Thoughts for the Day, January 6, 2026: I will never forget.

No matter how Trump and the White House spin January 6, 2021, I will never forget what I saw and what I felt that day.

I know what I saw

Excerpts from the White House Website about January 6, 2021

“President Trump took decisive action to pardon January 6 defendants who were unfairly targeted, overcharged, and used as political examples. They were not protected by the leaders who failed them. They were punished to cover incompetence.” It goes on to assert that his pardons ended “years of harsh solitary confinement, denied due process, and family separation for exercising their First Amendment rights.

“The Democrats masterfully reversed reality after January 6, branding peaceful patriotic protesters as ‘insurrectionists’ and framing the event as a violent coup attempt orchestrated by Trump—despite no evidence of armed rebellion or intent to overthrow the government. In truth, it was the Democrats who staged the real insurrection,”

No matter how Trump and the White House try to spin it, I will never forget January 6, 2021. It is a day that is burned into my memory. Five years later, I can remember that day like it was yesterday.

I was in the living room and Leah was in the sunroom waiting for the congressional certification of the 2020 presidential election to begin. Here is what I remember from that point on through the remainder of the day and night.

• · Leah calling for me to come and watch as Trump’s followers were trying to breach the Capitol.

• · Watching in shock as the Capitol was under attack.

• · Watching Republican and Democrat members of congress, hiding under seats as rioters tried to enter the chambers.

• · Calling my friend George to make sure he was watching because he had predicted a year earlier that if Trump lost the election, it would not be peaceful transfer of power. I couldn’t believe his prediction was coming true.

• · Calling my friend Nancy, making sure she was watching. Like George, she did not believe Trump would leave office willingly.

• · Talking on the phone with my friend Kirk who was my partner in the non-profit Student Development Program. He was driving back from Lansing and had not heard what happened until I told him.

• · Watching ABC News as things got progressively worse in and around the Capitol. My stomach was turning, and my anger was building.

• · Watching the fear on the face of ABC News reporter Martha Raddatz who was amongst the mob, going above and beyond her job as she was updating the public on what was happening. She was standing near the gallows that was built for VP Mike Pence by the rioters. (I truly believe they would have hanged Pence if they had captured him)

• · Watching as the rioters smashed windows and ransacked offices.

• · Feeling sick as the Confederate flag was paraded through the Capitol side by side with Trump 2020 flags. Thinking that this was probably the first time the Confederate flag was ever in the Capitol.

• · Thinking about the people who died in the Civil War making sure the Confederate Flag never made it to the Capitol. My stomach was churning and my anger was overcoming me.

By 4:00 PM I was mentally exhausted with anger and frustration. By 6:00 it was over.

Later that night I was determined to watch the certification of the 2020 election no matter what time it restarted. I was glad the leaders of congress decided to not let the insurrection prevent them from doing their constitutional duty of certifying the election.

At the start of the certification, I was encouraged by some of the comments made by the congressional leaders, especially Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. Their condemnation of Trump and the insurrectionists made me hopeful. I remember singling them out in Thoughts for the Day, the next day for finally speaking out against Trump.

I went to bed that night thinking we had just witnessed one of the worst days in the history of our country because of Trump and his MAGA followers.

I was convinced that January 6, 2021, would be the end of Trump and MAGA. And it should have been, but it wasn’t.

It wasn’t because

• · Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy changed their tune in the days and weeks that followed as they encouraged the Republican members of congress to not vote for Trump’s conviction on his second impeachment following the January 6 insurrection.

• · All but six Republican senators did not have the guts to vote to convict Trump of impeachment for his actions on January 6, 2021.

• · President Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland did not have the guts to move quickly to prosecute Trump for his role in the insurrection. By the time they acted it was too late and Trump regained control of the Republican Party.

• · The Supreme Court decided that actions of a President while in office are immune from prosecution if the president’s actions are part of his presidential responsibilities.

No matter how much Trump and his administration try to rewrite the history of January 6, 2021, they cannot change what I saw that day.

I am committed to reminding people that Donald Trump was responsible for one of the darkest days in the history of our country. I will never forget.

Quote of the Day: “A bee doesn’t waste its time trying to convince a fly that honey is sweeter than manure.” This was shared with me by my good friend Jeff.

Orchid of the Day: No Orchid today because I am giving out two onions.

Onion of the Day: Paul Davis, the former 6’11” basketball player MSU and the NBA for getting ejected from the stands in the waning minutes of MSU’s 30-point victory at home against USC last night.

With about 6 minutes left in the game, the referee’s stopped the game and went over to MSU Coach Izzo and told him that Davis needs to leave the arena for something he said to the officials. Izzo concurred and Davis was escorted from the arena. In a postgame interview, Izzo was visibly upset about what Davis said.

A second Onion of the Day: To the person in the locker room of the gym today who asked me if I was from Michigan. After telling him yes, he proceeded to tell me that Minnesota and Michigan needed to get their acts together and clean up the corruption and get rid of the Muslims, especially in Dearborn because they are taking over the state and ruining our country. After pushing back on him by telling him that I did not feel that way at all, he then proceeded to tell me that I needed to wake up or the Muslims and blacks will be running our country and we as white people need to prevent that from happening. As I was walking out, I told him, I don’t feel that way at all, and I am sorry he feels that way.

Question of the Day: Do you agree with the White House summary of what happened on January 6, 2021?

Lyrics of the Day:
Outside I’m masquerading Inside my hope is fading

Just a clown ooh yeah since you put me down
My smile is my make up I wear since my breakup with you

Lyrics of the Day for January 5, 2026. Come Monday by Jimmy Buffett

Video of the Day: Inside the U.S. Capitol at the height of the siege | Visual Forensics

I write reflective, opinionated essays on leadership, politics, sports, and life—grounded in experience rather than ideology. If this perspective resonates with you, you can subscribe here for free.