitol, Donald Trump — the man who incited that act of “domestic terrorism” as FBI Director Christopher Wray called it — will be delivering his first public speech since leaving office at the North Carolina GOP state convention.
The media coverage of Trump’s speech by Fox News, Newsmax and other pro-Trump outlets will of course seek to normalize Trump while ignoring Trump’s role in the Jan. 6 attack. That’s why it’s vitally important that the rest of the media frame Saturday’s speech as one being delivered by the person who incited an act of terrorism designed to overturn the 2020 election. Anything else will be normalizing an act of domestic terrorism.
Donald Trump’s key role in the Jan. 6 terrorist attack was not in question in the days after Jan. 6. Attackers were dressed in Trump “uniforms” with MAGA hats, shirts, etc. and even carrying battle flags bearing the name Trump. During the attack, Trump supporters stated in
After the attack, Trump supporters took to social media to brag how they entered the Capitol on Jan 6 for Trump, such as Jen Cudd who attended Trump’s speech Jan 6 and afterwards declared, “I am proud of my actions, I f*cking charged the Capitol today with patriots today. Hell yes, I am proud of my actions.” Cudd has since been charged with various felonies for her role in Jan. 6.
And subsequent indictments released last week by federal prosecutors of various members of the Oath Keepers who were charged for their role in Jan. 6 make it crystal clear they trained, plotted and attacked the Capitol because in their view Trump wanted them there. A jaw dropping part of the original indictment quotes one of the defendant’s reaction to Trump’s infamous tweet on Dec. 19 in which he wrote, “Big protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there, will be wild!” In response, the pro-Trump Oath Keeper shared a message with his compatriots stating, “Trump said It’s gonna be wild!!!!!!!…He wants us to make it WILD that’s what he’s saying. He called us all to the Capitol and wants us to make it wild!!!,” adding, “Sir Yes Sir!!! Gentlemen we are heading to DC pack your sh*t!!”
Even House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy
Since then we’ve seen a drumbeat of Republicans trying to downplay or even erase the Jan. 6 attack, much in the way white supremacists covered up the 1921 Tulsa race massacre. One of the most shocking came from Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) who earlier this month said it was “a bold-faced lie” to call Jan. 6 an “insurrection,” declaring that it was much more like “a normal tourist visit.” (Days later, a photo from Jan. 6 was released showing Clyde in the House chamber desperately trying to barricade the doors from these so-called “tourists.”)
And on Thursday night, Mike Pence got into the gaslighting game, saying that he had spoken to Trump numerous times since leaving office, but “I don’t know if we’ll ever see eye to eye” about the Jan. 6 attack. Pence, though, added that he will always be “proud” of what “we accomplished for the American people over the last four years.”
The Jan 6. attackers were literally plotting to kill Pence because of Trump’s lie that Pence could singlehandedly overturn the 2020 election. There were even chants in the hall of Congress during the Jan. 6 attack
Many in the media have done a remarkable job calling out the GOP’s lies and efforts to downplay Jan. 6. Now with Trump’s speech on Saturday, it’s even more important than ever that the media frame its coverage as the North Carolina GOP inviting as its keynote speaker the man who incited the Jan. 6 terrorist attack — complete with split screens during Trump’s speech of the Jan. 6 siege, reminders of Trump’s lies that incited the attack, his supporters stating they were waging the attack for Trump, etc.
Anything less is normalizing terrorism. Period.
Dean Obeidallah, a lawyer and writer, hosts SiriusXM radio’s The Dean Obeidallah show.