Storming of the U.S. Capitol: Media has it all covered

The scenes of bedlam and fear at the center of national government erupted quickly, but journalists wondered whether they should have been a surprise. "It's hard to believe that this is going on," said CNN's Wolf Blitzer. "This is unprecedented, it is dangerous and this is so, so embarrassing for the United States of America."

After breaching the building, pictures emerged of an armed standoff in the House as politicians cowered behind desks and people smashed the building's windows and climbed in. Newsmax showed stunning footage of police and rioters squaring off in the Capitol Rotunda. "The mob has overtaken the process of trying to certify the Electoral College," said Fox News Channel reporter Chad Pergram. "Security here at the U.S. Capitol has failed."

As images of people banging on a door at the Capitol aired, ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos said, "that is not Ukraine, that is not Belarus." There were debates in newsrooms across the country about what terminology to use to describe the participants. Demonstrators? Protestors? Rioters? A mob? CNN's Jake Tapper said, "we call them terrorists." NBC's Lester Holt said "there are some elements of a coup attempt."

On CNBC, Shepard Smith ordered a tape of Trump's message stopped in midstream. "Stop the tape," he said. "That is not true, and we are not airing it."CNN's Abby Phillip said Americans needed to question whether Trump was even capable of leading the country for the next two weeks. "He is inciting violence against the government itself, lawlessness, vandalism and he's also completely MIA in terms of his principal job, which is to keep this country safe," she said.

Even as the building was being stormed, Trump supporters in the media were calling into question who was responsible. On One America News Network, anchor Dan Ball said the violence was nothing like civil rights demonstrations last summer, and suggested without evidence that Antifa demonstrators may have disguised themselves as Trump supporters for the siege on the Capitol. The nation's largest broadcasters, ABC, CBS and NBC, devoted virtually all of their prime times to the Washington drama.