Scenes from an insurrection
  'Fight like hell' Any other politician would be staring at political oblivion after inciting the Capitol insurrection. Yet one year on from his attempted coup, ex-President Donald Trump's hold on the Republican Party may be even stronger than ever.
It's a sign of Trump's remarkable personality cult and his party's ravenous desire for power that he's already the frontrunner for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination. It's also a commentary on the state of America's democracy that he and his followers have spent the last year desecrating. Trump's relentless lies and the genuflecting conservative media industry have convinced millions of his supporters that President Joe Biden stole the election.
Republican state legislators have pivoted off that lie to pass multiple laws suppressing the vote that would also make it easier for a demagogue like Trump to steal elections in the future. So vigils on Thursday on Capitol Hill will not just mark a day of past horror. They will warn of a deepening assault on the idea that voters get to choose their leaders.
But in the year since, Republicans have tried to whitewash history, noticeably by going back on a deal for a bipartisan commission to investigate the outrage. One GOP lawmaker claimed the mob behaved just like tourists. And Trump described it as a "loving" crowd. But the truth cannot hide. Television footage, shown below, describes how Trump's supporters beat up police officers, smashed their way into the Capitol and desecrated the symbols of democracy in the House and Senate.
As much as Trump and his henchmen try to erase it, January 6 is burned on America's political psyche. The only question is whether it marks a low point for American democracy or whether it has farther to fall. Scenes from an insurrection  (US Department of Justice)   The world and America  French President Emmanuel Macron vows to "piss off" the unvaccinated
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 'Chaos and carnage' President Joe Biden will discuss the "singular responsibility" of Trump for "the chaos and carnage" of the insurrection when he delivers an anniversary address at the US Capitol on Thursday, the White House said.
"President Biden has been clear eyed about the threat the former President represents to our democracy and how the former President constantly works to undermine basic American values and rule of law," press secretary Jen Psaki said at a Wednesday briefing. Spot the Republican As Capitol Hill marks one year since the deadly insurrection on the citadel of American democracy, the nation's two leading political parties could not be further apart on the occasion.
Literally.
CNN's Devan Cole writes for Meanwhile that Democrats have planned a number of events at the Capitol to commemorate the day, but few Republicans are expected to even be in the building on Thursday. And while GOP leaders have encouraged their members to denounce last year's violence, they're also urging them to use the anniversary to lob attacks on their Democratic counterparts for "security failures" on the day of the attack, as CNN's Melanie Zanona and Manu Raju have reported.
None of this should be surprising given the Republican Party's coverup for Trump since the riot. Though top Republicans and rank-and-file members initially blasted Trump and his supporters, a year later their number has largely dwindled to two: Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, both of whom sit on the House select committee investigating the attack.
This new low for the party comes as some notable Republicans, including former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and Pennsylvania Rep. Scott Perry, have undermined the work of the congressional probe, with the Trump loyalists refusing to speak to the panel or provide key documents. Meanwhile, other Republicans have spewed falsehoods and conspiracy theories about the riot.
The common denominator in all of this: Trump. Nearly a year after moving out of the White House, he remains his party's most influential figure. And nearly a year after a tragedy for which he bears responsibility, no one who wants a future in his party can be seen standing up for democracy at his expense. Thanks for reading. On Thursday, Washington marks the one-year anniversary on the deadly assault on the US Capitol by Trump supporters trying to overturn his election defeat. US President Joe Biden makes a public statement on the anniversary of the attack. The Christian celebration of Epiphany takes place. View in browser | All CNN Newsletters
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