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To anyone who was watching the events of January 6 unfold live on television, one thing was quite clear: Donald Trump was excited and proud about the violence he incited.

As the timeline of his actions that day shows, he was so wound up tweeting invective at Congress and his vice president, Mike Pence, that he barely slept the night before. Once the riot was underway, Trump spent hours resisting the pressure to call off his dogs, instead tweeting more invective and ass-covering calls to "stay peaceful" that the crowd knew not to take seriously. He was also reportedly gleefully entranced by the footage of the insurrection. After three hours of rioting, he finally told the crowd to "go home" but only after it was clear that the riot wasn't going to overturn the election.

The blood was still being mopped off the floors when the great GOP gaslighting began. Republicans fell in line behind this narrative that the riot was not incited by Trump, but that it was an entirely self-directed action of a few thousand kooks and that it was only a wild coincidence it started after Trump's incendiary speech. Trump has always clearly chafed at the expectation that he go along with this narrative, wanted to instead publicly gloat about this demonstration of the power he has over people. Now, a year after the riot, Trump appears to be done with pretending to disapprove of the riot. He's circling back to his initial instinct, which was to celebrate it as the glorious MAGA revolution he always wanted it to be.

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This was most obvious in Trump's promise over the weekend to consider pardoning the January 6 rioters if he regains the White House in 2024. Politico soon reported that this was hardly some new urge of Trump's. He spent the two weeks between the riot and Joe Biden's inauguration asking advisors if he could issue a blanket pardon for everyone involved. He was waved off the idea, because it conflicted with the GOP's strategy of denying Trump's role. Trump, forever the coward,went along with the demands, even though it meant not getting to take the credit for the mayhem he unleashed. But, by making this promise of pardons to a cheering crowd of thousands of supporters he is sending a strong signal that he's done pretending to feel anything but beaming pride over inciting an insurrection.

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Which isn't to say that Trump is no longer torn between wanting to celebrate the insurrection openly and worried about the legal jeopardy that might flow from that stance.

Over the weekend, he released an unhinged statement in which he outright said that he had wanted to "overturn" the election. But when members of the January 6 committee pointed out that was tantamount to a confession, Trump tried to walk it back with another statementabout how he meant to say he just wanted to send "back the votes for recertification or approval."

RELATED:Donald Trump's lackeys failed him and saved democracy

The pardon promise also could create legal problems for Trump. As January 6 committee member Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., told MSNBC Wednesday night, the rally speech is "very important evidence as to his intent" that Trump desired and condoned the violence. No doubt Trump's lawyers are advising him of the same danger. And yet, he can't or won't stop trying to publicly recast the insurrectionists as heroes. In a Newsmax interview this week, Trump falsely insisted "nobody died on Jan. 6" except Ashli Babbitt, who he described as "one young, fine woman." Making a martyr of Babbitt, who was shot because she was trying to lead a charge to run down fleeing members of Congress, is central to the pro-insurrection narrative.

Trump may feel hemmed in by legal concerns, but his political instincts clearly tell him that recasting the Capitol insurrection as a glorious revolution is the right move. Certainly, the cheers he got for promising pardons underscores that the base is with him. But many other Republican leaders aren't so sure, and really want to stick with the B.S. story that the riot was just a random thing that happened and Trump had nothing to do with it. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has been surprisingly outspoken about this,telling reporters that the riot was "an effort to prevent the peaceful transfer of power" and insisting that people who participated should be punished.Even Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Tex. who is always trying to be on the vanguard of right-wing nuttery has been queasy about celebrating the riot itself, preferring to hide behind conspiracy theories blaming the violence on the FBI instead.

But Trump's instinct to simply come out in favor of the storming of the Capitol sadly makes a lot of sense, politically, if not legally. The current GOP position, which amounts to disapproving of the rioters while supporting their larger anti-democratic aims, is incoherent. The vast majority of Republicans, both voters and leaders, have decided to embrace the Big Lie, largely because it creates the pretext to pass a bunch of laws and seize electoral offices in such a way that the next coup, in 2024, is successful. Trying to be for the Big Lie, but against the violence that flows from it, is too delicate a needle to thread. It's easier and simpler to stand for the whole kaboodle the Big Lie, the insurrection, the ongoing coup. And Trump understands better than anyone that "easy" and "simple" are huge advantages in political messaging.

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Plus, as Heather "Digby" Parton has been arguing at Salon, Trump is clearly worried that the walls are closing inand that it will be impossible to successfully hide the evidencethat he was both attempting to overturn the election and that he deliberately called on a violent mob in order to make that happen. This is a fairly standard Trump strategy when he realizes he can't cover up a crime. Instead, he simply owns it, says it was a good thing, and dares anyone to do anything about it. So far, that's worked beautifully for him, and the continued inability of Attorney General Merrick Garland to arrest Trump for one of his many public crimes suggests it will continue to work for Trump.

The only question is how long it will take for the rest of the GOP to fall in line?

