He is one of three scientists who drafted the Great Barrington Declaration, which argued that many governments were doing more harm than good by shutting down economies and schools. In the early months of the pandemic, Bhattacharya had established himself as an outlier among public-health experts. It was Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, and he wanted to talk about the coronavirus. Trump was still in charge of the government at the time.Īssociated Press writer Linley Sanders contributed to this report.One Sunday afternoon in September, 2020, Jay Bhattacharya, an epidemiologist at Stanford University, was at home in Los Altos when he got an unexpected call. 6 had been a “staged riot” orchestrated by the government. Last weekend on his social media site, Trump amplified messages claiming that Jan. “He is very concerned for these families,” Hughes said after the event.Īn Associated Press review of social media posts, voter registrations, court files and other public records found that the mob was overwhelmingly made up of longtime Trump supporters, including GOP officials, donors and far-right militants.īut that hasn’t stopped Trump from falsely claiming that others were responsible for the attack, including antifa and Black Lives Matter. Trump also recorded a video played at the group’s holiday fundraising event in Washington and hosted a dinner for family members of Jan. “They’ve been made to pay a price that is very unfair, in many cases,” he said. In June, he spoke at a Patriot Freedom Project fundraiser to support the defendants that was held at his Bedminster, New Jersey, club. Only 57% said that it was very or somewhat important in the fall, down from about 8 in 10 six months earlier. The Pew Research Center also found that, between March and September 2021, Republicans grew less likely to say it was important for law enforcement agencies to find and prosecute the rioters. Polling from Monmouth University showed that between March and November 2021, Republicans grew increasingly likely to say the anger that led to the Capitol attack was justified, with 54% saying the anger was either fully or partially justified in the fall - up from 40% that spring. It also coincided with a broader shift in public opinion. And it echoed the efforts of some Republicans in Congress, who had tried to recast the mob as nonviolent despite reams of video footage, public testimony and accounts from members of Congress, journalists and Capitol Police officers, 140 of whom were injured that day. Trump’s evolution began at a time when he was garnering relatively little mainstream media coverage. And when he did speak out, hours later, his response was tepid: He said he loved the rioters and shared their pain. As the violence unfolded, Trump ignored the desperate pleas of aides and allies to denounce the rioters and ask them to stand down. Trump was always reluctant to condemn the actions of supporters spurred by his lies of a stolen election. 6: It was the largest crowd I’ve ever spoken to,” he said. When asked if he had any regrets about his actions that day, Trump voiced no remorse and instead seemed most concerned about the lack of attention paid to his crowd size. … And it was a beautiful day,” Trump said at a recent CNN town hall. “They were there proud, they were there with love in their heart. 6 defendants if he wins a second term, but he has also fundraised for them, befriended their families and collaborated on a song that became a surprise iTunes hit. He has not only vowed to pardon a “large portion” of Jan. Now the early but commanding front-runner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, Trump regularly downplays the violence, lionizes the rioters as patriots and spreads false claims about who was involved. But 2 1/2 years later, any sign of regret or reprimand from Trump has vanished as he prepares to face federal criminal charges for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. That condemnation was delayed and only offered amid widespread criticism - including from fellow Republicans - for his role in sparking the mayhem. “Like all Americans, I am outraged by the violence, lawlessness and mayhem,” he said in a video, condemning what he called a “heinous attack.” 6, 2021, then-President Donald Trump denounced the rioters who violently stormed the Capitol building, breaking through barricades, battling law enforcement and sending members of Congress - who were set to formally certify his reelection loss - running for their lives.
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