Trumpland

Trump Expects Us to Believe Capitol Rioters Weren’t His ‘True Supporters’

PANTS ON FIRE

The president known for routinely urging his supporters to attack protesters now insists that his supporters could never “threaten or harass their fellow Americans.”

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Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty

President Trump apparently thinks Americans are stupid enough to believe that the Capitol rioters weren’t his “true” supporters and that he was “shocked” by their violence despite riling them up to “fight” immediately beforehand. According to Trump’s statements in a very unconvincing video released late Wednesday after his second impeachment, his supporters are actually pacifists. In the five-minute video released on the official White House Twitter account, Trump kept a straight face as he spoke about the need to “rise above” and “unite,” even as he continued to frame himself as the victim following the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol riots. “Mob violence goes against everything I believe in and everything our movement stands for. No true supporter of mine could ever endorse political violence. No true supporter of mine could ever disrespect law enforcement or our great American flag. No true supporter of mine could ever threaten or harass their fellow Americans,” Trump said, apparently having forgotten about the numerous times he urged supporters to attack protesters at his rallies. Having been booted from Twitter and suspended from YouTube, Trump went on to complain about what he called an “unprecedented assault on free speech” that he suggested was preventing people from finding “common ground.” In the speech made exactly one week after the deadly riots erupted following his own calls for supporters to take action, Trump made no mention of the Capitol Police officer who died after allegedly being beaten over the head by Trump supporters.

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