Outgoing President Donald Trump is expected to make history as the first President to be impeached by the House of Representatives more than once for his role in inciting the deadly siege on the United States Capitol by pro-Trump extremists.
Ahead of the riots, the President addressed a crowd of his supporters at a "Save America" rally that he and his supporters had heavily advertised in the weeks leading up to the joint Congressional session certifying President-elect Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential race.
The President once again repeated the lie that widespread election fraud orchestrated by Democrats delivered Biden a false victory. He urged his supporters to "fight" for him or they wouldn't "have a country" anymore. He then encouraged his supporters to walk to the Capitol to make their grievances known as the joint session was underway.
Trump's words at the rally were but a continuation of the countless lies from the Trump sphere regarding the 2020 election—lies that entrenched his supporters in the collective delusion that the will of the people had been subverted.
The chaos at the Capitol—which led to the deaths of at least five people—sparked a wave of resignations from the Trump administration by those who couldn't deny the role the President played in sparking the violence.
The Associated Press recently asked one of the President's sons, Eric Trump, about the responsibility Trump holds for the riot.
Notably, Eric Trump addressed the "Save America" crowd as well, urging them to show "backbone" and "fight" for Donald Trump.
While the President's son has lamented the backlash against Trump as "cancel culture," his answer regarding Trump's role in inciting the violence was illuminating.
According to the Associated Press:
"Asked directly in his interview if he felt his father incited the crowd, Eric Trump paused and then the line went dead."
The non-answer spoke volumes to critics of the President.
"Asked directly in his interview if he felt his father incited the crowd, Eric Trump paused and then the line went dead". Nuff said— Saundra Beck (@Saundra Beck) 1610554647.0
@EricTrump "Asked directly in his interview if he felt his father incited the crowd, Eric Trump PAUSED and then the… https://t.co/fQbJpfoHil— Southpaw (@Southpaw) 1610550465.0
Best part of this article: “Asked directly in his interview if he felt his father incited the crowd, Eric Trump pau… https://t.co/kdXA6n4i3H— Kristiana Larimore (@Kristiana Larimore) 1610548915.0
Eric Trump was asked if he thought his father incited the insurrection. He paused for a second and then hung up on… https://t.co/knHzAUyClr— KT (@KT) 1610545702.0
I guess that answered the question https://t.co/utKWa0K6k1— Maxwell Dumb (@Maxwell Dumb) 1610551009.0
see 2 options here: - ashamed/didn't know what to say - didn't pay his phone bill https://t.co/CJj4aVEMfz— Alfred Vega (@Alfred Vega) 1610548056.0
For many of those not related to the President, the answer is clear.
This is what Donald Trump and everyone who supported has done to this country. Shame on them all. https://t.co/AAHlTqzexQ— David Corn (@David Corn) 1610555803.0
Thanks to Trump, Pence, Cruz, Giuliani, Hawley, Gaetz,Jordan, Nunes, @DonaldJTrumpJr @EricTrump @IvankaTrump , most… https://t.co/V8hdzIjoZx— Imagine... (@Imagine...) 1610551924.0
The key to me from Cheney: "None of this would have happened without the president." That's the part few in GOP gr… https://t.co/mkuOu4TSP8— Benjy Sarlin (@Benjy Sarlin) 1610491727.0
On Wednesday, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that New York City would cut all contracts with the Trump Organization.