Rep. Raskin brilliantly torches “fire chief” Trump for urging his mob to “set the theater on fire”
The Senate impeachment trial of Donald J. Trump began its second day in earnest today, with Democrats coming out in force to make compelling arguments as to why the disgraced former president must be convicted and barred from holding public office ever again over his role in the January 6th Capitol Hill insurrection.
Lead impeachment manager Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) brought many to tears yesterday by sharing a personal account of the trauma he and his loved ones experienced during the violent MAGA uprising last month. Today, he once again proved that he is the right man for this moment by offering up a perfect metaphor to explain Trump’s actions.
Raskin explained that Trump’s urging of his followers to “Stop the Steal” and his insistence that a rightful electoral victory was stolen from him by Democrats was actually “much worse than someone who falsely shouts fires in a crowded theater.” Trump’s crime was not one of simple negligence but one of active malice.
“It’s more like a case where the town fire chief, who’s paid to put out fires, sends a mob not to yell fire in a crowded theater but to actually set the theater on fire. And who then, when the fire alarms go off and the calls start flooding into the fire department asking for help, does nothing but sit back, encourage the mob to continue its rampage, and watch the fire spread on TV with glee and delight,” said Raskin, giving an accurate depiction of Trump’s inaction and subsequent tweeting as his followers fought and murdered their way into the Capitol.
“So then we say this fire chief should never be allowed to hold this public job again and you’re fired and you’re permanently disqualified and he objects. And he says we’re violating his free speech rights just because he’s pro-mob or pro-fire or whatever it might be. Come on! You really don’t need to go to law school to see what’s wrong with that argument,” added Raskin.
Watch below.
Raskin: "This case is much worse than someone who falsely shouts fire in a crowded theater. It's more like like a case where the town fire chief, who's paid to put out fires, sends a mob not to yell fire in a crowded theater, but to actually set the theater on fire." pic.twitter.com/wj61BjDMaX
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 10, 2021
