Andrew Bolt: Outrage missing during BLM riots

Anyone who didn’t call out all the incitement and violence that happened at Black Lives Matter protests has no right to now feign horror at Trump.

The hypocrites have lost. And Donald Trump is free to run again for president of the United States.

The US Senate at the weekend acquitted Trump of inciting an insurrection — a violent protest at the US Capitol last month to stop politicians from declaring Joe Biden the next president.

True, as I said last year. Trump did act disgracefully by claiming, without proof, he’d been cheated out of a win.

And his speech to a Washington rally just before the riot was reckless in urging supporters to fight, even if he urged them to protest “peacefully”.

But there was no evidence he intended them to storm the Capitol.

In fact, his trial was pushed and run by shameless hypocrites –— people who only now are horrified by political violence, heated rhetoric and wild claims of election fraud.

I’d take them more seriously if they’d also called out far-Left Senator Bernie Sanders for demonising Trump as “the most dangerous president” in US history, even after one of his infuriated campaign workers shot Republican congressman Steve Scalise.

I’d take them seriously if they’d called out Democrat congresswoman Maxine Waters for urging people who saw members of Trump’s cabinet in the street to “create a crowd” and “push back on them”.

Former US President Donald Trump was acquitted of “incitement of insurrection” over the Capitol riots.

I’d take them seriously if they’d called out defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton for claiming Trump was “corrupt” and “an illegitimate president” whose 2016 election win “wasn’t on the level”.

I’d take them seriously if they hadn’t claimed — falsely — that Trump colluded with Russia to steal that election.

I’d treat them seriously if they’d called out the months of Black Lives Matter violence that torched American cities.

Instead, I saw journalists dismiss those riots as “mostly peaceful”, and CNN’s Chris Cuomo, brother of the Democrat mayor of New York, sneer: “Please show me where it says protests have to be polite and peaceful.”

I even saw Democrats helping rioters. Kamala Harris, now Biden’s vice-president, asked for donations to a “Freedom Fund” to free protesters arrested in the Minnesota riots.

Among those it bailed were a suspect who shot at police, a man who allegedly attacked a police station and a woman accused of killing a friend.

Anyone who didn’t call out all that incitement and violence has no right to now feign horror at Trump.

Principle should count. Not the side.