Everyone surely remembers Donald Trump’s appeals to “law and order” going all the way back to his infamous full-page ad condemning the (innocent) Central Park Five titled “Bring Back the Death Penalty, Bring Back Our Police.” When he ran for office he sought out law enforcement at all levels as a discrete constituency, promising to let them take the gloves off and encouraging them to not “be so nice” to suspects. During the George Floyd protests during the summer of 2020, he told federal law enforcement and military leaders he wanted them to “crack skulls” and “beat the shit out of” the protesters. At one point he said, “just shoot them.” Luckily, they didn’t do that. It took a devoted Trump-loving vigilante named Kyle Rittenhouse to execute that order.

Until the January 6th insurrection, Trump was the nation’s most vociferous defender of police. But on that day he was strangely reserved, tepidly tweeting that the rioters should […]