After the Assault on the Capitol: How Trump Supporters See Trump and the Capitol Breach

In the wake of Wednesday’s assault on the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC by a mob of Trump supporters seeking to overthrow the results of the November 2020 election, I’ve tried to get a lock on how the Make America Great Again crowd is reacting to this latest act of domestic terrorism by right-wing fans of the embattled 45th President of the United States.

Although I can only report on what I have seen on Facebook and Twitter, most Trump supporters tend to do one of three things on social media:

1. They suddenly stop posting anything politically themed, especially if it’s about the 2020 election or the Capitol breach on January 6
2. They say “I condemn the violence and don’t condone what happened on Wednesday, but what about the riots by BLM and Antifa this summer? Why don’t Dems talk about that?”
3. They go full-bore on denial and deflection, saying “Trump supporters did not do this! The Capitol was trashed by BLM and Antifa to make our GREAT President look bad.”

Predictably, this is the “party line” being fed to Trump supporters by right-wing media. In Conservative Land, the message is, “We did not do this. We are the party of ‘Law and Order.’ It was the violent left that breached the Capitol to make us look bad! We are patriots!”

Don’t believe me? Check this out:

Here’s a sampling of what Trump supporters are saying on Facebook about the Capitol breach that left four insurrectionists and one Capitol Police officer dead:

L.B.E. writes: “The Dems have been provoking an active insurrection to overthrow Trump for the last four years.”

R.L. writes: “Democrats are evil.”

J.K. writes: At what point in any time ever did the president say ” take over the capitol “I mean, if tell tell you it’s cold outside and you and set the world on fire because you don’t like the cold .. how would that be my fault ?

V.S. writes: “Desperate lying rats will do anything to make them in control! Wake up America and let turn the tables on Pelosi Harris and the ugly demonrats!”

And here is a Desiderata-like mini-essay shared on Facebook by a Trump loyalist months before the election that shows the wide gulf of perceived realities between the President’s ardent followers and the rest of America:

I still love my democrat friends and family we simply see things differently… that’s what makes this great AMERICA work… we can all still get along.
You see Trump’s arrogance, I see Trump’s confidence.
🇺🇸You see Trump’s nationalism, I see Trump’s patriotism.
You hear Trump’s unsophisticated words, I hear Trump’s honesty.
You see Trump’s racism, I see Trump’s words being misconstrued and twisted by the media daily to fit their narrative.
You see Trump as a Republican, I see Trump as a Patriot.
You see Trump as a dictator, I see Trump as a leader.
You see Trump as an Authoritarian, I see Trump as the only one willing to fight for our freedoms.
You see Trump as childish, I see Trump as a fighter, unwilling to cave in to the lies.
You see Trump as an unpolished politician, I see Trump as a breath of fresh air.
You think Trump hates immigrants, I know Trump is married to an immigrant.
You see Trump putting an end to immigration in America, I see Trump welcoming immigrants to America LEGALLY.
You see Trump’s cages at the border, I see Obama’s cages at the border.
You see Trump with a struggling economy, I see Trump with an amazing economy until the Democrats shut it down.
You see the violence in the streets and call it “Trump’s America”, I see the violence in the streets of Democratic run cities who are refusing Trump’s help and call it “Liberal America.”
You want someone more Presidential,
I’m happy we have someone who finally doesn’t just talk the talk but actually walks the walk.
You and I, We see things very differently.
TRUMP 2020

We do indeed. We do indeed.