What would Trump have done if he'd gotten to the Capitol?

According to Hutchison’s earlier recorded testimony, played during today’s hearings, it was not clear what Trump’s intentions would have been, had he made it to that far. “I know that there were discussions about him having another speech outside of the Capitol before going in,” she said. “I know that there was a conversation about him going into the House chamber at one point.” But by the time Trump might have made it to the actual building, things were already getting pretty dire. It’s quite difficult to imagine Donald Trump arriving at the Capitol, grabbing a spear, and clambering through a window. It’s equally difficult to imagine him appealing to the crowd for calm.

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No, what Donald Trump wanted was a photo op. The same president who had the National Guard clear peaceful protestors out so he could take a picture holding a Bible had one clear goal at the Capitol, and that was to take a photo of himself, glowering, standing in front of a big building that was filled with losers but surrounded by patriots. It would have been good TV, he thought. (He wouldn’t have been wrong!)

In a way, it’s a shame the Secret Service agents did their job. Arguments that Donald Trump was never urging on the rioters, that he never wanted anything like this to happen, were always absurd, but they would have been a lot harder to make if he’d gotten his photo op, waved a clenched fist at the rioters, told them to their faces how much he loved them. But while he was absolutely thrilled that the rioters were ready to do his dirty work for him, there was no way he was going to lead the charge. Donald Trump does not actually want to risk getting burned by the fire. He just lights the match—and makes sure he’s in the photo when things go up in flames.

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