INSURRECTION
Trump Slammed for Issuing ‘Insincere, Very Belated’ Statement Against Violence – and for All the Things It Didn’t Say

President Donald Trump Wednesday afternoon issued a very short statement against any violence barely one hour before the House of Representatives will vote to impeach him, for a second time. But he was immediately criticized for what he did not say in his remarks.
“He does not tell the militias and other armed protestors not to come to DC,” tweeted former Special Counsel to the Dept. of Defense Ryan Goodman. “He does not do anything to counteract The Big Lie (that the election was stolen) which remains the key mobilizing myth that’s propelling the political violence.”
“If the man had any interest at all in easing tensions and calming tempers,” tweeted Will Wilkinson, a contributing NY Times opinion writer and a think tank VP, “he’d hold a televised press conference conceding the election, communicating that there was no evidence of fraud, that Biden will legitimately take office on the 20th, and there’s no reason to protest it.”
He continued:
There's nothing in the least complicated about this. Anybody who tries to shift the focus to anything but the fact that the president has been lying for two months about unambiguous election results, which led to a violent mob trashing the Capitol, is actively stoking division.
— Will Wilkinson 🌐 (@willwilkinson) January 13, 2021
But it was historian Michael Beschloss who truly excoriated President Trump:
If that anodyne, insincere, very belated anti-violence statement is the best Trump can do to stave off impeachment and conviction, he is in more trouble than he thinks.
— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) January 13, 2021
We can presume that Trump didn’t write that anti-violence statement just issued in his name — question is whether he's actually read it.
— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) January 13, 2021
More:
There will be Trump supporters who will interpret this statement as first and foremost a call for more demonstrations. https://t.co/jUaX53Kayt
— Arieh Kovler (@ariehkovler) January 13, 2021
Under pressure, Trump just released a statement to Fox News calling for no more violence.
This is unacceptable.
If he really wanted to stop the threat of violence, he would tell his supporters to call off the protests and accept Joe Biden as president. https://t.co/vDw9LgLPCL
— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) January 13, 2021
Trump's statement that calls "on ALL Americans to help ease tensions and calm tempers" is 273 characters.
A tweet is limited to 280 characters. pic.twitter.com/RDqUbMgiIQ
— Chris Cioffi (@ReporterCioffi) January 13, 2021
The new statement from Trump telling "ALL Americans" to "calm tempers" is pretty empty considering he was threatening Biden in a speech YESTERDAY. https://t.co/bAYGKV2QMc
— Kaili Joy Gray (@KailiJoy) January 13, 2021
Trump campaign just texted out the president’s statement calling for “NO violence, NO lawbreaking and NO vandalism of any kind” before, during and after Biden’s inauguration
It had no fundraising link and was the first text they’d sent out (by my count) since the Capitol riot pic.twitter.com/XptBXBdRZG
— Christian Datoc (@TocRadio) January 13, 2021
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