I originally prepared this timeline in response to someone who claimed Trump ‘immediately” condemned the violence on January 6th. That’s false. Throughout the riot, and even into the night, Trump endorsed it, egged it on and even as it ended justified it. All while he and his attorney continued to lobby Senators to further delay the count of the electoral college beyond what the riot had accomplished.
TIMELINE
About 10:45 a.m. Trump’s attorney, Rudy Giuliani, addresses the crowd at the “Stop the Steal” rally. He urges those there to resist the supposed stealing of the election with “trial by combat.”
Just Before 12:00 p.m. Trump addresses rally claiming the election was stolen, using the word “fight” 23 times in urging them to take back their country, and exhorting them to march on the Capitol.
About 1:00 pm. Crowd members begin clashing with the police outside the Capitol.
1:34 p.m. D.C. Mayor Bowser asks Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy for additional Guard forces. The Secretary of the Army could not send them. Two days earlier Trump’s Acting Secretary of Defense had removed Ryan’s authority to deploy the D.C. National Guard, residing such authority in himself, personally, only.
1:49 p.m. Trump tweets a video of his rally speech. Capitol Police Chief Sund speaks with the commanding general of the D.C. National Guard Maj. Gen. William Walker by phone and requests immediate assistance. The Acting Secretary of the Defense would not authorize that assistance for about two more hours.
About 2:00 p.m. Mob breaches Capitol. Shortly after 2 p.m. Trump and Giuliani mistakenly call Senator Mike Lee intending to call Senator Tubberville. The Senate has been evacuated, so Trump clearly knows what is going on at this time. Lee gives the phone to Tubberville and Trump urges him to continue objecting to the electoral college count.
About 2:15 p.m. Mob marches through the Rotunda chanting “Hang Mike Pence.”
2:24 p.m. Trump tweets: “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify. USA demands the truth!”
2:39 p.m. Trump tweets: “Please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement. They are truly on the side of our Country. Stay peaceful!” Trump did not condemn the rioters. He didn’t even ask them to go home or even leave the Capitol. At this time an armed standoff at the House chamber is occurring as some House members still have not been evacuated. The standoff results in the shooting and death of one of the insurrectionists.
3:13 p.m. Trump tweets: “I am asking for everyone at the U.S. Capitol to remain peaceful. No violence! Remember, WE are the Party of Law & Order — respect the Law and our great men and women in Blue. Thank you!” Once again he does not condemn them and he once again does not ask them to go home or even leave the Capitol. The tweet literally includes the word “remain.”
Over an hour of chaos continues and Trump does not tweet or address the nation at all. Biden does.
4:06 p.m. President-elect Biden addresses the nation on television, calling the attack an insurrection. He urges Trump to stop it saying:
“I call on President Trump to go on national television, now, to fulfill his oath and defend the Constitution and demand an end to this siege.”
4:17 p.m. Trump tweets a video downplaying the events of the day, repeating false claims that the election was stolen and justifying what his followers did, saying: “I know your pain, I know you’re hurt. We had an election that was stolen from us. It was a landslide election and everyone knows it, especially the other side. But you have to go home now. We have to have peace. … You’re very special. You’ve seen what happens. You see the way others are treated that are so bad and so evil.” That’s certainly not a condemnation. This was the first time Trump suggested that his followers go home, and he did so rather tepidly.
6:01 p.m. Trump tweets again flat out endorsing the insurrection and making clear he felt it was justified: “These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long. Go home with love & in peace. Remember this day forever!” That’s the tweet in full.
Shortly after this tweet Twitter suspended Trump’s account for 24 hours because he was obviously using Twitter to send supportive messages to the insurrectionists.
7:00 p.m. Rudy Giuliani tries to call Senator Tuberville again but again the idiot calls Senator Mike Lee. Lee does not answer and Giuliani leaves the following voice mail: “Sen. Tuberville? Or I should say Coach Tuberville. This is Rudy Giuliani, the President’s lawyer. I’m calling you because I want to discuss with you how they’re trying to rush this hearing and how we need you, our Republican friends, to try to just slow it down so we can get these legislatures to get more information to you. I know they’re reconvening at 8 tonight, but it … the only strategy we can follow is to object to numerous states and raise issues so that we get ourselves into tomorrow — ideally until the end of tomorrow.”
Even as the Capitol was being cleared the cause of the insurrection was being served by Trump’s attorney.
The first hint from Trump of anything that might be considered a condemnation was over 24 hours after this timeline ends. At 7:10 p.m. on January 7th Trump tweeted a video that included a statement “To those who engaged in the acts of violence and destruction, you do not represent our country. And to those who broke the law, you will pay.”
Trump did not condemn the violence until over a day later. Prior to that, he justified and endorsed it and flat out egged it on. Some highlights.
- As calls for National Guard help are going on deaf ears, Trump tweets a video of his rabble rousing speech. Ten minutes later the Capitol would be breached.
- Ten minutes after a mob chanted “hang Mike Pence,” Trump tweeted strong condemnation of Pence.
- Over the next two hours Trump twice tweeted in the midst of the carnage, and while urging peace, did not remotely suggest the rioters leave the Capitol.
- Only after Biden called upon Trump to do his duty to end the insurrection and siege did Trump tepidly suggest the rioters go home, and in context did that while endorsing their cause and what they had done so far.
- As it ended, at about 6 p.m. Trump tweeted yet again that what had occurred was justified.
- Throughout it all, Trump and Giuliani are on the phone with sympathetic Senators seeking to delay the counting of the electoral college vote even beyond what the riot had caused.
