The Second Trump Impeachment

Did Trump incite a riot? How do we know? Some pundits say he did. Others say he didn’t. How do we even know there was a riot? How can we get to the truth?

Most media outlets I have heard making the claim that Trump incited a riot do so without citing any evidence whatsoever. We are simply supposed to take their word for it. It makes me suspicious.

After doing a search on YouTube, I was only able to find two videos citing evidence. Both of them showed the same clip of Trump speaking to his supporters and telling them to march to the capitol to encourage the Republicans in congress to come through for them by upholding the constitution. At no point did he mention violence or entering the building. What he said was an entirely normal thing for any politician or activist to say. Where was the incitement?

Absence of evidence is not always evidence of absence, but in this case it is. Since the media has every incentive to show evidence if they had it, and I have already gone out of my way to look, I can only conclude that no such evidence exists. It is not absolute proof, but the chances of there being something I have overlooked is very small.

Some pundits have opined that the mere fact that Trump claimed the election was stolen was enough to incite a riot. While it is certainly true that rioters might riot in response to hearing a controversial opinion, this is not enough to blame the opinion giver for the riot. Otherwise, any controversial opinion might start a riot. Claiming the election was NOT stolen could also be incitement.

I shouldn’t need to remind anyone that the Democrats claimed that the 2016 election was stolen by Russia, and that Antifa has been rioting for months. Does this mean that the Democrats are also guilty of incitement?

There have also been claims that at least some of the people that stormed the capitol were confirmed Antifa or Black Lives Matter members and that they entered the building to intimidate the Republicans into not coming through for Trump’s supporters. The riot did occur while they were in debate over accepting Arizona’s electors. We don’t actually know who these people were or what they wanted.

Some have even suggested that the riot was ordered by Nancy Pelosi. While I have absolutely no evidence tying Pelosi to the crime, that is exactly the same amount of evidence I have tying Trump to the crime.

Furthermore, just days before the vote that acquitted him, it came out that the riot was actually planned days in advance. I don’t know whether this is true, but if it is, then it is impossible that Trump incited it from the words he said at the rally just minutes before – at least, not without time travel. Either Trump incited a riot or else it was planned, not both, yet there are those who want to have it both ways, claiming (without evidence) that Trump helped to plan the riot and then later incited it at the rally.

Like the first Trump impeachment, the second Trump impeachment was a sham. Logic.

In politics, we play with the lives of other people. Those we vote for will put in place policies that might make the difference between life and death, imprisonment and freedom, or poverty and riches. Voting without being fully informed is the worst form of negligence. Listen to as many different news sources as you have time for. Seek out contrary opinions. Check your bias. Read history. Read science. Find a trusted analyst to sift the news for you, explain it, and put it in context. Look for errors in their logic. Ask for supporting evidence. Most of all, actually think.

Logic. Love. Liberty.