Editorial: A peaceful election certification stands in sharp contrast to the Trump-fueled chaos of Jan. 6, 2021

The Philadelphia Inquirer Editorial Board, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Jan 8, 2025

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Even as a snowstorm paralyzed much of Washington, D.C., on Monday, a joint session of Congress certified President-elect Donald Trump’s victory — peacefully and without incident.

There were no phony claims of a stolen election for months by outgoing President Joe Biden in the lead-up to certification. There were no fake elector schemes or dozens of bogus and failed lawsuits.

There was no weapon-wielding angry mob storming the U.S. Capitol. Members of Congress did not have to run for their lives. There was no brutal attack on police officers. No calls to hang the vice president.

In fact, Trump’s opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, presided over a key step in the peaceful transfer of power, just as had been done in every other election for more than two centuries — except when Trump lost in 2020.

The uneventful and ceremonial ritual on Jan. 6, 2025, stood in stark contrast to the violent and deadly insurrection Trump helped foment four years ago to the day.

Trump, along with his allies in Congress and the media, has tried to rewrite the reality of what occurred on Jan. 6, 2021. But that history should not be erased or forgotten. It is a stain America will endure for generations to come.

Amazingly, Trump used the insurrection — which he called a “day of love” — to peddle the lies, conspiracy theories, and grievances that helped fuel his looming return to the Oval Office.

In two weeks, Trump will take the oath of office as the first convicted criminal elected president. But he escaped the more serious legal charges, including federal indictments for efforts to overturn the election and stealing classified documents.

Trump had many enablers along the way.

With no credible evidence, nearly 150 Republicans in the House and Senate voted to overturn the 2020 election results, including many from Pennsylvania.

Initially, then-Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) said Trump was “practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of that day.” But McConnell and most other Republicans in the Senate voted to acquit Trump of inciting the insurrection.

A small army of lawyers made millions — doled out from campaign donors — to defend Trump. In doing so, several of them sullied their careers. Some got indicted and lost their law license, including “America’s mayor,” Rudy Giuliani.

The conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court helped delay Trump’s criminal proceedings. The court also blocked efforts by some states to remove him from the 2024 election ballot and granted presidents broad immunity from future criminal prosecution — effectively placing Trump and future leaders above the law.

Right-wing media outlets and social media platforms, with help from Russia, promoted bogus claims about the 2020 election getting stolen. Fox News founder Rupert Murdoch admitted influential hosts endorsed Trump’s lies about election fraud, but did nothing about it.

Millions of voters were misled or chose to ignore the facts about the 2020 election. Even worse, many voters backed and emboldened the man who made more than 30,000 false or misleading claims during his previous term in office.

To this day, despite repeated lies and amplifications, Trump and his allies have never produced a scintilla of proof to back up their allegations.

Several conservative groups eventually admitted they had no evidence to support their lies about election fraud. Even the conservative Cato Institute repudiated efforts to claim the 2020 election was stolen.

While many are exhausted from standing up for truth, justice, and democracy, now is not the time to give in. Trump’s “up is down” version of events will be even more dangerous once he returns to office.

Sunlight remains the best disinfectant. So does speaking truth to power, as enshrined in the First Amendment.

Rest assured, history will be a harsh judge of Trump and anyone who willfully went along with America’s biggest political lie ever. In fact, no rewriting of events by Trump and his allies will undo what everyone saw on Jan. 6, 2021.

The facts cannot be changed or ignored. Nor should they be minimized or forgotten.

The peaceful transfer of power should remain sacrosanct, even if it means handing the keys to a criminal.