I do not believe the president intended today’s riot. It has done him, and his hopes for a future political comeback, great damage. If he did not foresee what the people in the outer fringes of his support were capable of, he ought to have seen it. As it unfolded, he ought to have been quick to condemn it. And he should have done so without any sort of mention of his own grievances.
His subsequent evening tweet (since taken down by Twitter) bordered on incomprehensible indifference to the mayhem of the day and the death that is a consequence of the violence. He ought to be filled with remorse.
The president stoked emotions even as Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) and others were set to object to the certification of some electoral college votes and air the grievances he alleges. Before they could make their case, the mob struck.
The country is shamed. The criminals should be prosecuted. Trespassing at the Capitol and menacing elected representatives are crimes. Examples must be made so it cannot happen again.
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