Nowhere in his 1 hour+ “Save America” speech on December 6th did Donald Trump tell his supporters to attack the capitol. At one point he said, specifically, “I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.” If you want to read peace and harmony in this speech, you can. As such, many of my Trump supporting friends have been calling the allegations that Trump incited a riot a sham; simply another ploy to get rid of a good president.
Earlier this week, I sat down to read his speech and noticed something interesting, albeit painfully obvious. Before I get into that, there are a couple of things we need to understand about his audience at this rally, what kind of mood they were in, and what kinds of things are appropriate to say/not say/etc.
First, it seems that Washington was aware that this particular crowd was ready for a fight, seeing this rally as their last ditch opportunity to overthrow the election. One intelligence report warned that “Congress itself” might be the target:
“Congress needs to hear glass breaking, doors being kicked in … Go there ready for war. We get our President or we die. NOTHING else will achieve this goal.”
Trump would have been briefed on this as would his security detail. Even without the reports, Trump was well aware, that his followers are angry, most of all at the alleged fraudulent election. No doubt these folks are patriots, concerned about their country, convinced that things have gone sour. They’re angry. Ready to fight, if needed, to protect their country.
To the second thing we need to understand, a thought experiment: Imagine if you heard allegations that your spouse has been unfaithful, and you’re convinced that it’s true. There’s evidence to the contrary but you’re angry, done, divorce papers spread out on the kitchen table in front of you.
I come in, a friend who cares about your marriage and wants you to reconsider, or at least settle down a bit before you blow everything up. If I talk to you about your love for one another, the good times you had, the benefits of peace and forgiveness, etc., I have a chance at talking you down off the ledge. If on the other hand my speech goes something like this; “Hey, don’t get a divorce, but never forget what she did to you. You’ve been faithful to her and look where it got you, but don’t get a divorce, etc,” it’s clear what I want you to do.
Trump stood at his pulpit on January 6, faithful followers ready to hang on his every word. They’re angry – everybody knows it – convinced that the government has been unfaithful, that they’ve been defrauded, cheated, and that things are sure to get worse. They’re on the edge, ready to pop.
Trump’s speech doesn’t follow any percepticle pattern of organization, and that’s OK; he’s speaking extemporaneously, his main points being scattered throughout the speech and reiterated multiple times. Still, it can be divided into 7 categories, listed below in order of emphasis.
#1: Election Fraud
Trump made over 100 statements reminding his people that they were defrauded, cheated, faked out, and mishandled. According to him, this election was a disgrace. Nothing like this level of election rigging has ever happened before, and no self-respecting patriot should put up with it.
#2: Hell in a Handbasket
Over 80 times, he talked about the danger us American find ourselves in. There’s an internal threat, and it can’t be found within the conservative Trump supporter camp: this enemey is clearly liberal and anti-Trump. The Democrats are bad, they’ve lost control, caused so much damage, and in their finest hour, orchestrated this election fraud. The Biden administration is evil, and will only result in more violence against our country.
#3: All things Trump = Good
Over 50 times Trump talked about the success of his adminstration and/or how amazing his supporters are. The people on his side are heroic, while the folks who don’t support him are weak. Regarding the Trump administration, it’s amazing too, done things no other administration has done before, etc.
#4: Fake News
On some level, you have to applaud Trump for his anti-media campaign; it’s truly brilliant, in an evil way. Over 30 times he reminded his followers that the media can’t be trusted, it’s biased against him, the “biggest problem,” played a fundamental role in all the ways his amazing supporters have been duped, etc.
#5: Don’t Put up With This
Over 20 times he told his followers to have a 0 tolerance policy for what’s mentioned above. These statements are filled with things akin to “Don’t ever give up,” “It’s up to us to save America,” “You’re not going to take it any longer,” “We have a fight on our hands,” “We’re not going to let them silence you,” “We’ve had enough,” “You have to fight,” “Somebody has to do something,” etc. The sheer number of “us vs. them” statements is a pretty clear indication of his intent.
#6 Moving Forward
Trump spent some time talking about what his administration will do in the future if it’s allowed to continue, but it’s a bit of an extension of the “Don’t put up with this” and the “Trump administration is great” categories. He talked about this 6 times.
#7: Peace?
Only once did he use the word “peace.” See the statement I shared at the beginning of this post.
Trump’s supporters have heard all of this before. His intent here isn’t to diseeminate information or clarfify things for his supporters. He simply reminded a mob he knew to be angry that they’re in trouble and will have to fight their way out.
If you’re still wondering what his intent was, I can’t help you, but I’ll leave you with one more thought.
Reflect back to our thought experiment of the angry friend who’s ready to end his marriage. Again, I can come in with words of peace and forgiveness, or I can stir up the fear, anger, and thoughts of retribution. If I do the latter, you can guess what my endgame is.
To that, Trump posted a video during the riot, when the crowd had shown itself to truly be in battle mode. The video goes something like this: “Hey, let’s not have any violence. The election was stolen from you. We’ve never seen anything like this before, but hey, everybody calm down. This was a fraud, an offense against the American people. But go home.”
You don’t say shit like this to an already rioting mob if you want people to go home. And you don’t deliver Donald J. Trump’s “Save America” speech to this particular crowd unless you truly want a riot.
It’s so obvious, I feel stupid writing it.
