Fox News contributor Geraldo Rivera invoked the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, referring to the January 6 riot at the Capitol as “a date that will live in infamy.”
Rivera made a Thursday morning appearance on “America’s Newsroom” to discuss the continued National Guard presence in the nation’s capital, and he argued that it was worthwhile even if they were only being retained as a visual reminder of the egregious nature of the Jan. 6 attack. (RELATED: ‘Sh*t Happens’: Geraldo Rivera Rips Into ‘Entitled Frat Boy’ Trump Over Post-Election Behavior)
WATCH:
“I don’t mind the symbolism at all,” Rivera said.
Anchor Bill Hemmer turned the question to civil rights attorney Leo Terrell, who argued that the National Guard troops were being used as props by the Democrats.
“The Democrats want to keep the public with the mindset that this was caused by Trump,” Terrell said. “Why don’t we use those 5,000 troops in Portland, in Seattle, in Chicago where there is ongoing rioting? There is no evidence and the Republicans have been asking for evidence to justify why those troops are there. I will submit to you they’re there for one reason, to be used for a Democratic commercial to keep tarnishing Trump and the Republicans.”
“Oh, Leo, Leo, Leo. Have you minimized what happened January 6, a ‘date that will live in infamy’?” Rivera said, repeating the words used by then President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to describe the Japanese Empire’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, which killed 2,403 Americans. “You have to do the best you can to make sure it never happens again.”
“That’s great role-playing,” Terrell went on to argue that Washington, D.C., was calm while chaos and violence continued to rock cities like Seattle and Portland. “What’s the difference?” he asked.
Anchor Dana Perino noted that it was possible that the National Guard was responding to legitimate threats that were not necessarily public knowledge. “Three weeks since the riot we haven’t had a comprehensive briefing,” she said.
“If the intent of the Speaker of the House or whoever has jurisdiction over the whole property, if the intention is to remind people of what happened I’m fine with that,” Rivera said again. “There are 400 who are meaningfully accused of crimes as serious as sedition. Five people died there on that holy ground. I think that it is within reason for us to keep this historic tension going until at least this chapter is closed.”