On Thursday, following the conviction of key members of the Proud Boys for seditious conspiracy, MSNBC's Chris Hayes walked through the implications for former President Donald Trump himself — and made clear that Trump's ongoing pandering and promises to other rioters is defining his bid to regain power.
"At a press conference this afternoon, Attorney General Merrick Garland said in no uncertain terms that the Department of Justice is not done seeking justice for Trump's attempted coup," said Hayes, playing a clip of Garland saying, "We have secured the convictions of leaders of both the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers, for seditious conspiracy. Specifically, conspiring to oppose, by force, the lawful transfer of presidential power. Our work will continue."
"You may be asking yourself, as I am, after watching that clip, the obvious question: what about the man at whose behest this conspiracy was launched?" said Hayes. "The man who would stand most to benefit? We have seen the government, in what is the largest criminal case they've ever undertaken, in total, prosecute the hundreds of footsoldiers of January 6th, the people that entered the Capitol. They've now moved to run up the ladder to the organized, self-proclaimed militia groups, and prosecuted those successfully for seditious conspiracy. What about the man who incited insurrection in the first place? The man these militias believed they were acting on behalf of, when they tried to overturn the results of a free and fair election by force? Because, make no mistake, Donald Trump is running for president a third time, in order to finish the job he started on January 6th, when he almost ended free and fair elections in this country." He played a clip of Trump.
"And another thing we will do, and so many people have been asking about it," said Trump. "If I run, and if I win, we will treat those people from January 6th fairly. We will treat them fairly. And if it requires pardons, we will give them pardons. Because they are being treated so unfairly."
"This is not a side issue, this is not ancillary, this is not a gimmick," said Hayes. "Embracing the January 6th insurrectionists is a central component of Trump's campaign. He released a song featuring a choir of January 6th defendants who are currently incarcerated. His official position is that the January 6th rioters, who broke into the Capitol, many of whom assaulted police officers, are political prisoners who should be pardoned. Just watch this remarkable encounter the ex-president had last week, while campaigning in New Hampshire." He showed a clip of Trump embracing and praising a January 6 convict who called for executing members of Congress.
"There he is," said Hayes. "Literally embracing a convicted January 6ther after learning that she had stormed the Capitol. That's the leading candidate for the Republican nomination of president. Throughout the primary, and if he gets a nomination, which right now looks likely, though who knows, he's going to singlemindedly advocate for the pursuit the successful completion of the same overall project the man in court today were convicted of furthering. Which is quite literally the destruction of American democracy. Force over votes. The end of the experiment."
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