On This Day In 2021
Trump tweets the Second Big Lie
Trump’s first Big Lie: “The Big Lie” wasn't complicated. It was just a single sentence: I won the 2020 election. Anyone who sought to counter the lie with facts was answered with the same Big Lie: I won the election. And so it went, in circles, until the majority of Republicans actually believed Trump’s lie.
His Second Big Lie: OTDI 2021, the day before the Electoral College votes were officially counted on Capitol Hill, Trump followed up with his Second Big Lie. This was also very simple:
The Second Big Lie may be more interesting than the First, because it seems like it might be true...especially if you fell for the lie that the electors in question were “fraudulently chosen.”
But, no, the Constitution does not give the vice president the task of determining the legitimacy of the electors. And none of the electors were fraudulently chosen. Fortunately, Pence did end up obeying his oath to the Constitution, rather than demonstrate his fealty to his boss, in performing his duties the next day.
Words have consequences: This Second Big Lie, of course, helped cause catastrophe the next day. Inspired by Trump’s tweet, the Insurrectionists even displayed a noose and chanted “Hang Mike Pence.” The Vice President of the United States of America literally had to run for his life when Trump supporters stormed the Capitol and got within 40 feet of him.
Trump’s Second Big Lie was tweeted here: www.twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1346488314157797389?s=20
The New York Times reported on the facts behind the Second Big Lie here: www.nytimes.com/2021/01/05/us/politics/pence-trump-election.html
A CNN animation shows the movement of the Insurrectionists and Pence in the hallway: https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2022/06/16/pence-rioters-capitol-location-2022-january-6-hearings-vpx.cnn
Trump blames Mike Pence
Trump blames Mike Pence