Topline
Former President Donald Trump declined to say the “election is over” in a taped January 7, 2021, address condemning rioters who stormed the Capitol the previous day, the January 6 committee revealed Thursday night, at a time when advisors were warning Trump his Cabinet was considering removing him from office by invoking the 25th Amendment.
Then-President Donald Trump addresses the National Association of Counties Legislative Conference at … [+]
Key Facts
The committee played raw footage of Trump going through numerous takes to come up with his final video, at one point insisting on saying “Congress has certified the results” rather than acknowledging the election is over.
Trump did not admit the 2020 election was over in the final version of the video, though he acknowledged “a new administration will be inaugurated on January 20th.”
Trump made changes to the script of the address on several occasions, at one point taking the word “yesterday” out, in reference to the January 6 attack on the Capitol, saying “yesterday is a hard word for me.”
According to CNN, citing sources with knowledge of the taping, Trump took about an hour to record the approximately three-minute video.
Crucial Quote
“I don’t want to say the election’s over,” Trump said during the outtakes. “I just want to say ‘Congress has certified the results’ without saying the election is over, OK?”
Key Background
Thursday night’s primetime January 6 committee hearing largely focused on the 187 minutes between the conclusion of Trump’s speech on the Ellipse prior to the riot and his tweet telling his supporters to go home. Among the revelations were that Trump allegedly used that time to place calls to senators to urge them to delay the certification of the election.
What To Watch For
The next hearing will take place in September, according to the committee.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2022/07/21/jan-6-hearings-trump-rejected-saying-election-is-over-in-jan-7-address/