January 6 Down the Memory Hole

The grotesque lies of Donald Trump are now officially state-sponsored

You have to see this one to believe it.

Today, on the fifth anniversary of the January 6 Capitol riot, the following words were published on the official White House website of the president of the United States of America:

On his first day back in office, January 20, 2025, President Trump issued sweeping blanket pardons and commutations for nearly 1,600 patriotic Americans prosecuted for their presence at the Capitol—many mere trespassers or peaceful protesters treated as insurrectionists by a weaponized Biden DOJ. He fully pardoned most, commuted sentences, and ordered immediate release of those still imprisoned, ending years of harsh solitary confinement, denied due process, and family separation for exercising their First Amendment rights.

I’m fairly confident this is not a deep fake. It appears to reflect a faithful and accurate translation from the original Munhwao — the dialect of North Korea.

I’m way past outrage. If you’re old enough to remember January 6, 2021 and this creative interpretation of history resonates with you, terrific. That’s your problem.

For the rest of us — regardless of political leanings or ideology — there’s no point in dignifying the words regurgitated by Steven Cheung, White House communications director.

Taking a stroll down Republican memory lane, just five years back, provides ample perspective.

There was this quote describing the day from St. Louis’ own Rep. Ann Wagner, who now tells us Trump “has reignited the American spirit, delivering historic wins for our country and following through on his promises.”

Wagner: A coup attempt to try and overthrow our democracy... horrible, horrible, horrific, violent riots that we have seen all afternoon that are just despicable and have no place, no place at all in anywhere in our nation, let alone our nation’s Capitol. Frankly, it started today at 11 a.m. in front of the White House when the president called upon those that have shown up in this nation’s Capitol to march down from the White House, down the Mall to the Capitol. I think there are many that have responsibility for this kind of attempt to completely disrupt and destroy our democratic process.

And this one from Rep. Jason Smith, Wagner’s fellow Missouri congressman and now chairman of the powerful U.S. House Ways and Means Committee, who was one of the last six members to leave the House floor. He was 25 yards from Ashli Babbitt when she was shot.

Smith: Every person who broke into the United States Capitol should be prosecuted to the fullest of the law. It doesn't matter who you are or what you believe in, what you did was a terror attack on the United States of America and it's unacceptable.

Some of the best words to revisit came from current members of Trump’s Cabinet and other close advisors. High-ranking administration officials like Secretary of State Marco Rubio, UN Ambassador Mike Waltz and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem:

Rubio, then a senator: There is nothing patriotic about what is occurring on Capitol Hill. This is 3rd world style anti-American anarchy. We now have third-world countries that are lecturing us and we have tin-pot dictators that are mocking us. It is a national embarrassment. This is an effort to prevent the peaceful transition of power. This is not about the First Amendment; this is about a group of people who decided they were going to use violence and the threat of violence to get what they wanted.

Waltz, then a congressman: This is a dark day for America. The violence we are seeing at the Capitol is unacceptable and un-American. As a soldier, I’ve seen this in war zones, but never thought I’d see it in our nation's capital. This must stop now. Those responsible must be held accountable. For those rioters who are rioting into the Capitol with back-the-blue flags, I think they need to rethink the hypocrisy there.

Noem, then a governor: What we are seeing at the Capitol is a total disregard for our Constitution and the rule of law. It is a dark day in our history. Violence and destruction are never the answer. I am praying for our law enforcement and for our country. This must end immediately.

None of those people will express themselves like that again, at least not as long as Trump is around. Instead they’ll sign on to more of Trump’s macabre lies.

It was all the fault of Democrats, they’ll agree, just like the White House officially wrote today:

“The Democrats masterfully reversed reality after January 6, branding peaceful patriotic protesters as “insurrectionists” and framing the event as a violent coup attempt orchestrated by Trump—despite no evidence of armed rebellion or intent to overthrow the government. In truth, it was the Democrats who staged the real insurrection by certifying a fraud-ridden election, ignoring widespread irregularities, and weaponizing federal agencies to hunt down dissenters, all while Pelosi’s own security lapses invited the chaos they later exploited to seize and consolidate power. This gaslighting narrative allowed them to persecute innocent Americans, silence opposition, and distract from their own role in undermining democracy.

Little more needs to be said. All of us remember January 6, 2021. None of us remembers anyone — not anyone — referring to those who broke into our nation’s Capitol Building, smashed its windows and trashed its artifacts and literally defecated on it — as patriots.

No one. Not even Trump at the time.

But as I suggested earlier, this isn’t the time for outrage. Instead, it’s a moment to take very seriously the official — and Orwellian — words of the Trump White House. And ask this:

What is America going to look like five years from now?

Please subscribe now — and thanks for reading.