No.
I said that he was responsible. Not that he planned the entirety of it. Don’t put words in my mouth. His plan was to march to the capitol to force Republicans to not accept the electoral votes. He didn’t have anything beyond that. It doesn’t matter. He’s still responsible.
In fact, I said he was too inept to ever have anything he’s in charge of be successful. Good grief, look around.
This matters. It also matters that his most ardent supporters are not one dynamic. They are many. No thinking person thinks that everyone who went down to that rally did so with the express intent to riot, take hostages, leave bombs, destroy and deface property, steal, murder, or overturn a lawful democratic vote.
Nonetheless, he set it off and he’s been pandering to violent fringe elements for years. What happened Jan 6 didn’t happen in a vacuum. You cannot throw sparks at the tinderbox and not think that sooner or later doing so won’t burn down your house. Common sense.
Your analysis also assumes there was not help within the workings of government. That’s not true. There was. How could it be otherwise when Qanon adherents have managed to get themselves elected? There was also just basic incompetence after 4 years of Trump stripping institutions of both leadership and competence and replaced those people with loyal stooges.
Before you start saying TDS and I blame Trump for everything, let me remind you of a few salient points. Blame does not equate level for level with responsibility. Trump is no more to blame for this dumpster fire than anyone else who contributed to it by playing with people’s lives and emotions to stoke political points and play political games. Some Democrats included. People are hurting and the rich and powerful have gorged themselves off our misery too much for too long. What did any of you think would happen? It matters. Truth and accountability matter.
He’s no more to blame than anyone else who perpetuated the Big Lie just because he’s the one who started it. No Republican was bound to push what they know to be a lie just because it helps them or because all the other Republicans are doing it. They took an oath and at this point they are oath breakers. Every. Single. One. Of. Them. Except maybe Mitt Romney.
The planning actually was all out in the open and there have been warnings against white supremacy militia groups turning toward domestic terrorism FOR YEARS. Warnings that have gone ignored or been drowned out by political shenanigans. After all, these folks vote Republican and Republicans cannot win the popular vote as they are the minority. Apparently, the idea that toning down the hate would win them more Independent votes than they would lose from fringe nuts has never occurred to them.
Trump is responsible because he threw that final spark, because he did so and then did not stick around to keep it a protest, because he’s the originator of The Lie, because he’s President, and because he did nothing when it was time to step up and lead efforts to quell and condemn mob violence.
In fact, he’s still lying.
In all likelihood we are now standing in the twilight of our democracy and our union. I just don’t know if enough of us have it in us to walk back from what has happened. Most of us don’t even get gravity of where we are to be honest.
All the little Trumpians must feel so proud.