They also have a pattern when it comes to Trump's crimes, from his admitted sexual assault to his efforts to steal the election: First, there is resistance and disapproval, but soon they give in and either excuse or, in most cases, outright defend Trump's behavior. There's growing political pressure within the Republican ranks to go along with the "January 6 was good, actually" narrative. A proposal to formally kick Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois out of the party has 50 Republican House co-sponsors already. It's not because these two support free and fair elections, as they are fully on board with the voter suppression efforts going on at the state level. It's just that they sit on the January 6 committee and are appalled with the violence of the riot that has put them at odds with their party. Kicking them out amounts to a symbolic vote of confidence for the the insurrection itself.

For most Republicans, it would probably be easier to "move on" from the insurrection, which is to say talk about anything else while quietly supporting legislative efforts to make the next coup stick. But Trump isn't going to let them. As long as the January 6 committee and media keeps pushing out evidence of how deeply involved Trump was and how extensive the coup efforts were, Trump is going to keep circling back to the idea that every action he took, no matter how violent or criminal, was justified and noble. As long as he does that, Republicans are going to be forced to choose between pandering to the Trump base and trying to distance themselves from the violence that turns off moderate voters. But we always know how this story ends. Republicans always cave to Trump. And so it will be when it comes to the story of whether the riot was bad or good. It's just a matter of time.

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Donald Trump is done pretending. He is now openly celebrating the Capitol riot - Salon

Former President Donald Trump will headline the annual Conservative Political Action Conference due to take place in Orlando later this month.

The 45th president made the announcement in a video posted by Matt Schlapp, the head of the American Conservative Union, on his Twitter account.

Ill be attending CPAC again this year in Orlando, Florida, Trump said. I will see you soon. Going to be a fantastic crowd lets have fun.

Trump, who has been a regular at CPAC since his first appearance in 2011, said he urged Schlapp and the organizers to get a bigger ballroom this year.

Last year it was packed and there were thousands of people outside, and they said were going to get a real big one,' he said.

Other scheduled speakers at CPAC include Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).

The annual gathering could function as an early preview of a potential 2024 Republican presidential primary between DeSantis and Trump.

Neither has announced a formal intention to run, but DeSantis is widely expected to throw his hat in the ring and Trump has teased a political comeback as he holds campaign-style rallies around the country.

The two Florida Republicans have also been indirectly critical of each other in public.

DeSantis became a GOP star during the COVID-19 pandemic by playing up his opposition to lockdowns as well as mask and vaccine mandates, selling the Sunshine State as freedoms vanguard.

In an interview on the Ruthless podcast last month, the Florida governor said he regrets not having been much louder in opposition when then-President Trump called for widespread lockdowns in the early days of the pandemic.

I never thought in February, early March [2020], that [coronavirus] would lead to locking down the country, he said on the podcast. I just didnt. I didnt think that was on the radar.

Trump, meanwhile, recently blasted politicians who refuse to admit whether they got a coronavirus booster shot as gutless, in what many see as a veiled attack against DeSantis, who wont divulge that information.

I watched a couple politicians be interviewed and one of the questions was, Did you get a booster? Because they had the vaccine, and theyre answering like in other words, the answer is yes but they dont want to say it, because theyre gutless, Trump told One America News Network.

A recent poll of Florida voters by Suffolk University/USA Today shows that Trump would defeat DeSantis by 47 percent to 40 percent in a 2024 primary race in the Sunshine state.

The 2022 edition of CPAC is scheduled to take place Feb. 24-27.

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Trump, DeSantis confirmed to speak at CPAC in Orlando later this month - New York Post

Governor Asa Hutchinson, R-Ark., appears on "Meet the Press" in Washington, D.C., Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019.William B. Plowman/NBC/NBC Newswire/NBCUniversal via Getty Images

Trump dropped the biggest hint yet that he'll run for president again in 2024.

NGA Chairman Asa Hutchinson, the Republican governor of Arkansas, is against that idea.

He told Insider Trump shouldn't lead Republicans or the country again.

The Republican chairman of the National Governors Association said on Saturday that Donald Trump should not lead Republicans or the country again.

"I do not believe Trump is the one to lead our party and our country again, as president," Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson told Insider on the sidelines of the NGA Winter Meeting in Washington, DC.

Insider asked Hutchinson whether he wants Trump to run following a video that recently surfaced in which Trump declares on the golf course that he is "the 45th and the 47th" president.

Asked who should lead instead, Hutchinson said "that's what the election is all about."

There's many choices out there, he added.

"And, you know, the Republican Party has many different voices," Hutchinson said. "And it's important in this time to have those voices and they should be concentrating on this election cycle."

Several Republican governors at the conference either said they were focusing on their state or the next election when asked about Trump's statement and whether they support him running.

"Any thought on 2024 is wasted energy at this time," said Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, who leads the Republican Governors Association. "The elections that are in front of us are 2022, and that's what I'm focused on as the chairman of RGA."

