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Trump says crowd at U.S. Capitol riot was ‘loving’ in audio recording

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Updated on July 24, 2021

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According to released audio of an interview he did with a pair of Washington Post reporters, former President Donald Trump said the throng of his supporters assembled outside the White House for a rally on January 6 before the assault on the US Capitol was “loving,”

The comments were made in a March interview with Washington Post writers Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker for their new book, “I Alone Can Fix It,” which was released Tuesday after early chapters indicated tensions among top administration officials in the run-up to and aftermath of the incident.

“I think it was the largest crowd I’ve ever spoken before. It went from that point — which is almost at the White house — to beyond the Washington monument. It was — and wide. And it was a loving crowd, too, by the way.

“There was a lot of love. I’ve heard that from everybody. Many, many people have told me that was a loving crowd,” the former President added.

“I would’ve said you will show, (but) not to go in,” Trump said when questioned by media about what he intended his followers would do when he called ahead of the attack to “go up there and stop the steal.”

On January 6, a crowd of Mr. Trump’s supporters stormed the US Capitol in an effort to prevent Congress from tallying states’ electoral votes and certifying President Biden’s victory. Five people were killed. As rioters gained access into the Capitol, Vice President Mike Pence, who was presiding over the joint session, was hurried away from the Senate chamber, and legislators were evacuated and taken to a safe area.

Trump claimed in the newly leaked audio interview from his Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Fla., that he hoped the crowds at his Stop the Steal event and other demonstrations on the National Mall that day would demonstrate their support for his unsubstantiated accusations of election fraud in 2020.

“Personally, what I wanted is what they wanted,” he told reporters who repeatedly asked him what he anticipated would happen as he pushed his supporters to march toward the Capitol.

“They showed up just to show support because I happen to believe the election was rigged at a level like nothing has ever been rigged before,” he said.

He further stated that the Capitol Police were “ushering people in” and that they were “very friendly.”

“They were hugging and kissing, you don’t see that. But, there’s plenty of tape on that too,” he added.

Trump’s remarks highlight the Republican Party’s concerted effort to minimize the violence at the Capitol. Since January 6, the former President and Republican legislators in both houses have given misleading versions of the attack that contradict reams of video evidence, criminal charges filed against participants, and testimony from law enforcement authorities.

More than 535 individuals have been detained in connection with the January 6 attack, which injured over 150 police officers.

Trump went on to explain that he did not intend to encourage his supporters to enter the Capitol, where lawmakers were assembled to confirm President Biden’s Electoral College victory.

Trump was impeached for the second time by the House of Representatives prior of the event, though he was subsequently acquitted by the Senate.

Senate Republicans blocked a measure in May that would have formed an independent commission to examine the fatal attack, and House Republicans refused to participate in the House committee investigating the insurgency earlier this week.

“Everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard,” the former president addressed the gathering on January 6.

While Democrats and others have questioned whether some officers were complicit in the riot, citing video showing some officers reportedly moving barricades to allow rioters to break through and at least one officer posing for a selfie with a rioter, Washington, D.C., and Capitol Police officers were among those who suffered serious injuries while attempting to respond to the rioting.

Officer Brian Sicknick of the Capitol Police Department died as a result of his injuries, while two other policemen committed suicide in the weeks after the mob attack.

Despite Mr. Trump’s repeated accusations that the presidential election was rigged, scores of voting fraud cases filed in state and federal courts have been dismissed because the former president’s attorneys failed to produce proof to back up their claims. The Supreme Court of the United States has rejected bids to overturn election results in crucial battleground states.

Trump told reporters at the Washington Post that his cases had failed because he “needed better judges,” not better lawyers.