New book looks at what happened in the White House Situation Room as Jan. 6 riots unfolded
Democracy on ballot in upcoming U.S. election, says George Stephanopoulos
In times of crisis, U.S. presidents have for decades convened their most trusted advisers in the Situation Room, a basement bunker of the White House equipped to act as a nerve centre.
But on Jan. 6, 2021, the crisis facing the White House was one "inspired by the president of the United States himself," says George Stephanopoulos, an ABC broadcaster who held various roles in the Clinton administration.
On that day, rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol building in Washington in a bid to thwart the certification of the 2020 presidential election results, which Donald Trump lost to Joe Biden. The riot happened shortly after a rally where Trump called on them to "fight like hell." Lawmakers were rushed to safety, and five people died during and shortly after the chaos, including one police officer. Trump became the first U.S. president to be impeached for a second time, charged with "incitement of insurrection."
Stephanopoulos explores the history of that bunker in his new book The Situation Room: The Inside Story of Presidents in Crisis. He spoke with Matt Galloway about what happened on Jan. 6, and what he thinks it means for the upcoming U.S. presidential election. Here is part of their conversation.
You say the book is a look at crisis management in the modern presidency — and during the Trump administration, the president was the crisis to be managed. What happened in the Situation Room on Jan. 6?
Most horrifying story in the book, to me. I found … the Situation Room duty officer who was serving on Jan. 6, a man named Mike Stiegler. He was not eager to speak with me at first, but after months of communication, he finally decided to tell his story. And it's a chilling one.
We know the outlines of what happened on Jan. 6 today. But Mike Stiegler on that day was the man who was the point person between the White House Situation Room and the Secret Service on Capitol Hill, trying to protect the vice-president of the United States from these rioters. And one of the things that Mike Stiegler told me is that no one understands how close we came to losing the vice-president.
In those moments, the people in the White House Situation Room, including Stiegler, had to implement what is called the continuity of government policies for the United States. These were the series of policies set up by Dwight Eisenhower at the height of the Cold War, designed to make sure the United States government survived a nuclear attack. Separate chains of command dealing with the evacuation of high-level officials so they could function outside of the White House. On that day, they were starting to implement those procedures.
Can you imagine what it felt like to be inside the Situation Room on that day? This is the room where they have dealt with the assassination of a president, the attempted assassination of another president, the horrors of 9/11, where they've managed the longest war in American history. Obviously, the takedown of Osama bin Laden. They dealt with all kinds of crises and natural disasters. Never before had they been called upon to deal with an insurrection against the United States government, inspired by the president of the United States himself. Who was sitting upstairs, just off the Oval Office, watching the proceedings on TV, sipping Diet Coke, and never called down once to the White House Situation Room. Which is, to me, one of the most chilling stories you can possibly imagine.
This book arrives, of course, in the advance months before another matchup, presumably, between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. As you look at this election, given what you've just said, what do you think is at stake?
American democracy. We've had a 250-year experiment, it's worked. The bedrock of why it has worked is because we have believed in the peaceful transfer of power. That was rejected in 2020. It continues to be rejected today. Donald Trump continues to lie about the last election. Every single time he speaks, he calls those who rioted on Jan. 6 hostages and warriors — and promises to pardon them. He refuses to say that he will accept the results of the next election. The stakes could not be higher in this election, because it is not a normal American election. It is one where our democracy itself is on the ballot.
You said that airing a live interview or doing a live interview with Donald Trump, in your words, is journalistic malpractice. Why do you say that?
I know that when I speak like this, it risks looking partisan, but it's not partisan. It's simply defending facts and truth and civil debate. So much of what he says — and that's part of his technique — are lies.
In a live interview, no matter how skilled or well-prepared a moderator is, there is no way they can prevent those lies from going out into the ether and infecting the body politic. We've seen it happen. What, 70 per cent of the Republican Party now believes the 2020 election was stolen. It couldn't be further from the truth.
So how do you cover him then? How do you go about telling the story of somebody who still has a huge constituency of voters who will support him and could very well be the next president of the United States?
That means you have to cover him. It means always keeping the most important issues in perspective.
For example, the former president had a big rally in Las Vegas over the weekend, where he … called the Jan. 6 rioters "warriors" … suggested they were set up by the police. To me, that should be the headline of covering what the president said that day, because it's the most important issue we're facing. So many of our journalistic outlets … instead lead with the president comes out against taxing the tips of service workers.
And in a normal policy debate between two parties, I could understand that. But not against the backdrop of one of the candidates being someone who is refusing to accept the last election.
That's the most fundamental fact of this election. And we can't treat it like it's just another debate over tax policy or economic policy or environmental policy.
Q&A edited for length and clarity. Audio produced by Ben Jamieson.
