He may have lost most of his social media access but President Donald Trump Tuesday morning was still able to reach his supporters to gin up the MAGA troops.
In his first live, presumably unscripted public remarks President Donald Trump appeared to telegraph to his supporters to continue the violence MAGA devotees demonstrated when they took over the U.S. Capitol in an armed and deadly insurrection last week, even while claiming, “we want no violence.”
Speaking to reporters on his way to Alamo, Texas to tour his border wall in one of his final acts as president, Trump refused to take any responsibility for inciting the insurrection that led to six deaths, while insisting he still has “tremendous support” from his followers. Many of those who attacked the Capitol expressed anger at Trump after he recorded a video denouncing the violence, a video he reportedly was forced to record by his top aides and later said he regretted recording.
“So if you read my speech and many people have done it and I’ve seen it both in the papers and in the media, on television, and it’s been analyzed and people thought it was totally appropriate,” Trump told reporters, referring to the speech he gave inciting the insurrection.
He then tried to compare last Wednesday’s seditious coup attempt that he caused to the Black Lives Matter protests, caused by police killings of unarmed Black people across the country.
MSNBC opted to cut away.
He called the impeachment, which will be voted on and will likely pass by a strong margin this week, “a continuation of the greatest witch hunt in the history of politics.”
“This impeachment is causing tremendous anger, and you’re doing it,” he said – targeting reporters, who are not “doing it” – “and it’s really a terrible thing that they’re doing.”
“For Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer to continue on this path, I think it’s causing tremendous danger to our county and it’s causing tremendous anger. I want no violence.”
UPDATE:
Evan McMullin, a former CIA ops officer, GOP policy director, and independent presidential candidate agrees: