Donald Trump Greets Supporters at Million MAGA March After Election Loss to Joe Biden
On Saturday, President Donald Trump made an appearance at the 'Million MAGA March' protest in [...]
On Saturday, President Donald Trump made an appearance at the "Million MAGA March" protest in Washington, D.C. His supporters were in the city to protest the results of the 2020 presidential election, based largely on his false claim that there was voter fraud or other forms of election tampering. By appearing at the demonstration, Trump seemed to endorse the movement.
A viral video from the "Million MAGA March" showed Trump smiling at his supporters through a car window. According to a report by TMZ, the presidential motorcade passed through the crowded streets so that Trump could greet the marchers. Trump later tweeted: "Heartwarming to see all of the tremendous support out there, especially the organic Rallies that are springing up all over the country, including a big one on Saturday in D.C. I may even try to stop by and say hello. This Election was Rigged, from Dominion all the way up & down!"
President Trump’s motorcade drove by hundreds of supporters, who had gathered in Washington to protest the outcome of the presidential election, on the way to his private golf club in Virginia on Saturday. https://t.co/sTZszkegLf pic.twitter.com/AwvbYX69p0
— The New York Times (@nytimes) November 14, 2020
After Trump left, he reportedly went to his golf course for yet another day on the green. Meanwhile, the march erupted into violence as violent Trump-supporting groups like the Proud Boys clashed with counter-protesters where possible. The militia-style group has been tied to white supremacist organizations, according to the FBI, and is considered a threat by groups like the Southern Poverty Law Center.
The Proud Boys scuffled with anti-Trump demonstrators on the scene before the march was even scheduled to begin. Video from the scene showed police standing by, not intervening until a Trump supporter threw the first punch.
Other groups on the scene included "Women for Trump," "Stop the Steal" and InfoWars — the online talk show hosted by Alex Jones, which has been kicked off of YouTube and other prominent platforms for peddling conspiracy theories, anti-Semitism and racism. Trump's failure to condemn these groups and their support for him was not lost on news pundits throughout the day.
The #MillionMAGAMarch is officially starting in about half an hour, but violence has already broken out.
I’ll have a complete recording up later, but @RefuseFascism came to protest and was physically pushed out by Trump supporters. Some fighting ensued. pic.twitter.com/DdKgb49gLS
— Ford Fischer (@FordFischer) November 14, 2020
Saturday's demonstrations were the result many pundits predicted when Trump began denying the results of the 2020 presidential election. Trump has continued to insist that there was widespread voter fraud on a scale that would have allowed him to win the election, despite the utter lack of evidence up to this point.
Trump's claims are so insubstantial that one law firm has already dropped him as a client in Virginia. However, supporters like those that turned out on Saturday have not yet been swayed by the facts. Many pundits have expressed fear about what this ongoing denial of objectivity means for the state of American democracy in the weeks and months to come.