There are many alarming similarities between President Trump’s January 6, 2021 attack on Congress and Germany’s successful 1933 Reichstag fire, which was followed within weeks by Hitler’s 2nd and successful coup (his 1st ended in prison), creating a NAZI Party dictatorship with only 37.3% of the vote. It ended 12 years later after World War II and 80 million deaths. Dictators have tremendous willpower, substantial talent, no conscience, and use the Big Lie repeatedly; but their initial efficiency and effectiveness are followed by destructive searches for ever greater self-glorification. Even after his suicide some Germans still loved Hitler — the “father” leader image persisted.
Trump’s first attempted coup very nearly worked. The rioters, chanting “Hang Mike Pence” and carrying a gallows, were only about one minute too late to catch him. V.P. Pence was the irreplaceable chair of the Senate and was disobeying Trump’s orders not to certify the new President Biden. If Trump’s attack on Congress had succeeded, Trump would almost certainly still be President today because there is no solution in the U.S. Constitution or laws for Congressional failure to approve the election vote count, and Trump had appointed a very supportive Supreme Court majority and had a 50/50 divided Senate. (See Trump’s plan details in the Eastman Memos). Trump and supporters are still actively claiming that he won and he is still campaigning.