For months, former President Donald Trump lied to his supporters, claiming that widespread election fraud somehow orchestrated by Democrats "stole" the 2020 presidential election from him.
Even as these results were certified, their electoral votes cast, and over 60 court cases challenging these results failed, then-President Trump still absurdly claimed that he—and not then-President-elect Joe Biden—won the election by a "landslide."
And on January 6, Congress held a joint session to nationally certify Biden's victory—the last formality before his inauguration.
Blocks away, Trump addressed his supporters at a "Save America" rally, where he continued to repeat his election lies and urged his supporters to march to the Capitol and "fight" for him.
As history will remember, fueled by Trump's lies, a mob of pro-Trump extremists stormed the United States Capitol, resulting in the deaths of at least five people, endangering the lives of every lawmaker present, and destroying untold amounts of property.
Exactly one month after the House of Representatives impeached Trump for a historic second time for inciting an insurrection, the Senate on Saturday concluded his impeachment trial. Seven Republicans joined Democratic senators, voting in favor of a guilty verdict.
But despite overwhelming evidence from the House impeachment managers, a bumbling performance from Trump's defense team, and a large majority of Senators voting to convict, the Senate did not reach the 67 votes needed to find Trump guilty and bar him from holding office.
The former President was acquitted and Republican Senators who voted in favor of the insurrection soon began beatifying their leader.
Among these Senators was Tim Scott (R-SC), who claimed that Trump was the only person not responsible for the failed coup.
Watch below.
In an interview with Fox News, Scott said:
"The president is simply not guilty. I was in the chamber when the rioters were coming over. I was taking my jacket off, my tie off, rolling my sleeves up, just in case I had to fight. The chances of me understanding and appreciating the severity of the situation is 100%. The one person I don't blame is President Trump."
As House impeachment managers pointed out, the rioters were shouting pro-Trump chants, boasted that they were there at Trump's invitation, and beat law enforcement officers using Trump's flags.
People found Scott's statement absurd.
Twitter users urged their followers to vote Scott out.
Scott is up for reelection in 2022.
@jaketapoer/Bluesky
@BillAckman/Twitter