Defenders of the ex-president (it feels so good to finally say that) would argue that because Trump did not explicitly tell his supporters to invade the Capitol building, his hands are clean of the violence that ensued on January 6th. However, Trump has slowly poured gasoline on the fire of government-distrusting, QAnon-following white nationalists with a slew of inciting words, misinformation, and bigotry. Thus, a rhetorical situation was created in which the former President’s supporters took his words to mean “go ahead and attack the Capitol,” with the intention to take hostages and lives (many rioters shouted “Hang Mike Pence”).
For the days and weeks following the election, Donald Trump sprinkled inciting words throughout public discourse. He created a rhetorical situation by spreading both disinformation and allegations of widespread voter fraud. As the anger of his followers increasingly became a threat, the president tweeted throughout the months of November and December. He encouraged them relentlessly to take action and “stop the steal” on January 6th, the day Congress certifies the electoral votes, by tweeting “FIGHT” numerous times. On December 12th, Trump tweeted, “WE HAVE JUST BEGUN TO FIGHT!!!” Again, on December 18th, “@senatemajldr and Republican Senators have to get tougher, or you won’t have a Republican Party anymore. We won the Presidential Election, by a lot. FIGHT FOR IT. Don’t let them take it away!” From December 19th to January 3rd, Trump tweeted 8 times planning for and inciting the January 6th protest.
Finally, at the culmination of Trump’s dying effort to overturn the election, he dropped the match on gasoline-soaked kindling at the “Save our Country” rally, shouting “we are going to the Capitol” and “if you don’t fight like hell you’re not going to have a country anymore” (my emphasis added). Even before he took the stage his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, echoed similar rhetoric to Trump loyalists urging the crowd to “have trial by combat”1 (my emphasis added). Additionally, the president told the crowd, “You’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength, and you have to be strong” (my emphasis added). Fear and distrust left one option in the minds of the insurrectionists: take back your government by force (as they did with weapons, zip-ties, and shouts of “hang Mike Pence!” after constructing a noose just feet away from the Capitol building), or say goodbye to the “Great” America Trump boasted.
If the words he used at his rally weren’t enough to encourage violence, he called the rioters “special people,” claiming “we love you.” Finally, before the ex-president was suspended from Twitter–yet another indication of just how destructive his rhetoric proved–he tweeted, “These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long.” His irresponsible actions left five Americans dead. “Remember this day forever!”2 He added.
On the day of the rally and the vote certification, Trump stoked the fire with repetitive chants of “FIGHT”, “take it back”, and “show strength.” His loyalists clung to those words taking them as a nod of approval to take physical action against Capitol police, members of Congress, and the former Vice President. Should the insurrectionists have reached government officials, more duly elected representatives would have faced incredible dangers, and potentially death.
1) https://www.politifact.com/article/2021/jan/11/timeline-what-trump-said-jan-6-capitol-riot/
