In the four years since the Capitol riot, Democrats have tried incessently to turn it into a national tragedy akin to 9/11 and/or the Pearl Harbor attack. With the goal of preventing Trump from being able to seek the presidency again, they even called it an insurrection (it wasn’t) and accused Trump of inciting it (he didn’t).
There efforts failed, and Trump was reelected on November 5, becoming the first Republican presidential candidate to win the national popular vote since George W. Bush. Oh what a sweet victory it was. On Monday, Trump’s victory over Kamala Harris was certified, and once again, Democrats proved they just can’t let their phony baloney narrative go.
I won’t bother posting all the tweets from Democrats waxing philosophical about the difference between January 6, 2025 and January 6, 2021, but I will show you this cringey post from Sen. Chuck Schumer and some silly “moment of prayer” he and a few other January Sixth-copalians held on Monday.
Today, we held a moment of prayer near the door where rioters first broke into the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
We mourn the lives lost in connection to the attack.
We mourn the officers who died in the days, weeks, and months after the attack.
We pray for their families, that… pic.twitter.com/A8m6BJsPeB— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) January 6, 2025
They’re really trying hard, aren’t they?
The problem for them is that it’s not working. Despite all their efforts, that day didn’t leave the lasting political scar on the public Democrats had hoped for. Despite the massive media coverage, congressional hearings, and the general pushing of the narrative that the riot was an “insurrection,” most Americans have moved on.
CNN’s chief data reporter Harry Enten laid out the data starkly: back in early 2021, a majority of voters—56 percent—believed Trump’s actions on January 6 should disqualify him from the presidency. That figure included those who supported removing him from office. But by 2023, the percentage dropped to 47 percent, flipping the narrative. As Enten put it, “This nine-point shift was tremendous,” because it took the issue from a majority stance to a minority one. Trump captured the overwhelming support of the other 53 percent, effectively neutralizing the talking point.
Related: You Won’t Believe What Sunny Hostin Compared January 6 With
A deeper dive reveals an even more striking reality. In January 2021, 48 percent of voters blamed Trump for the Capitol riot. By December 2023, that number had fallen to just 37 percent. Fewer Americans blamed Trump, fewer thought it made him ineligible to lead, and, perhaps most tellingly, far fewer cared enough to remember it. When asked about their biggest memory of Trump’s first term, only 5 percent of Americans pointed to January 6. Among Republicans, it was a meager 2 percent.
Pardon me while I laugh hysterically for a moment.
Enten captured the sentiment perfectly: “Folks—fewer folks thought he was responsible… and more than that, as it went into the rear-view mirror, far fewer folks thought that it was their number one memory.” Simply put, the public has moved on.
“So, the bottom line is, fewer Americans faulted Donald Trump or thought he was greatly responsible for the January 6th attack,” Enten noted. “And more than that, as it went into the rear-view mirror, far fewer folks thought that it was their number one memory.”
This apathy underscores why Joe Biden’s strategy of making January 6 a huge part part of his campaign’s messaging failed. As CNN’s John Berman noted, it “never really was registering.” The Democratic Party’s hopes of turning the Capitol riot into a perpetual political weapon against Trump have fallen flat.
Jan. 6 just didn’t have the lasting impression many Dems hoped. Just 5% of voters say it’s their #1 memory of Trump’s 1st term.
Also, a much lower share now say (below 40%) say Trump holds a great deal of responsibility for the Capitol attack.
Big reason he won in 2024. pic.twitter.com/ZTnSQNiL4g
— (((Harry Enten))) (@ForecasterEnten) January 6, 2025
The bottom line? January 6 has become a historical footnote for most Americans, far from the game-changing issue Democrats envisioned. While they may have bet big on the riot defining Trump’s legacy, voters seem to have made up their minds: it’s time to move on.
