Michael Fanone, the former police officer who defended the US Capitol on 6 January 2021, looked out at the attendees of the Principles First summit and denounced Donald Trump in the strongest possible terms for pardoning roughly 1,500 people who participated in the insurrection.
Mark Cuban, the billionaire entrepreneur who is considered a potential presidential candidate in 2028, but who told the conference on Saturday he does not plan on running, suggested that the “chaos” unleashed by Trump’s first month in office may present an opening for the president’s critics to present an alternative vision for the country’s future.
Chris Christie, the former governor of New Jersey who served as a close adviser to Trump before becoming one of the president’s most vocal Republican critics, described that comment as “the most important thing he has said in the last two weeks because that tells you exactly what he thinks”.
Even as summit speakers warned of the serious threat that Trump and his allies pose to the foundations of US government, they implored attendees to stand up for their principles.
Speakers at Principles First summit warned of peril Trump and allies posed, urging people ‘to be in the streets’.
