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For millions of Americans, Jan. 6 was a jarring day that ended their nation’s 150-year streak of peaceful transitions of power.
For Donald Trump, it was a windfall.
Ever since his supporters stormed the Capitol as Joe Biden’s victory was being certified, Trump has continued to falsely insist he won in 2020 and paint the unrest as the result of a stolen election. In December, Trump said that the real insurrection “took place on Nov. 3,” recasting the violence that left five dead as an “unarmed protest of the rigged election.”
It has proved to be a potent—and lucrative—lie. Nearly half of Republicans in the country believe Trump won in 2020, according to recent polling. For months, fundraising emails from Trump that claim that the 2020 election was “rigged and stolen” have pointed readers to a bright red button that reads -DONATE TO SAVE AMERICA. Trump’s political machine raked in at least $50 million in the six months that followed the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission, an unusually high figure for a defeated former President during his first year out of office and nearly eight times what Trump raised in outside funding while seeking the GOP nomination in 2015.
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The fallout from Jan. 6 has also allowed the former President to strengthen his grip on the Republican Party. Lawmakers’ reactions to the attack have become a personal loyalty test: at least six Republicans who have criticized the rioters have been targeted for primary challenges by candidates loyal to Trump. Members of Congress who supported the House investigation into the attempted insurrection have been featured in critical ads by pro-Trump groups. “Sometimes there are consequences to being ineffective and weak,” Trump said in May of the “wayward Republicans” who voted for the congressional probe to move forward. Trump’s office did not respond to requests for comment.
Trump and his allies are trying to do more than paper…
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Source : time
