Harry Enten, CNN: “The events of January 6 and its aftermath can be difficult to fathom. A number of Republicans don’t seem to comprehend them at all. They have fallen back on the lies that the riots we all saw on television and online that day were not an insurrection by supporters of Donald Trump. Dangerously, the base’s reaction to January 6 are part of a larger worldview about the 2020 election and its aftermath, all steeped in mistruths in an effort to protect Trump’s legacy. A Reuters/Ipsos poll from late March found that an astounding 55% of Republicans agreed that the January 6 riots were led by left-wing protesters trying to make the former President look bad. Just 30% of Republicans disagreed with this statement.”

“What arguably makes this stat even worse is that people don’t believe or are choosing to ignore their own eyes. There is video literally showing rioters pumping up Trump and denouncing now President Joe Biden and Democrats. There is no real proof that liberals were behind the insurrection. It’s a lie by some conservatives that was made up to excuse the violent actions of Trump supporters that day. Republicans are also trying to perform some mind jujitsu by trying to separate out the insurrection from the larger January 6 protests. While it is true that some January 6 protesters were not rioters, many of them were. Yet 51% of Republicans believe that the protesters were mostly peaceful and law-abiding. Put it together, a majority of Republicans think that the protesters were mostly peaceful, and a majority think those who rioted at the US Capitol were put up to it by left-wing agitators. Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that many Republicans are able to believe two things that seem to be in paradox with each other. Republicans have believed unbelievable things about the election and its aftermath for more than half a year now.”