He is a one-term, twice impeached ex-president who made over 30,000 "false or misleading claims" during his four years in the Oval Office, whose “inept and insufficient” response was in part responsible for about 40% of the COVID-19 pandemic deaths in the U.S., according to a February 2021 study that deemed them preventable.
And as of today, Donald Trump is 78 years old, and the subject of a New Yorker column published Friday alleging "age-related diminishment of a candidate."
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The ex-president met with House Republicans Thursday morning at the same restaurant where a pipe bomb was found outside on January 6, 2021. It's just a seven-minute walk from the halls of Congress, where many of those same lawmakers who were jovially dining with and cheering on Trump, had huddled, hunkered-down, and fled through that centuries-old symbol of American democracy, afraid for their lives as supporters of the then-Commander-in-Chief – some of whom have said in court documents they believed were acting under his instructions – attacked the U.S. Capitol building and police, used the American flag as a spear, defecated on the walls, broke windows, damaged, destroyed, and stole U.S. Government property, hunted for the Democratic Speaker of the House, calling her by name, and hunted for the Republican Vice President, chanting their threats to "hang Mike Pence," in a coordinated effort to help Trump overturn the results of the 2020 election he had lost by over seven million votes, and 74 Electoral College votes.
None of that matters now to the people's elected representatives of the Republican Party in the House and Senate.
U.S. Senator, venture capitalist, and former "Never Trumper," J.D. Vance (R-OH) on Thursday, walking in Washington, D.C. after he and nearly all of the Republican Senators met with Donald Trump and gave him a 30-second standing ovation, told reporters the GOP has absolved Trump of guilt and responsibility for the deadly insurrection three years ago.
"Well look, I think no real Republican with any credibility in the party is still blaming him for January the 6th. Frankly, some of his critics were in the room (Thursday) and were supportive and are supportive. So I think it’s a good thing and the Republican Party's in a good place.”
After House Republicans had breakfast with Trump, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, criticized for apparently not remembering Congress is a co-equal brach of the U.S. government and Donald Trump is no longer a leader of any branch of government, glowingly bragged the ex-president "said I'm doing a very good job."
Aaron Fritschner, deputy chief of staff for a Democratic U.S. Congressman, blasted Senate Republicans after they met with Trump, saying they "just rolled the red carpet out and welcomed him back with smiles and handshakes."
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He posted a photo of Trump warmly shaking hands with Senate Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who reportedly had not spoken to Trump since before the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S Capitol, and on that day declared him "practically and morally responsible" for the insurrection.
Journalist and Public Notice founder Aaron Rupar posted a "supercut" of Republicans responding to Trump's visit, also likening their embrace to how subjects speak of dictators.
Award-winning Talking Points Memo publisher Josh Marshall praised Rupar and blasted Republicans: "For all the 'triumphant returns' and 'Trumps flexes' and all the rest I don’t think anyone beside @atrupar really captured it. This was Pyongyang in the Rotunda. The maniacal clapping in unison, MTG almost breaking down in tears cuz Trump smiled at her. Total North Korea vibe."
Critics are slamming not only House and Senate Republicans, but the mainstream media's coverage, especially a social media post by the Associated Press, which declared Trump's return to D.C. "triumphant," a term often reserved for a conquering or undefeated hero.
Veteran journalist and D.C. Bureau Chief of Mother Jones, David Corn, co-author of the 2018 book, "Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of Putin's War on America and the Election of Donald Trump," criticized the AP's post, saying: "Sounds like a North Korean report."
Award-winning journalist Steve Silberman called the AP's post, "an instant candidate for the Museum of American Fascism."
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