Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer ludicrously compared the ruckus to Pearl Harbor – a "day of infamy." Schumer complained that the "temple to democracy was desecrated… our offices vandalized" and that rioters were able to "stalk these hallowed halls." Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) compared an incursion that broke some windows and furniture with the 1814 British invasion that torched the Capitol. 

The pro-Trump mob should not have charged into the Capitol. President Donald Trump should not have fired them up with absurd claims that he won the election "by a landslide." Even conservative firebrand Ann Coulter declared that "it was assholic [for Trump] to tell a crowd of thousands to march to the capitol." Trump lawyer Rudolph Giuliani should never have called for a "trial by combat" when addressing Trump supporters. Once the protestors charged into the Capitol, Trump should have speedily called for an end to the confrontation. 

Trump deserves much of the blame for the Capitol chaos. But the debacle would have been far less without blundering by congressional leadership and their small army of protectors. A Washington Post analysis of the "disastrous failure" by Capitol Police noted, "Security at the Capitol building is controlled by Congress itself." The Capitol Police have an annual budget of almost half a billion dollars and two thousand officers – equal to the entire police forces of Cleveland or Atlanta. Video showed police standing back as people thronged inside the Capitol. The Post noted, " One image posted on social media showed an officer taking a selfie with one of the intruders, and a video seemed to show officers opening the security fence to let Trump supporters closer."