The Republican Party: Lies, Hypocrisy, and Manipulation

I, like almost everyone in America, was extremely disappointed and frankly disgusted at the events that took place last Wednesday; not just the riots themselves, but the hypocrisy and blatant double standards that came from the responses from higher ups within our government. We saw some of the same politicians who instantly rushed to belittle and condemn the Black Lives Matter protesters approach domestic terrorists infiltrating the United States Capitol with negligence and even at times sympathy. To see such a blatant double standard is extremely disheartening, and the fact that some of these politicians even played a part in inciting these riots is concerning. The actions of these politicians pose a very real threat to democracy in this country; they show a blatant double standard, and they also highlight the lack of integrity, accountability, and honesty that has plagued the modern political climate as we know it.

The rioters that invaded the US Capitol did so in hopes of protesting the official Electoral College certification vote that was set to take place in the Capitol building on Wednesday. From the two month time period from the election week up until the riots, almost every prominent Republican gaslighted their core base to believe unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud within the election. Despite the fact that there was no concrete evidence to these claims, through pushing purely hypothetical conspiracy theories upon their base, Republicans have succeeded in leading people to distrust our election system. If you’re going to push a narrative to convince people that our 300-year old election system is all of a sudden corrupt, then you need to have decisive evidence that undoubtedly can give substantial weight to your claims. The people pushing this narrative didn’t have anything remotely close to this, as they didn’t really intend on  upholding the integrity of our democracy as they said, but hoped to manipulate their constituents for political gain. It shows an apparent lack of integrity from our highest elected officials, and also a lack of respect for the country, its people, and its democracy. 

The person who has been getting a majority of the blame for his actions is none other than President Trump himself, and  it appears to be completely justified. He has used his downright dangerously large grip upon the Republican party to partially incite these rioters, and in his official response to the riots, he expressed sympathy for the rioters, whose actions are comparable to that of domestic terrorists, all while acting as the sitting President of the United States. In doing this, he has blatantly shown an apparent double standard in regards to his tolerance to this event versus the Black Lives Matter protests that took place over the summer. Despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of the protests over the summer were peaceful, and the fact that riots Wednesday bordered on the line of terrorism in comparison, President Trump acted with a disturbing amount of lenience towards the rioters, while he was much harsher in terms of action and language to those involved in the Black Lives Matter events. 

When the events happened in July, Trump took an immediate stance, and he did not hesitate to refer to those involved as “thugs” on Twitter. He also appeared to be much more inclined to take violent action in this situation, as during that same time on Twitter, he went on to say that “when the looting starts, the shooting starts” in reference to the events in July. When it came to the  most recent events, however, in the original video he made in regards to the riots, President Trump went out of his way to offer words of praise to those involved, calling them “very special” and repeatedly pushing the claims of voter fraud that incited the riot in the first place. He seemed to treat the domestic terrorists with greater respect than those who simply desired to protest the injustice that is police brutality in the United States. Many people will point out the differences in race between the two groups as a reason for the different responses. The Black Lives Matter protesters were composed of more black people and minorities in general, while the riots on Wednesday were overwhelmingly composed up of white citizens. The claim that President Trump treated rioters differently because of race can also be supported by his reaction to the Charlottesville events in 2017, where he again went out of his way to defend the violent, primarily white protesters, calling them “very fine people” in a speech that succeeded the events. Through pushing a dangerous narrative amongst his extremely large and loyal base, it is clear that President Trump is at the very least partially to blame for the events that recently took place. Even some of Trump’s most staunch supporters have gone out of their way to recognize his blame in this situation, for one reason or another. The fact the sitting president has incited a riot, and has shown blatant double standards in regards to race in this country is downright terrifying. As of right now, America is being laughed at by the rest of the world. We as a country need to wake up and recognize the sheer severity of what has been happening.

Ever since the election, many of the same Republicans who went on to push, or refused to deny  this narrative that led to these riots have condemned the actions of the president, and the rioters in Washington D.C. Some people have gone on to praise these Republicans as courageous, citing the fact that they are going out of their way to to place their country over their political ideals; however, I personally see this as too little way too late. During many of their statements, these politicians seem intent on condemning the actions of the president and the rioters without taking an ounce of responsibility for these actions themselves. For the past two months, I have not seen one Republican senator attempt to stand up to President Trump’s claims of voter fraud that he pushed upon his base with apparent tenacity. Heck, some of these senators even went so far as to support President Trump and his endeavors in these past 2 months. It appears that just now, through condemning the president a mere two weeks before he leaves office, they seek to distance themselves from any potential blame or accountability that should very much lie with them. Even though they enabled the actions and claims from this president for so long out of fear of challenging him and influence, it is only now that they decide to get on a high horse and condemn those whose actions they directly influenced. Frankly, it’s appalling. That’s not courage, it's cowardice. 

Personally, these events have left me in a state where it’s very difficult to be optimistic about the future of America. Despite the extremeness of what happened on the 6th, I can’t say I was 100 percent surprised about what happened, and that to me is concerning. As people growing up in America, we are taught that politicians are here to act in the interest of the people, but time and time again, we have seen the politicians who are supposed to protect and serve us repeatedly act immaturely, and strictly in the interest of their own selfish personal and political gain. To me, it indicates a level of potential corruption within the government that is terrifying. I honestly feel like the issue is so large and deep-rooted there really isn’t a simple fix that I can see happening anytime in the near future. I hope that for once, high-ranking politicians can take accountability for their actions, and strive to do better in the future. We need to create a world where the people of America can have faith in their politicians, and are not lied to, manipulated by, and deceived by them.

By Kailen Hicks