A former White House official has sparked outrage after detailing what could have happened instead of the Capitol riot
If Washington DC had been a place of “peace and calm” on January 6, 2021, Donald Trump ally Peter Navarro would have executed a “perfect plan,” one that has some accusing him of trying to thwart the election.
In an interview with The Daily Beast, published on Monday, Navarro said he had “100 congressmen, including some senators” ready to protest the certification of the 2020 presidential election, which Trump continues to claim was rigged in President Joe Biden’s favor, though there has not been any official proof of the widespread fraud he has referred to.
Lawmakers and Trump supporters Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Arizona) did “exactly what was expected of them” on January 6 by bringing forth objections to the certification of Arizona’s ballots.
“It was a perfect plan. And it all predicated on peace and calm on Capitol Hill. We didn’t even need any protesters, because we had over 100 congressmen committed to it,” he said.
According to The Beast, Navarro acknowledged his plan did not have concrete legal standing, but the intention was to push the clock as long as possible to increase pressure on then-Vice President Mike Pence, who presided over the certification.
The goal of this plan, called the “Green Bay Sweep,” was to get televised addresses of congressmen repeatedly pointing out alleged flaws in the election, leading to 24-hour coverage.
Navarro’s strategy has thrown Trump critics into a collective outrage, with many presenting Navarro’s comments as proof of allegations that the former president helped coordinate what became the Capitol riot. The House committee is currently investigating the claims, finding many of their subpoenas being protested or ignored by Trump allies, including by Navarro.
“They’re saying what the January 6 plan was out loud,” pundit Amanda Carpenter tweeted.
Former MSNBC host and loud Trump critic Keith Olbermann similarly claimed Navarro’s statements are further proof “it is no longer a question of their testimony.”
Navarro has spoken about this plan in the past, saying it was a strategy put together with fellow former Trump administration advisor Steve Bannon.
Polling has continued to suggest a significant portion of Trump supporters believe the last election to be illegitimate. A University of Massachusetts Amherst poll released Tuesday showed one third of respondents believe the last election to be fraudulent, a number that jumps to 71% among Republicans. Similar numbers believe Pence should have used his role to prevent the certification of the election results, with 62% of Republicans saying that Pence should have challenged Biden’s victory, while 37% of respondents overall agreed.
