As the presidential campaign ramps up, Donald Trump’s strategy is to embrace the Jan. 6 insurrectionists, pledging to pardon all of them — including those convicted of the most violent crimes against Capitol police — on “the first day we get into office.”
Trump has opened his rallies with a recording of the national anthem sung by insurrectionists from their jail cells, and has posed with those who have been charged and convicted in connection with the attack.
As announcer asks the crowd to please rise “for the horribly and unfairly treated January 6th hostages,” and after the anthem, Trump often refers to them as “unbelievable patriots.”
It’s enough to offend even Karl Rove, a Republican campaign strategist and kingmaker. He ripped Trump, offered President Joe Biden advice on how to beat him, and hinted that even he would join the ranks of long-time Republicans who likely will vote for Biden in November.
“If [the Democrats] were smart, they take January 6 and go hard at it,” Rove said in an interview with MSNBC’s Ari Melber. “And they would say, ‘He wants to pardon these people who attacked our Capitol.’ I worked in that building as a young man. To me, the Congress of the United States is one of the great examples of the strength of our democracy and a jewel of the Constitution, and what those people did when they violently attacked the capitol in order to stop a constitutionally mandated meeting of the Congress to accept the results of the Electoral College is a stain on our history. And every one of those sons of bitches who did that, we ought to find them, try them and send them to jail.
“One of the critical mistakes made in this campaign is that Donald Trump has now said, ‘I’m going to pardon those people because they’re hostages.’ No, they’re not. They’re thugs. There were people who had automatic weapons in a hotel in Virginia, hoping to be able to be called up. We had people saying, ‘Where’s Nancy Pelosi?’ We had people who were … sitting at the desk of the Speaker of the House and attempting to find people in order to bring them to justice.
“[They were] yelling [to kill police] ... ‘Kill them! Kill them all!’ And so, what Trump has done this is beyond me. ... Now he’s appearing in a video with people who assaulted police officers with an intent to take the Capitol by force,” Rove added.
“Look, I’m a Republican, I don’t want to have a Democrat president. I want to have a Republican president, but we’re facing as a country that decision and everybody has to make it as to what kind of leadership we’re going to have.
“And to me, it’s is a mistake on the part of the Trump campaign to allow the President’s impulses to identify himself with the people who assaulted the Capitol rather than people who stand for law and order.”
Trump is facing a four-count federal indictment over Jan. 6 — charges he conspired to defraud Americans over his 2020 election defeat and obstructed the official proceeding in Congress to certify the vote for Biden. As the Supreme Court considers Trump’s claim that he should be immune from prosecution, it’s unclear when the case will go to trial, raising the possibility it might not be resolved until after the election.
Rove, 72, quarterbacked both winning presidential campaigns of George W. Bush, along with many other Congressional races, is considered one of the GOP’s iconic political strategists and advisors. He served in as Deputy Chief of Staff and advisor during the Bush administration.
www.nj.com
Trump has opened his rallies with a recording of the national anthem sung by insurrectionists from their jail cells, and has posed with those who have been charged and convicted in connection with the attack.
As announcer asks the crowd to please rise “for the horribly and unfairly treated January 6th hostages,” and after the anthem, Trump often refers to them as “unbelievable patriots.”
It’s enough to offend even Karl Rove, a Republican campaign strategist and kingmaker. He ripped Trump, offered President Joe Biden advice on how to beat him, and hinted that even he would join the ranks of long-time Republicans who likely will vote for Biden in November.
“If [the Democrats] were smart, they take January 6 and go hard at it,” Rove said in an interview with MSNBC’s Ari Melber. “And they would say, ‘He wants to pardon these people who attacked our Capitol.’ I worked in that building as a young man. To me, the Congress of the United States is one of the great examples of the strength of our democracy and a jewel of the Constitution, and what those people did when they violently attacked the capitol in order to stop a constitutionally mandated meeting of the Congress to accept the results of the Electoral College is a stain on our history. And every one of those sons of bitches who did that, we ought to find them, try them and send them to jail.
“One of the critical mistakes made in this campaign is that Donald Trump has now said, ‘I’m going to pardon those people because they’re hostages.’ No, they’re not. They’re thugs. There were people who had automatic weapons in a hotel in Virginia, hoping to be able to be called up. We had people saying, ‘Where’s Nancy Pelosi?’ We had people who were … sitting at the desk of the Speaker of the House and attempting to find people in order to bring them to justice.
“[They were] yelling [to kill police] ... ‘Kill them! Kill them all!’ And so, what Trump has done this is beyond me. ... Now he’s appearing in a video with people who assaulted police officers with an intent to take the Capitol by force,” Rove added.
“Look, I’m a Republican, I don’t want to have a Democrat president. I want to have a Republican president, but we’re facing as a country that decision and everybody has to make it as to what kind of leadership we’re going to have.
“And to me, it’s is a mistake on the part of the Trump campaign to allow the President’s impulses to identify himself with the people who assaulted the Capitol rather than people who stand for law and order.”
Trump is facing a four-count federal indictment over Jan. 6 — charges he conspired to defraud Americans over his 2020 election defeat and obstructed the official proceeding in Congress to certify the vote for Biden. As the Supreme Court considers Trump’s claim that he should be immune from prosecution, it’s unclear when the case will go to trial, raising the possibility it might not be resolved until after the election.
Rove, 72, quarterbacked both winning presidential campaigns of George W. Bush, along with many other Congressional races, is considered one of the GOP’s iconic political strategists and advisors. He served in as Deputy Chief of Staff and advisor during the Bush administration.
Staunchest Republican of all goes nuclear on Trump (and gives Biden campaign advice)
Go at Jan. 6, he says
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