During the six hours of the riots, many people tried to contact Trump and ask him to calm the situation. But due to the incontinuity of contacting Trump himself, many people called him: House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy called Trump’s daughter Kushner, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham called Trump’s daughter Ivanka, and former White House senior adviser Kellyanne Conway contacted The assistant beside Trump.
And what is Trump doing? – He is sitting on the west wing of the White House, busy watching the live TV broadcast of the congressional riots, so that he has no time to answer these requests.
“It’s hard to get close to him. Do you know why? Because it was live TV. If it is a video, he just needs to press pause and answer the phone. But it’s live and he just watches it go on.” An adviser beside Trump said so.
The Washington Post said without mercy that those six hours witnessed a “paralyzed” president who was just a “passive audience” rather than a “resolute leader” who failed to fulfill the basic duties of the president.
Washington Post: Trump failed to take action as the mob stormed Congress
On the 12th, based on interviews with 15 Trump advisers, congressmen, Republican officials and other close friends of Trump, the Washington Post published a report reverting what Trump did on the day of the riots, as well as many other details. In the face of the help of many lawmakers and former allies, Trump turned a blind eye to it. Under pressure from many parties, Trump was finally forced to “persuad” the protesters to withdraw.
“It took him a while to realize the seriousness of the situation.” In an interview with the media, Graham said that during the six hours of the impact on Congress, Trump was just a “passive audience” rather than a “resolute and decisive leader” who failed to fulfill the basic duties of the president. He regards supporters who hit Congress as allies in his presidency, because they agree with his argument of “election fraud”.
When the riots occurred that day, Trump’s daughter Ivanka went to Trump’s Oval Office of the White House. Graham tried to contact Ivanka on his mobile phone and pleaded with Ivanka to urge his father to “persuade” the protesters who stormed Congress.
“They [Trump’s aides] want Trump to speak out and persuade protesters to leave Congress.” Graham said.
Like Graham, Conway, a former White House adviser, called a personal assistant beside Trump immediately after the riot. Conway said on the phone that he needed Trump to order his supporters to leave Congress. Conway also said she had received a call from the mayor’s office in Washington, D.C., asking Trump to immediately call the National Guard to calm the situation.
In contrast, House Republican leader McCarthy was luckier. He successfully talked to Trump. However, McCarthy later said that although he described the situation at the scene over and over again, emphasizing how terrible the situation was, he found that Trump was distracted and did not notice the seriousness of the situation.
After a frustrated conversation with Trump, McCarthy also called Trump’s female daughter Kushner. Just after Kushner returned from the Middle East that afternoon, the U.S. Secret Service told Kushner not to go downtown on security grounds. McCarthy asked Kushner over the phone to persuade Trump to make a statement and let his supporters leave the Capitol
In fact, the three people who called Trump for help on the day of the riot. White House aides received calls from several congressmen asking Trump to end the riots. The lawmakers said they had always been loyal supporters of Trump and even willing to vote against the electoral college, but the riots made them worried about their lives.
Outside Congress, there are also calls to the White House to ask for Trump’s help.
Two hours after the riots, Chris Christie, a former governor and Republican of New Jersey, said in an interview with ABC that he had unsuccessfully tried to contact Trump directly in the past 25 minutes to send a simple but urgent message.
“The president sparked the protest, and he was the only one who could stop it,” Christie said. “The president must step up and tell his supporters to leave Congress and let Congress deal with their affairs peacefully or he is his dereliction.” Christie said.
However, compared with Trump, who is “no oil and salt”, Vice President Pence, who is also in the Capitol, answered the call from congressional leaders. Pence spoke with military leaders at a secret location in the Capitol and said he would do his best to mobilize soldiers and reassure congressmen.
According to the report, even Pence has not received Trump’s attention. Pence’s chief of staff, Mark Short, revealed that Trump never called Pence during the riots to inquire about him or his family. Nevertheless, Short informed the White House that Pence and his party were all right.
In fact, on that day, Trump was not only addicted to watching live TV.
CNN revealed on the 9th that Trump and his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani are still busy calling people to delay election certification, and even make mistakes in a hurry, even making the wrong phone call.
According to a spokesman for U.S. Republican Senator Mike Lee, on the day of the congressional riots, Trump and Giuliani called Lee by mistake, and they were actually looking for newly elected Republican Senator Tommy Tu of Alabama. berville). They tried to get Duberville to come forward to delay the certification of the election results by Congress.
The Washington Post commented to Trump that “The president who vowed to maintain law and order failed to restore order according to the law. While the congressional police were at a disadvantage in numbers, he sat by the side of nothing. The man, who had long long long long long for presidential power, has finally given up many responsibilities as president.
In any case, Congress finally confirmed the outcome of Biden’s victory. Trump’s final “strong” failed to “turn the tide” and even triggered impeachment against himself. The tearing of American politics and even American society brought by this riot is far from over Biden’s inauguration.
