Conservative radio host and pundit Erick Erickson ended up getting humiliated on social media Tuesday after he claimed that the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, wasn’t an insurrection.
Numerous people on X, formerly Twitter, were quickly able to post receipts showing that the right-wing broadcaster had previously called the events of Jan. 6 “an insurrection” and ― even more shocking ― admitted that then-President Donald Trump was responsible.
It all began after Erickson responded to a post by legal journalist Jeffrey Toobin, who noted that Justice Clarence Thomas was “minimizing the severity of the 1/6 insurrection at the Capitol” during oral arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court and suggested that his stance was “because his wife was part of the conspiracy.”
Erickson, who is also a non-practicing attorney, disagreed with Toobin and insisted, “There was no insurrection” and said that was “a left/media talking point.”
He added: “It was a riot, yes. It was not an insurrection. Those who believe this don’t actually care about the truth though.”
But many of the people who Erickson claimed don’t actually “care about the truth” apparently did care enough to point out that the “no insurrection” line is exactly the opposite of what he said the day after Trump supporters attacked the Capitol while Congress met to certify the Electoral College vote.
And, yes, they brought receipts.
HuffPost reached out to Erickson for clarity about his flip-flop, but no one immediately responded.
But this isn’t the first time one of his hot takes about the insurrection has led to him getting burned on social media.
Last September, Erickson was mocked after trying to damn Democrats by bizarrely comparing and contrasting a controversy over Sen. John Fetterman’s casual attire in the U.S. Senate with outrage over the actions of the Jan. 6 rioters:
“Dems who were outraged by January 6 rioters storming the Capitol because of the violence wrought against that great Temple of Democracy are okay with a man at war with the English language and pants getting to wear a hoodie and shorts onto the Senate floor.”