In response to Donald Trump’s recent decision to clamp down on crime in Washington D.C., Nancy Pelosi accused him of gross hypocrisy, citing once again his refusal to supply the Capital with sufficient protection as it was overrun by his own insurgents on Jan. 6. Trump has of course insisted that he recommended calling in the National Guard to maintain order on that day. Former D.C. Chief of Police Steven Sund fully supports Trump’s claim, calling Pelosi herself the hypocrite in that he had repeatedly been rejected by her Sergeant at Arms in his requests for assistance in dealing with the situation.
If Trump had wanted to overthrow the U.S. government, he surely would not have pressed for an increased police presence on Jan. 6. What occurred that day was a validly motivated protest rather than an “insurrection.” Yet spurred on by hypocrites such as Pelosi and others, the lie persists that individuals such as Richard Barnett, who entered her office and scornfully put his feet up on her desk, were actually violent anarchists trying to overthrow America’s Democracy.