The above is a segment of Frontline’s documentary airing tonight on PBS:
When rioters breached the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 in an attempt to prevent Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s presidential victory, they carried Confederate flags through the building; chanted, “Hang Mike Pence”; and erected a noose outside.
As the insurrection unfolded, President Donald Trump, who had told a crowd earlier in the day to “fight like hell” after weeks of undermining the election, tweeted criticism of his vice president for planning to certify the election results. Several hours after the rioters breached the Capitol, when Trump issued a video telling them to go home, he added, “We love you. You’re very special.”
As the new FRONTLINE documentary Trump’s American Carnage reports, it was a scene foreshadowed by the deadly 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia — and by President Trump’s response to that moment.
“This is probably the first time where the country realizes, ‘This is gonna get bad,’” Yamiche Alcindor, a PBS NewsHour White House correspondent, says of Charlottesville in the documentary.
From filmmaker Michael Kirk and his team, Trump’s American Carnage traces the former president’s incitement of division, racism and ultimately insurrection throughout his term, drawing a line from the earlier rally to January’s fatal riot.
As Trump’s American Carnage goes on to recount, top Republicans ultimately stood by the president after Charlottesville. By Jan. 6, 2021, Trump’s ire — and that of protesters who believed they were acting on Trump’s behalf — would be directed at Pence himself.
For the full story, watch Trump’s American Carnage. The documentary premieres Tuesday, Jan. 26 at 10/9c on PBS stations (check local listings). It will also be available to stream in FRONTLINE’s online collection of documentaries, on YouTube and in the PBS Video App.
That segment above shows how Pence collaborated with Trump from the very beginning. And by the end of Trump’s term, followers are chanting “hang Mike Pence.” It’s really something.