Opinion / Donald Trump’s alleged Jan. 6 response related to Mike Pence was ‘So what?’ - The Washington Post

Donald Trump’s alleged Jan. 6 response related to Mike Pence is damning.

By Eugene Robinson. October 3, 2024 at 5:11 p.m. EDT

  • Trump’s Response on Jan. 6: During the Capitol insurrection, Trump reportedly said “So what?” when informed that his vice president was in danger.
  • Election Refusal: Trump refused to accept the 2020 election results and did not attend Biden’s inauguration.
  • Policy Shifts: Trump has frequently changed his stance on issues like abortion to suit his political needs.
  • Legal Issues: Trump faces multiple legal challenges, including convictions and ongoing investigations.

When told his vice president was being hustled to safety during the shocking and bloody Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021?

  • So what?

The rioters were chanting “hang Mike Pence” as they stalked the halls?

  • So what?

The mob beat and trampled scores of police officers and forced members of Congress to flee for their lives?

  • So what?

Any decent human being would have been alarmed, or at least concerned. But according to the court filing, Trump’s display of callousness came just minutes after he had egged the mob on, declaring in a tweet that “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done.”

What Trump wanted Pence to do was refuse to certify Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election. For the first time in our nation’s history, a president refused to accept the decision of the voters, refused to honor dozens of court rulings confirming his defeat, and for hours refused to lift a finger while a mob of his supporters sacked the Capitol. If this alone does not disqualify Trump from ever again being president, what is wrong with us?

“It’s really rich for Democratic leaders to say that Donald Trump is a unique threat to democracy when he peacefully gave over power on Jan. 20.” – JD Vance said during the vice presidential debate.

@RalphHightower: The inauguration of Biden and Harris was peaceful. But Trump, the spoiled brat, was sulking at his Mar-a-Lago mansion in Florida. Trump was the first modern president to snub his successor’s swearing-in, another departure from our democratic traditions. However, the certification of the election was a God-damned fucking riot!

Neither Trump nor Vance will forthrightly acknowledge that Trump lost the 2020 election. And to this day, Trump will not commit to accepting defeat if — hopefully, when — Harris beats him on Election Day.

  • So what if Trump was convicted on 34 felony counts by a New York jury?
  • So what if the charges — falsification of business records — stemmed from the way he illegally disguised the payment of $130,000 in hush money to an adult-film actress for keeping quiet about her sexual liaison with Trump? Who cares?
  • So what if Trump spent a year obstructing attempts by the National Archives to retrieve the classified documents he took with him to Mar-a-Lago?
  • So what if he kept this sensitive material in a gaudy ballroom and a chandeliered bathroom? What’s it to you?
  • So what if Trump called the top election official in Georgia and pressured him to announce the discovery of just enough votes to reverse Biden’s victory in that state? “All I want to do is this: I just want to find 11,780 votes,” Trump said, in a conversation he cannot deny because it was recorded.
  • So what if Trump lies constantly, blatantly, sometimes viciously, even when there is no dispute about the truth?
  • So what if he continues to lie about Haitian immigrants in Ohio, falsely calling them “illegal” and falsely claiming they eat cats and dogs?
  • So what if he lies about crime, about the economy, about kids supposedly having sex reassignment surgeries at their schools?

Nothing matters to Trump except Trump.