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Greg Evans
Jan 13, 2021
The fallout from last week’s shocking attack by Trump supporters on the US Capitol building, which left five people dead, continues as many are still struggling to comprehend just what happened and why the president was so slow to act.
Revisiting the events, CNN’s Anderson Cooper on his Tuesday night show the host cited a Washington Post report in his opening monologue. The report claims that Trump was so slow to act during the attempted coup because he was distracted by the scenes that he was seeing live on television and failed to recognise the pleas for help and the threat it posed to those inside the building including his own vice president, Mike Pence.
A stunned Cooper continued by asking Trump a few key questions about his mindset on that day, which appear to be even more staggering in hindsight. The 53-year-old said, “Watching an attack on democracy, watching people hunt the halls of Congress for his loyal vice president, Mike Pence, hoping to hang him, watching people with zip ties searching for [Speaker Nancy] Pelosi and others.”
He continued, “What do you think the president was thinking while watching that and not responding to send in National Guard or addressing his followers ordering them to stop? Was he watching hoping it would continue? Was he hoping the man he tweeted against, his own vice president would be killed? Was he hoping Nancy Pelosi would be? Was he hoping this would somehow usher in a new Trump era in America and Ivanka could take over after that and then Donnie Jr.?”
Cooper wrapped up by saying, “If he didn’t want it to go on, then why didn’t he act to stop it? In fact, his first video message immediately after the worst of the attack was him expressing his love for the attackers, calling them special people.”
Cooper also pointed out that Trump has still not sent his condolences to the family of Brian Sicknick, the police officer who died during the attack and that it took four days for flags to be lowered to honour those that died on 6th January, some of them his own supporters.
On Tuesday, Trump refused to accept responsibility for the riot, despite whipping up the crowd into a frenzy just hours before. Meanwhile, Democrats have since brought fourth papers to have Trump impeached for a second time a move that has reportedly earned support from leading Republicans such as Mitch McConnell.
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