This logical, factual accounting of how this happened is a must read. He writes: "Judging by what I saw on Wednesday — not just the terrorist assault on Washington, but the decision made by more than 100 Republicans to vote with the purpose of placating those terrorists --make no mistake: Plenty of the people who stormed the U.S. Capitol really, truly believed that Trump had been cheated out of 4 more years; that their takeover could change the course of history. I know this because I know several people who were there.
They bear responsibility for their actions, of course. But the point remains: They were conned into coming to D.C. in the first place, not just by Trump with his compulsive lying, but by the legions of Republicans who refused to counter those lies, believing it couldn’t hurt to humor the president and stoke the fires of his base."