The 187 Minutes to Hours

For those who weren’t there, the 187-minute period spanning from the time President Trump spoke to a group of supporters in the Oval Office to the time he asked them to leave the building was a flurry of activity. While a large part of this time was spent in the White House, there was also a small amount of time spent outside. The most impressive part of the entire affair is that Trump hasn’t yet been held accountable for his role in the chaos. His official daily diary isn’t exactly the gold standard, but he did offer a video message urging protesters to head home. Until that point, the best he could do was squelch any and all calls to the White House.

The aforementioned presentation, which is scheduled for 8pm ET, will focus on the 187 minutes or so that was afoot in Washington on January 6. Among the many things it will cover are the ins and outs of the riot, the actions of several stragglers, and Trump’s reactionary responses to those who were left out in the cold. It isn’t exactly clear how much time was actually spent in the Oval Office, but there is a strong suspicion that the White House had a bit of a monopoly on the event.

A closer look at the aforementioned presentation reveals that there are a few notable shortcomings. While the Oval Office may be a convenient place to congregate, the aforementioned occupants were not the most amenable. As such, their interactions tended to be more superficial than one might expect. In other words, Trump was largely unresponsive to the crowd and his aides and staff were often unresponsive to his requests. Also, the aforementioned occupants were unprepared for the onslaught of protesters who had arrived on the scene. All of this contributed to the high rate of arrests and the number of injured.

Nevertheless, there’s no denying that the aforementioned 187-minute span was a worthy accomplishment in its own right. While there is no way to be certain that Trump will be charged with any crimes, it is safe to say that he will have to eat some of the blame for the riot. Luckily for him, there is at least one Democrat-led committee, led by a trio of veterans, that will be investigating the incident and its fallout. That being said, it will be interesting to see how he will respond to the findings of this investigation. Of course, the most important question is whether he will make a credible statement about the incident and if he will even participate in the proceedings. One can only hope that he does.

Another question on the minds of many Americans is what exactly did Trump do to prevent the aforementioned melee from turning into a full-scale brawl. To this end, the Democrats have gathered a number of witnesses from around the country to testify in an upcoming session. They include Matthew Pottinger, the deputy director of the National Security Council, and Sarah Matthews, the deputy press secretary.