Letter: An ugly day at the capitol

To the Editor:

I have a couple of observations about the violence incited by President Trump at the Capitol.

First, Republicans like Mike Mulvaney and Pat Toomey, who went on Sunday morning TV and claimed that they could not have seen this travesty coming, must think we are all fools.

Anyone with an ounce of sense should have known that Trump’s leaving office would not end well. He told us in 2016 that he would not accept the results if Hillary Clinton won, and he told us again throughout the 2020 campaign. For Republican politicians to claim otherwise is patently dishonest.

Second, Trump supporters at the riot who claim they came for a peaceful demonstration and had no part in the violence strain our credulity. Of the dozens of Trump supporters interviewed on Wednesday, I didn’t see one that denounced the violence and tried to disassociate themselves from the mayhem that was taking place.

It was all smiles as they declared themselves patriots and revolutionaries. It wasn’t until people started being held to account, either socially or by the legal system, that the crocodile tears started. If you were there and didn’t leave as soon as the crowd turned ugly, you deserve all the condemnation now coming your way.

Richard Keslinke

Algonquin