WATCH: MSNBC’s Damning Montage of Republicans Portraying Insurrectionists as ‘Peaceful Patriots’ and Normal Tourists

Several Republican members of the House of Representatives openly dismissed the actions of Trump supporters who attacked the Capitol on January 6th, calling them “peaceful patriots” and downplaying their violent attacks on Capitol Police by comparing them to normal actions of everyday tourists visiting the Capitol Building.

This came during a House Oversight Committee hearing on Wednesday. Morning Joe producers thoughtfully put together a quick montage of these comments for viewers to see Thursday morning, which featured Republican Congressmen Paul Gosar, Andrew Clyde, Jody Hice, and Pat Fallon, each dismissing the actions of the Trump supporters who left the speech given by former President Donald Trump to go to the Capitol and ostensibly interrupt the Electoral College certification process that was underway at the time.

Mika Brzezinski set up the montage by introducing “several members of the Trump wing of the Republican party offer blatantly false accounts of what happened that day.”

Rep. Hice is first seen saying, “It was Trump supporters who lost their lives that day, not Trump supporters who were taking the lives of others.”

Oh?

Rep. Gosar went more conspiratorial, demanding answers for his constituents. “The truth is being censored and covered up,” he insisted, adding, “As a result, the DOJ is harassing peaceful patriots across the country.”

Rep. Fallon was out here just asking questions, like, “So was January 6th an insurrection, or could it be more accurately described as a mob of misfits?”

And Rep. Clyde won the prize by concluding with, “There was no insurrection, and to call it an insurrection, in my opinion, is a bald-faced lie. Watching the TV footage of those who entered the capitol and walked through statutory hall showed people in an orderly fashion, taking videos and pictures. If you didn’t know the TV footage was a video from January the 6th, you would actually think it was a normal tourist video.”

After viewers were treated with the above quotes, Morning Joe aired new bodycam footage that emerged last night in which one can hear Officer Michael Fanone pleading with the insurrectionist to spare him because he has kids.

Much of the commentary that unfolded during Wednesday’s hearing was underreported, lost in the House Republican leadership drama that unfolded on Wednesday that saw vocal Trump critic Rep. Liz Cheney replaced in House GOP leadership by Trump supporter Rep. Elise Stefanik.

Charlie Sykes explained the phenomenon as “retconning,” which he explained as “you simply rewrite the history, pretend what happened didn’t happen and put your own spin on it.” He then added, “But for a party that has been devolving, yesterday really was extraordinary in so many respects, and you can only imagine what it will be like if Kevin McCarthy and those guys take the majority next year.”

Watch above via MSNBC.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!