The 38-minute video below shows how Donald J. Trump’s persistent repetition of lies and calls to action over two months created an alternate reality that he won re-election. Mr. Trump’s words, which were echoed and amplified by the rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, are a central focus of his second impeachment trial.
“We won” 00:04
“This is a fraud” 04:28
“From Trump to Biden” 19:24
“Our country” 27:52
“Fight” 33:17
In hundreds of public statements from Nov. 4, 2020, to Jan. 6, 2021, Mr. Trump repeatedly used phrases like “we won the election” and “won it by a landslide,” and he said that the election was “rigged” and “stolen” by the Democrats. Such assertions have been proven false by the courts and elections officials across the country. Mr. Trump’s language later signaled to his supporters that they needed to “fight” because “you’ll never take back our country with weakness.”
Some of Mr. Trump’s statements were outright lies (that he won). Some were his own sentiments (“this is a disgrace to our country”). Some were oblique calls to action (“if you don’t fight to save your country with everything you have, you’re not going to have a country left”).
In a 78-page brief submitted to the Senate on Monday, lawyers of Mr. Trump say that he did not direct his supporters to storm the Capitol.
“You’re not usually going to find a leader telling you exactly what to do,” said Timothy Snyder, a professor of history at Yale University who has written extensively about the similarities between Mr. Trump’s language and that of authoritarian rulers. Instead, there’s some kind of “vague directive,” which followers sharpen and act on.
Autocratic movements throughout history have been distinguished by leaders repeating lies and suggestions that whip up anger among supporters, Dr. Snyder said. “That is exactly what Trump did.”
Mr. Trump’s defense team will assert that his false statements about the election are protected by the First Amendment, and that trying a former president at all is unconstitutional.
Dozens of constitutional scholars from across the political spectrum have said the First Amendment claim is “legally frivolous” and should not stop the Senate from convicting Mr. Trump. Legal scholars, including prominent conservatives, have dismissed Mr. Trump’s argument that it is unconstitutional to hold an impeachment trial for a former president.
How Trump’s words echoed through the Capitol
The Times reviewed hundreds of hours of footage from Jan. 6 of protesters, including the rioters that stormed the Capitol, and found evidence of how they mimicked — and amplified — Mr. Trump’s words.
For instance, collective chants of “Stop the Steal” morphed into threats of violence against leaders like Vice President Mike Pence (“Hang Mike Pence!”) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (“We’re coming for you, Nancy”).
“Trump won” 0:00
“Stop the Steal” 0:59
“We will fight” 3:10
“This is our house” 4:22
“Hang Mike Pence” 6:10
A number of the rioters have said they did what they did because they thought it was what Mr. Trump wanted them to do.
Mr. Trump “summoned this mob, assembled the mob and lit the flame of this attack,” Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the No. 3 House Republican, said in a stinging statement explaining why she thought Mr. Trump should be impeached.
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February 10, 2021 at 08:38AM
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Lie After Lie: Listen to How Trump Built His Alternate Reality - The New York Times
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