Trump: ‘If You Read My Speech … People Thought That What I Said Was Totally Appropriate’

Soon to be former president Donald Trump denied any involvement in causing or instigating the riots in Washington on January 6th he told reporters this morning before boarding a helicopter to Alamo, Texas for another “victory rally.”

Reporter: “What is your role in what happened at the Capitol? What is your personal responsibility?”

Trump: “If you read my speech … People thought that what I said was totally appropriate.” pic.twitter.com/pxdfCLi6Rm

— The Recount (@therecount) January 12, 2021

Repeating his oft ubiquitous defense which cites “many people” he said they had told him it was fine. Multiple evidence backed sources, which includes members of his senior staff.

The New York Times‘ Maggie Haberman discussing her reporting during a January 12 appearance on CNN’s New Day, Haberman told hosts Alisyn Camerota and John Berman that Trump was initially “pleased” with what we he saw on television. According to Haberman Trump was  “was engaging with aides while this was all going on. They were interrupting, telling him that he had to do something. And they were interrupting, telling him the Capitol was being overrun by his supporters. He was well aware of it, he was watching it. He was pleased because it was people fighting on his behalf. He was pleased because he liked the scene, he was pleased because it was delaying the certification of the electoral college vote….. He just didn’t want to do anything.”

JUST NOW: “He was pleased because he liked the scene and he was pleased because it was delaying the certification of the electoral college vote.”@maggieNYT shares her reporting on Trump’s real-time reaction to the insurrection. @NewDaypic.twitter.com/1eCG3SblvH

— John Berman (@JohnBerman) January 12, 2021

“What lawmakers were seeing as they were cowering and running was much more explicit than what we were seeing from outside the building — for the most part, outside the building. So, he was aware of what was going on. There were lawmakers reaching out not just to him, but to his chief of staff, to other people at the White House. And the only thing that really seemed to snap him out of it, according to my sources…. is that he was told he would have legal exposure based on what was going on because of what he said at the rally that preceded it.”

In addition, The Washington Post reports that a warning was issued internally by the FBI’s Norfolk, Virginia, field office a day before the Capitol riot saying , “that extremists were preparing to come to Washington, attack Congress and engage in ‘war.’ The warning was issued internally by the FBI’s Norfolk, Virginia, field office a day before the Capitol riot.”

With President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration just over a week away, Haberman said, an important question is, “Does (Trump) pardon himself?” And the Times reporter noted that both former U.S. Attorney General William Barr and White House Counsel Pat Cipollone have advised Trump against granting himself a preemptive pardon because he would be “giving up his 5th Amendment rights” by doing so.

Here is some of Haberman’s reporting from January 6:

Per sources briefed on the events, Pence told Trump by phone shortly before the rally about how he planned to handle the certification. The president was processing his fury about it during the rally, as he called on his supporters to go march to the Capitol.

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) January 6, 2021

In the week since virtually every social media company have dumped Trump, including the philanthropic GoFundMe, and Republican supporters from Ted Cruz to Mitch McConnell have began uncoupling from the president. Including a group head by Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming  who have pledged up to $50 million to hasten his impeachment.

Among the casualties that day, were “credentialed members of the press were bullied, attacked, and cursed out by the pro Trump mob who questioned whether they were Antifa.”

Credentialed members of the press were bullied, attacked, and cursed out by the pro Trump mob who questioned whether they were Antifa. pic.twitter.com/WRkjSDKItS

— David Begnaud (@DavidBegnaud) January 12, 2021

In addition to the four dead, including Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, horrific acts of violence that were carried out by Trump supporters included an unidentified man hit over the head with a fire extinguisher.

Watch this video and look in the bottom left-hand corner at the individual who throws a fire extinguisher at the back of a police officer’s head pic.twitter.com/rRuTyggQbf

— David Begnaud (@DavidBegnaud) January 12, 2021

Despite the cascade of defectors slightly more Trump voters currently consider themselves to be supporters of Donald Trump (????????%) than supporters of the GOP (????????%).

Which media outlets do Trump supporters trust the ?????????????????
????. Sean Hannity
????. Tucker Carlson
????. Rush Libaugh

Which media outlets do they trust the ?????????????????????
????. CNN
????. MSNBC
????. Fox News pic.twitter.com/fZlO2vI7Ee

— Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) January 12, 2021

As mentioned above, a  group of former Trump administration officials and Republicans opposed to the president said they would make a $50 million commitment to back the re-election of Republican lawmakers who join Democrats in supporting impeachment of the president on Tuesday. “Donald Trump has made it clear he is going to try and politically punish anyone who stands against him,” said Sarah Longwell, a prominent Never Trump Republican who is behind the new group. “His ability to to do that is diminishing by the minute, but we want to provide a counterweight to say there is real money to back people who do the right thing.”

While no House Republicans supported the president’s first impeachment in 2019,  as many as a dozen Republicans were said to be considering joining Democrats this time around, including Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the No. 3 House Republican. If Ms. Cheney “continues to push for accountability,” Ms. Longwell, said, “she’s exactly the kind of person we would want to defend.”

The Republican Accountability Project will be headed up by two former Trump administration officials: Olivia Troye, a former aide to Vice President Mike Pence, who served on the coronavirus task force, and Elizabeth Neumann, who served as a deputy chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security. During the election, both Ms. Troye and Ms. Neumann became outspoken critics of the administration. The group will operate under the umbrella organization of Defending Democracy Together, an advocacy group aimed at fighting Trumpism within the Republican Party.

House Democrats introduced an article of impeachment against President Trump on Monday, accusing him of inciting insurrection at the Capitol building on January 6. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told GOP colleagues on Friday that the earliest a Senate trial could likely be held would be on January 19, according to a memo obtained by several news outlets.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaP6jqC-DnE