At his Republican National Convention speech in 2016, then-candidate Donald Trump denounced crime and violence, before vowing a change: "Beginning on January 20th, 2017, safety will be restored."
Five months later, at his presidential inauguration, Trump stood on a Capitol Hill platform and declared, "This American carnage stops right here and stops right now."
At nearly the exact same spot yesterday, a mob, inspired by Trump, attacked the U.S. Capitol. As the Washington Post noted, the result created a striking pair of bookends.
The "American carnage" that Donald Trump vowed to end at the dawn of his presidency was revived in terrifying, treacherous form at its sunset Wednesday, as Trump made a fiery last stand and incited his supporters to storm and sack the U.S. Capitol as part of an attempted coup.
Tragically, it was not the only evidence of American carnage to emerge yesterday. NBC News reported: "The U.S. reported 3,920 Covid-19 deaths and 268,840 new cases Wednesday, two new records amid a worsening pandemic. Since the start of the pandemic as of Thursday morning, 361,999 have died of Covid-19 and 21.4 million have been infected, according to NBC News' count."
This past summer, Trump appeared at his second Republican National Convention, and said, "I'm the only thing standing between the American dream and total anarchy, madness, and chaos."
The rhetoric came to mind as his mob generated total anarchy, madness, and chaos on Capitol Hill.