MAGA Is an Extreme Aberration

The moment at which the “Make America great again” movement became completely unmoored from the democratic process arrived at around 1 p.m. on January 6, when Congress was about to start certifying the 2020 electoral vote and, in doing so, seal President Donald Trump’s defeat. On a stage near the White House, the president was an hour into a rambling speech. Supervising the electoral-vote count would be Vice President Mike Pence’s job, and Trump had called upon him about 10 times to intervene. “If Mike Pence does the right thing, we win the election,” Trump had said. “You’ll never take back our country with weakness,” he went on to tell the crowd.

Some of Trump’s supporters had begun trudging their way down Pennsylvania Avenue toward the Capitol. Others had gone straight there, skipping his speech entirely. At 1 p.m., members of MAGA-friendly groups, including the Proud Boys, were already waiting outside, some equipped with military-style gear. In a , Pence issued a three-page statement saying that, “We’re going to the Capitol … We’re going to try and give [Republicans] the kind of pride and boldness that they need to take back our country.”