But on the anniversary of the attack, the main Republicans were much quieter. Some recognized the terror of the day but quickly turned to vilification of Democrats. Many avoided the planned celebrations on Capitol Hill. And still others said nothing at all.

It is all part of the political calculation in a party where the former president remains very much in charge.

MISSING IN ACTION

The party’s main congressional leaders were absent from Thursday’s commemoration events on Capitol Hill. Minority Parliamentary Leader Kevin McCarthy did not make an appearance or make a statement. Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell, who delivered one of Trump’s most vocal accusations after the attack, was in Atlanta for the funeral of former Senator Johnny Isakson.

Indeed, during a minute of silence held in honor of the police, only two Republicans were present in the chamber of the House: Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming, who has become an outcast of her party in because of his criticism of the actions of Trump, and his father, former Vice President Dick Cheney.

In a statement, McConnell called January 6 a “dark day for Congress and our country” after “the headquarters of the first branch of our federal government was stormed by criminals who brutalized police officers and used force to try to prevent Congress from doing its job. ” job.”

But he also criticized Democrats for what he said was their politicization of the attack. “It was astounding to see some Democrats in Washington trying to use this anniversary to advance partisan political goals that long predated this event,” he said.

It was a notable change from comments he made last year after the Senate voted against Trump’s impeachment.

“There is no doubt – none – that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for bringing about the events of the day. There is no doubt, ”he said at the time, calling it a“ shameful and shameful breach of duty ”.

THEN AND NOW

Like McConnell, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, friend and ally of the former president, was clear in her denunciation of Trump immediately after the Jan.6 attack.

“All I can say is count on me. Enough is enough, ”he said at the time.

On Thursday, however, Graham, who remains close to Trump, marked the occasion with a mixture of shock and partisan attacks.

“I still can’t believe a mob could have taken over the United States Capitol at such a crucial time – certifying a presidential election. It would have been so easy for the terrorists to become attached to this protest and wreak even more destruction on the United States Capitol, “he wrote.

Still, he turned to politics, calling the speeches of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Capitol Hill as “an effort to resurrect a failed presidency rather than marking the anniversary of a gloomy day of American history “.

“Their brazen attempts to use January 6 to support sweeping electoral reform and change Senate rules to achieve this goal will not succeed,” he wrote.

POLICY FIRST

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, seen as a potential 2024 presidential candidate, was quick to jump too. Speaking to reporters in Florida on Thursday morning around the same time Biden was addressing the nation, DeSantis slammed Democrats and the media for making so much of the event.

“It’s their Christmas, January 6,” he said. “They’re going to take this and milk this for all they can to try to smear anyone who’s ever supported Donald Trump.”

He lashed out at those who compared the gravity of what happened on January 6 to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and said most Florida people had other issues on their minds.

“I think it’s going to end up being just a politicized Charlie Foxtrot today,” he said, using military slang for a chaotic situation. “I think it’s going to be smelly, quite frankly.”

NO COMMENT

Other potential candidates for 2024, meanwhile, have remained blatantly silent, highlighting the complicated math they face in a party in which Trump remains heavily in charge, with the support of large swathes of the primary electorate.

Former Vice President Mike Pence – who fled for his life on January 6 as rioters burst into the Capitol chanting “Hang Mike Pence!” – did not issue a statement marking the occasion.

Pence said he and the former president would likely never “agree” to the events of January 6 and defended his role that day by rejecting Trump’s demands to overturn the election results – something which he did not have the power to. To do. At the same time, he accused the media of reporting on the attack to “demean” Trump supporters and “to distract from the failed Biden administration agenda,” as he put it. on Fox News in October.

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who laid the groundwork for a possible 2024 campaign by highlighting the successes of the Trump administration, and former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, who ended up on the wrong side from the base of the party, also did not say anything. when she criticized Trump immediately after the insurgency. She has since said she will not run for the GOP nomination if Trump chooses to go ahead with the comeback campaign he is teasing.

COUNTER-PROGRAMMING

As Trump canceled the anniversary press conference he was planning for Thursday in Florida, several of his more ardent supporters have scheduled their own counter-programming.

“We’re not ashamed of anything,” said GOP Rep Matt Gaetz of Florida during an appearance with Georgia Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene on a podcast hosted by former Trump strategist Steve Bannon, who was charged with defying a subpoena from the House committee. investigation into the insurgency. “We are proud of the work we did on January 6 to present legitimate arguments on the integrity of the elections.”

Greene criticized Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, another potential candidate for 2024, for calling the anniversary an event marking “a violent terrorist attack on the Capitol” on Wednesday.

She accused Cruz of having disrespected the “MAGA patriots” and “people who revolted on the Capitol and violated the Capitol”.

“Shame on Ted Cruz,” she said.

Cruz later appeared on Fox News to follow up on his comments, claiming his wording was “sloppy” and “downright stupid.”

THE OLD GUARD

The GOP’s transformation into Trump’s party is perhaps most clearly evident when former Vice President Dick Cheney made an unexpected visit to Capitol Hill in support of his daughter, who has become one of the most anti-Trump voices. more prominent.

When asked what he thought of the Republican leadership’s handling of the anniversary, Cheney, who served under George W. Bush, was flippant in his assessment of an institution that has been virtually remodeled to the image of Trump.

“It’s not a leadership unlike any of the people I knew when I was here for 10 years, in spectacular fashion,” Cheney, also a former congressman, told reporters.

“The importance of January 6 as a historic event cannot be overstated,” he added in a statement. “I am deeply disappointed by the failure of many in my party to recognize the grave nature of the January 6 attacks and the continuing threat to our nation.

Karl Rove, who served as Deputy Chief of Staff in the Bush administration and advised Trump at times in the 2020 campaign, wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal addressing those in his own party “who for a an apologized for the actions of the rioters who stormed the Capitol, disrupted Congress as it received the Electoral College results, and violently attempted to overturn the election. “

“There can be no soft pedal on what happened and no absolution for those who planned, encouraged and aided the attempt to overthrow our democracy. Love of the fatherland demands nothing less. This is real patriotism, ”he wrote.