Monday, April 15, 2024 | 2 a.m.
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Former President Donald Trump calls Jan. 6 prisoners “hostages” and “unbelievable patriots,” and claims they have been horribly mistreated. He plans to pardon them if he’s reelected.
Is Daniel Rodriguez a hostage? He repeatedly drove a stun gun into the base of police officer Michael Fanone’s skull and was sentenced to over 12 years in prison. His lawyer explained that Rodriguez idolized Trump and thought of him as the father he never had. While he was led out of the courtroom, he chanted “Trump won!”
What about Micki Larson-Olson, whom Trump hugged at a public event and called “terrific”? She screamed and fought police who arrested her, called the officers “traitors” and served six months in prison.
Larson-Olson believes that every member of Congress who voted to certify Joe Biden’s election victory deserves death for treason, and she “would like a front seat of Mike Pence being executed.” Regarding her embrace with Trump, she said, “if I was to imagine what it would be like to hug Jesus Christ, that’s what it felt like for me.”
Morality requires Trump to step forward regarding many of these cases and call out, “Not in my name!” Instead, he makes blanket statements of praise for prisoners and defends rioters’ “Hang Mike Pence!” chants.
Trumpism involves a powerful cult of personality, and its leader is taking us down an increasingly dangerous path.
