Five years ago today, Trump and his MAGA followers attempted a coup in Washington, DC. To call it anything else would not serve the truth or history.

The White House website tells a much different story of that day. It is a narrative that Trump and his minions have espoused since that day. No matter what you do, as long as Donald Trump is in the White House, do not believe one word that is on WhiteHouse.gov.

Trump and his followers think we will forget that Trump told the rioters on January 6, 2021, to march to the U.S. Capitol. He even claimed he was going with them. Of course, that was just part of the lie. They should have known that “President Bone Spurs” didn’t have the guts to enter the fray. He knew the Secret Service would never allow it. It was all bluster.

They think we will forget that Trump told the rioters, “If you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.”

They think if they repeat the lies long enough and loud enough, the American people and the world will forget what they saw with their own eyes that day.

They think we will forget the Congressional testimony given under oath by witnesses, by the police officers who were beaten, crushed, and sprayed with bear spray and pepper spray that day.

They think we will doubt the words of the members of Congress who feared for their lives that day as they gathered to certify that Joe Biden had been lawfully elected United States President in November 2020.

They think we will forget that the rioters built a gallows on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol that day and chanted, “Hang Mike Pence.” Trump had turned on Vice President Pence because Pence refused to call the election rigged.

They think we will forget that Trump called them wonderful people and expressed his praise for them.

I watched live TV in absolute horror on January 6, 2021, as the rioters broke the windows of the U.S. Capitol, broke down doors, destroyed all manner of public property in that sacred building, broke into the offices of members of Congress, broke into the U.S. House Chambers, and rifled through papers.

It was a wholesale desecration of the seat of American democracy. The historian in me prays that history books will give a fair, true, and honest explanation of January 6, 2021.

More than 1,500 rioters were charged with breaking various laws on January 6, 2021.

Joe Biden was inaugurated U.S. President on a tense January 20, 2021.

Donald Trump was somehow elected U.S. President on November 5, 2024, with 51% of the popular vote,

Donald Trump was inaugurated on January 20, 2025, and immediately pardoned the rioters.

After campaigning on “America First” and not involving the U.S. in foreign wars or regime topplings, on Saturday he ordered the U.S. military to physically remove the dictator of Venezuela. On Sunday, he hinted that Colombia, Cuba, and Mexico might be next.

Yesterday, Assistant White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller questioned Denmark’s legal claim over Greenland.

Today, the White House Press Secretary said talks are taking place on how the U.S. will “acquire” Greenland and military action is “not off the table.”

Today Trump joked about possibly cancelling the next national election.

Trump’s modis operandi is to try to make a joke, then see how people respond. He continues to feed that “joke” by bringing it up again… and again… and pretty soon… he doesn’t present it as a joke but a possibility… and pretty soon… masked agents are in the streets snatching people, and military personnel are in Venezuela.

I continue to work on that historical novel I’ve told you I’m writing. Distractions will, no doubt, continue to try to derail that process. I will continue to keep up with politics and share my thoughts on my blog in 2026, but I will also keep writing that novel. Escaping to the 1760s in Virginia and North Carolina just might be what keeps me sane.

What a start to 2026!

Janet