THE ‘BULL$#!@’ HITS HIS FANS
How sore loser Don told them to 'fight' before the mayhem
President Trump blamed his election loss on “explosions of bulls--t” and encouraged supporters to “fight like hell” at a fiery rally held shortly before a mob of them stormed the US Capitol on Wednesday.
Again claiming without any hard evidence that widespread and coordinated voter fraud caused his election defeat, the president vowed not to surrender in his quest to overturn the outcome, even as Congress was in the process of validating President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.
“We will never concede,” Trump told the cheering crowd. “You don’t concede when there’s theft.
“This year, they rigged an election. They rigged it like they’ve never rigged an election before,” Trump continued, referring to what he calls “fake news media” and Big Tech companies.
Trump characterized large, late influxes of ballots that swung the election against him as “explosions of bulls--t” in a line that drew massive cheers from the rapt crowd.
He called on Vice President Mike Pence to “do the right thing” and fight Wednesday’s certification of the results in Congress, over which the veep presided as Senate president, echoing requests he has made on Twitter in recent days.
Trump said that he would be “very disappointed” if Pence listened to the “RINOs and the stupid people” rather than rejecting the electoral votes.
In the middle of Trump’s remarks, Pence issued a letter affirming that he does not have the unilateral authority to choose or reject state electors.
Trump spoke from a stage framed by signs for a “Save America March,” at a podium flanked by American flags fluttering in a chilly DC breeze.
As with his signature “Make America Great Again” rallies that became the hallmark of two presidential campaigns, Trump was met by a sea of supporters decked out in red baseball caps and star-spangled shirts.
His remarks were preceded by speeches from allies, among them son Donald Jr. and personal attorney Rudy Giuliani — who called for a “trial by combat” to settle the election disputes — and a playlist heavy on classic rock, including Phil Collins’ ominous “In the Air Tonight” juxtaposed with Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’.”
Trump spoke for more than an hour, with his remarks running into the start of the certification process in a joint session of Congress.
As the spectacle wound down, he encouraged his supporters to “fight,” and march on the Capitol building — suggesting that he would accompany them in that endeavor.
“We fight like hell. And if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not gonna have a country anymore,” he said. “I say this, despite all that’s happened, the best is yet to come. sylvania “So we’re Avenue,” going rh to walk he down continued. Penn“We’re going to the Capitol . . . We’re going to try and give our Republicans — the weak ones, because the strong ones don’t need any of our help — we’re going to try and give them the kind of pride and boldness that they need to take back out country.
“So let’s walk down Pennsylvania Avenue.”
It was only after his supporters had breached and wreaked havoc inside the Capitol building for some time that Trump took to social media with an order to stand down.
“Please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement,” he wrote in one message. “They are truly on the side of our Country. Stay peaceful!”
The president followed up that post with a recorded video message.
“I know how you feel, but go home and go home in peace. I know you’re in pain. I know you’re hurt,” said Trump in the minute-long video address.
“But we can’t play into the hands of these people. We have to have ve peace,” he continued. “So go home. We love you. You’re very special. You’ve seen what happens, you see the way others are re treated that are so bad and so evil. I know how you feel, but go home and go home in peace.”
Even as he urged his supportters to return home, however, Trump maintained that the election had been “stolen.”
“It’s a very tough period of time,” he said. “There has never been a time like this where such a thing happened where they ey could take it away from all of us — from me, from you, from ourr coun-country. This was a fraudulent election.” tion.”