Category: Donald Trump

Trump Supporters Reject Antifa Theory and Take Credit for Capitol Invasion

Some Trump supporters are floating the theory that antifa sympathizers infiltrated their ranks and are responsible for the invasion of the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday. Not only has an initial claim by the Washington Times been retracted, a major problem with this theory is that Trump supporters who were leading the charge — they call themselves “patriots” — deny it. They take credit for the action and threaten that there will be more such actions in the future.

Below are clips of Trump supporters debunking the narrative that antifa did the dirty work on Wednesday. I have also provided a link to a full video of the insurrection as filmed by one of the instigators.

DeAnna Lorraine and her colleague Brandon say in clear language that their Trump supporting group and thousands of their closest friends perpetrated the breach of the Capitol. “Antifa was nowhere to be found…” said Brandon.

The full video of DeAnna Lorraine is here at this tweet and I link to the full 88 minute video (to get a sense of what happened, I recommend watching all of it) here.

These Trump supporters appear to be planning more action like this. A complete review of just these two sources includes threats of additional aggression.

Today, Trump is out with a tweet undoing much of what he said yesterday about a peaceful transition of power.

Trump’s “patriots” who broke into the Capitol Wednesday will certainly take no criticism or disapproval from this.

In any case, the narrative of antifa (see other evidence here) being involved or responsible cannot stand up to scrutiny.

Trump Jericho Marchers Part of Capitol Assault

Lots of finger pointing at antifa today by Christians who say Trump supporters didn’t storm the Capitol yesterday during the count of Electoral votes in Washington, DC.  Instead, they say antifa infiltrators did it.

First, no specific people have been offered as examples. One would think all of those Trump supporters would know a stranger in their midst. Second, Trump supporters all over the place are taking credit for the mayhem (see here, here, and here).

The third point in response is the subject of this post. Jericho Marchers, mostly Christian Trump supporters who believe the election was stolen posted video of themselves occupying the outside of the Capitol and are bragging about it. Look:

The marchers are on the Capitol steps and the bleachers set up for the Biden/Harris inauguration ceremony. According to news reports yesterday, these spaces were off limits to the public.  The whole area was barricaded but the marchers broke through.  Here they are singing the National Anthem after illegally breaking through the barricade and occupying the Capitol steps and plaza.

I watched this yesterday as it happened and I couldn’t believe the marchers just walked through the barricades. The marchers ignored instructions and warnings from Capitol Police and occupied the area.

Another way of looking at the people outside of the Capitol is that they provide cover for the mob inside the Capitol to loot and terrorize. They were not supposed to be there and it took a significant law enforcement build up to clear them from the area.

I will end this brief post with a Trump supporter asking “what did you think was going to happen?” Pardon the language but I think he asks Donald Trump an important question. Trump invited his most sincere followers to Washington to do something about the election. What did Trump think was going to happen? You can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube, Donald.

Trumpist Protesters Assault the Capitol: Sane Responses

I have never been so glad to be Never Trump as today.

Trump protesters stormed the Capitol today disrupting the Electoral College count. I am writing this as the protest is going on so it is unclear how many injuries there will be. The protesters actually invaded the House chamber with no intervention from the National Guard. Apparently, our legislative branch is vulnerable to a mob.

In my opinion, Donald Trump incited the riot with his rhetoric leading up to the protest and by his speech this morning. His tweets of we won’t stand for the election to be stolen and similar themes have incited his followers to believe his lies and debunked theories. Now, his followers have crossed a bright red line and engaged in violent action.

Trump supporters who have gone along with the conspiracy theories about voter fraud and voting machine switching tactics need to own their rhetoric. Below, I have copied some reaction from those who say what I am thinking.

Eric Metaxas Promotes Donald Trump’s Last-Ditch Effort to Destabilize Election

On his Facebook page, author and Trump die hard Eric Metaxas is promoting Donald Trump’s last-ditch effort to get Republican legislators not to certify the election results in states where Joe Biden won.

OKAY, THIS SHOULD MAKE IT EASIER STILL! ALL EMAIL ADDRESSES AND A SAMPLE LETTER YOU CAN USE! PLEASE DO THIS AND PLEASE SHARE!
**
Dear Friends!
I just did an interview with Dick Morris which is posted here, but the MOST important part of it is so important that I will stop at nothing to get this message out. It’s all at the bottom and I’ve made it as easy as possible for you, with all the email addresses and a SAMPLE LETTER.
Dick has DAILY been on the phone with the president, and BOTH of them are convinced that if the votes are counted accurately the president won this election. This is not partisan politics, this is about preserving our form of government. If we cannot trust that our votes are being counted accurately, we have lost the republic!
So here is what Dick and President Trump are asking EVERYONE to do, and what I personally am asking you to do.
Every American must please write an email — or an actual letter if you like — to each Republican Legislative Leaders (their email info etc. is ALL listed below for you) in GA, PA, WI, MI, and AZ, asking them to INSIST — which is their Constitutional Duty as you will see below — that ALL signatures in their states are verified.
I am begging you, dear fellow Americans, to do this one thing for your republic, because our republic depends on it. People have often asked me what can I do to KEEP THE REPUBLIC. You can do this now. Will you?
Please please do this duty now and tell everyone you know to do it. It is not asking very much considering the stakes.
God bless you.
Eric’s Signature
Eric Metaxas

Republican observers have been involved all along. In Georgia, the Secretary of State is a Republican. According to the Department of Homeland Security, the 2020 election was the most secure in history. Metaxas has no proof of irregularities; he is a blind follower.

Metaxas wants his followers to send legislators in each of the battleground states the following email:

Here is the SAMPLE LETTER you might wish to use! You can cut and past it exactly as it is or you can personalize it with the name of the person to whom you are addressing it, etc.
**
Dear GOP State Legislative Leader:
Because the U.S. Constitution (Art II Sec 1) provides “that each state shall appoint, in such manner as the legislature thereof may direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole number of senators and representatives to which the state may be entitled in the congress” I am boldly asking you to do your solemn duty toward protecting integrity in this vitally important election by NOT certifying any electors UNTIL your state audits the election results with a full recount, with Republican observers no more than three feet away, and with full verification of signatures and the dates on which the ballots were received.
Our nation now critically depends on you doing your duty to insure that “we the people” are convinced everything has been done to the utmost level of integrity, lest the nation’s citizens lose trust in their most important institutions, and we lose the republic forever. You have a charge to keep and I ask you firmly and humbly please to do your duty in keeping it.
God bless you.
Your Name Here
END LETTER
***
OKAY? I hope that helps you get this done! Please do this today or tomorrow! And please tell EVERYONE you know to do the same. It is a small thing to ask when you realize what is at stake, and no matter how this election goes you will know you’ve done all you could. I just did it to every name on the list. Now it’s your turn!
God bless you.

Eric Metaxas

The ongoing legal effort to find fraud has been unsuccessful. This strategy involves getting Republicans to find enough Democratic votes to disqualify to make Trump the winner.

A more ominous aspect of this strategy was sounded by Trump (and John MacArthur) lawyer Jenna Ellis:

Can you imagine the chaos which would result if the legislator appointed Trump electors after Biden won the state? What a brazen power grab Ellis anticipates here. Millions of Michigan voters would be disenfranchised if she gets her way.

The votes have been counted. A “huge win for Donald Trump” would be a huge loss for our Republic. I continue to believe these efforts will fail, but it is stunning to see them being conducted in broad daylight.

On the subject of countering myths about voter fraud, this U.S. government website on cybersecurity is a gem. 

Trump’s Denial of Election Reality: Will Court Evangelicals Play Along?

Last night Donald Trump said he believed the election was being stolen from him and today tweeted this:

As in every other election, mail in and absentee ballots are being counted today and will be added to the totals. There are more of them this year due to record numbers of ballots being cast in this manner. Ballots haven’t appeared in a “surprise ballot dump.” Either Trump is ignorant or deliberately attempting to destabilize the nation.

Will evangelicals who support Trump buy into this?

Charlie Kirk of Liberty University’s Falkirk Center does:

Franklin Graham is lending credibility to this delusion:

Paula White, of course:

John Fea has a post on this same topic, check it out.

Greg Thornbury has this reaction:

Owen Strachan jumps in:

And of course Etic “Punch and Run” Metaxas punches and runs:

Metaxas in particular is melting down.

Evangelical leaders who have made their bed with Trump will not go quietly into the night. No matter what the damage is to the faith, they will continue to enable Trump’s delusions. It is shameful but predictable given where they have been for the last four years.

In my view, preachers don’t have any specific expertise to add to what is going on with election counting. It is taking place as it always has. What they should do is simply reinforce the beauty of our system that we count every vote. What they shouldn’t do is rebroadcast and reinforce baseless conspiracies about stolen elections.

If you see other evangelicals promoting this delusion, put a link in the comments.