The way vulnerable Republicans ran from this is telling. “They’re criminal defendants, not hostages,” said Representative Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania. “I don’t defend people who hit cops, who vandalized our Capitol,” added Nebraska’s Don Bacon, pointedly adding of the “hostage” language: “The broad, broad electorate doesn’t like it.”
Given that Fitzpatrick and Bacon represent two of the 17 districts held by Republicans that Trump lost in 2020, that’s an indication of how politically outside the mainstream it is to deny the gravity of January 6 and smear the justice system’s response to it as illegitimate.
The details of this year’s political and legal calendar suggest this dynamic could intensify. In coming days, an appeals court will likely rule against Trump’s demand that the criminal charges against him for conspiring to overthrow U.S. democracy be dismissed on grounds that his misconduct constituted official presidential duties. The Supreme Court could soon follow. While Trump’s strategy of delaying his trial might work, it’s more likely to fail.