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a bill last year that would name a stretch of highway in his state after the former president. When asked about Trump's future in presidential politics, Stitt said, "whatever the former president wants to do. I'm focused on Oklahoma right now, not all the national DC stuff."

Hutchinson, a two-term governor, was one of the first Republican governors to publicly push Trump to start a transition process with President Joe Biden after the 2020 election. He has said that Trump's continued attempts to discredit the 2020 election results could be a "disaster" for Republican candidates running for office this year.

Story continues

"I've made it clear: This is about the future," he told Insider. "It's not about the past elections."

Earlier, he told reporters, "I don't believe the election was stolen. I respect the results."

Trump's golf course comments are the latest, and perhaps most pointed, in a series of hints that he plans to run for president in 2024.

To become an official candidate, Trump would have to raise or spend more than $5,000 specifically in support of a presidential campaign effort to officially register as a presidential candidate, according to Federal Election Commission guidelines.

John L. Dorman contributed to this story.

Read the original article on Business Insider

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Donald Trump should not lead the country again, says the Republican leader of the National Governors Association - Yahoo News

A conservative group called out Donald Trump for suggesting hed pardon Jan. 6 rioters if hes elected president again in 2024.

The new video from the Republican Accountability Project juxtaposes Trumps pardon comments with video footage of his supporters attacking the U.S. Capitol, assaulting police officers and attempting to stop the certification of the 2020 election.

The organization, run by Republicans opposed to Trump, said the spot will air nationally on Fox & Friends, a show the former president is known to watch:

Trumps pardon promise has been panned by both the left and the right.

My view is I would not be in favor of shortening any of the sentences to any of the people who pled guilty to crimes, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said this week.

If you do the crime, you do the time. You shouldnt be pardoned for that, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) said at a separate event.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said Trumps remark was pretty revealing.

They go to his intent, Schiff said on MSNBC this week. If this violence against the Capitol wasnt part of the plan, or wasnt something he condoned, then why would he consider pardoning them?

For the past year, the Republican Accountability Project has been calling out the lawmakers who enabled Trump and supported the Jan. 6 insurrection, including 13 members of Congress who are featured in the groups online Hall of Shame. The organization is also looking to support primary challengers to ensure that as few of them as possible return to Congress in 2022.

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Conservative Group Exposes Trump's Latest Threat In Damning Fox News Ad - HuffPost

FILE Former Vice President Mike Pence speaks at the National Press Club in Washington, Nov. 30, 2021. Pence said Friday in a speech in Florida that the former president is simply wrong when he says Pence had the right to unilaterally overturn the election. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) Former Vice President Mike Pence on Friday directly rebutted Donald Trumps false claims that Pence somehow could have overturned the results of the 2020 election, saying that the former president was simply wrong.

In a speech to the conservative Federalist Society in Florida, Pence addressed Trumps intensifying efforts this week to advance the false narrative that he could have done something to prevent Joe Biden from taking office.

President Trump is wrong, Pence said. I had no right to overturn the election.

While Pence in the past has defended his actions on Jan. 6 and said that he and Trump willlikely never see eye to eyeon what happened that day, the remarks Friday marked his most forceful rebuttal of Trump to date. And they come as Pence has been laying the groundwork for a potential run for president in 2024, which could put him in direct competition with his former boss, who has also been teasing a comeback run.

In a statement Tuesday, Trump said the committee investigating the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol should instead probe why Mike Pence did not send back the votes for recertification or approval. And on Sunday, he blasted Pence, falsely declaring that he could have overturned the Election!

Vice presidents play only a ceremonial role in the the counting of Electoral College votes, and any attempt to interfere in the count would have represented a profound break from precedent and democratic norms.

Pence, in his remarks Friday, described Jan. 6, 2021, as a dark day in the history of the United States Capitol.

Pence was inside the building, presiding over the joint session of Congress to certify the presidential election, when a mob of Trumps supporters violently smashed inside, assaulting police officers and hunting down lawmakers. Pence, who had released a statement earlier that day to make clear he had no authority to overturn the will of the voters, was rushed to safety as some rioters chanted Hang Mike Pence!

Pence framed his actions that day as in line with his duty as a constitutional conservative.

The American people must know that we will always keep our oath to the Constitution, even when it would be politically expedient to do otherwise, he told the group Friday. He noted that, under Article II Section One of the Constitution, elections are conducted at the state level, not by Congress and that the only role of Congress with respect to the Electoral College is to open and count votes submitted and certified by the states. No more, no less.

Frankly there is no idea more un-American than the notion that any one person could choose the American president, he added. Under the Constitution, I had no right to change the outcome of our election. And Kamala Harris will have no right to overturn the election when we beat them in 2024.

Pence also acknowledged the lingering anger among many in Trumps base. But, he said: The truth is, theres more at stake than our party or political fortunes. Men and women, if we lose faith in the Constitution, we wont just lose elections well lose our country.

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Trump is wrong: Pence says he had no right to overturn 2020 election - FOX31 Denver