donald trump offered a strange scapegoat for the January 6 insurrection in a new interview.
The former president accused the former speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) of allowing mobs of violent Trump supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol by allegedly rejecting his offer to activate the National Guard.
Thousands of people descended on the Capitol to try to prevent the president’s certification. Joe Bidenthe victory of January 6, 2021following Trump’s repeated lies about a stolen election.
A bipartisan Senate report released last June seven connected deaths to the violence of that day, and at the end of last year, the House January 6 committee impeaches Trump of engaging in a “multi-party conspiracy” to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Troublemakers He personally attacked Pelosi January 6th. People stalked the halls of Congress shouting, “Nancy! Oh Nancy! We are looking for you! Others vandalized his office and wreaked havoc throughout the building.
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But Trump ignored those facts while speaking to Kristen Welker during an interview on “Meet the Press” that aired Sunday.
In a notable effort to rewrite history, Trump claimed that Pelosi could have avoided the chaos and violence of that day if she had accepted Trump’s offer to use the National Guard before Jan. 6, when she planned to host a “Stop the “Steal.” near the Capitol.
“She turned down 10,000 troops,” Trump said, claiming that Pelosi was in charge of Capitol security. “If she had not rejected the soldiers, there would have been no January 6.”
“The Capitol Police said he wanted it and Nancy Pelosi wouldn’t have it,” Trump said. “She is responsible for January 6.”
Welker responded that Pelosi says Trump never officially asked her for permission to prepare the National Guard, although the reporter seemed unable to thoroughly verify Trump’s facts during their exchange.
The spokesperson of the house does not control security of the Capitol, nor do they control the requests of the National Guard. Instead, those decisions rest with the Capitol Police Board, which has offered conflicting accounts of events before and during January 6.
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According to a New York Times investigationPelosi approved a request for reinforcements from House Sergeant-at-Arms Paul Irving around 1:43 p.m. that day, two hours before the Pentagon gave the commander of the District of Columbia National Guard permission to deploy troops.
While Trump had plenty to say about Pelosi’s alleged missteps, the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination declined to say whether he took steps to stop the attack once it was underway.
“I’m not going to tell you anything,” Trump told Welker. “I assumed (Pelosi) had taken care of it.”
Pelosi responded to Trump’s claims During an appearance on MSNBC on Sunday, he told journalist Jonathan Capehart: “The former occupant of the White House has always been about projection. He knows that he is responsible for it, that’s why he projects it on others.”
Watch Trump’s full interview on “Meet the Press” here.