(Leah Millis/Reuters)
The nauseating scene in Washington, D.C., is Trump’s fault.
I don’t want to hear his embarrassed defenders say “Whatabout the riots in the summer?” We drew attention to those riots and their apologists because they were wicked and destructive, not because “our side” needed license to do the same.
Trump’s claims of material vote fraud have no merit. He repeatedly and falsely claimed that Vice President Mike Pence could simply reject the electors sent by the states Trump lost and thereby make Trump president. This was a lie, very likely a knowing lie. And a dangerous one. There are reports that the vice president had to be evacuated to safety. No wonder, when the president preemptively accused him of connivance with a putsch.
Trump has moral responsibility for the violence today.