Trump’s Changing Stance On Jan. 6 Attack—From Condemning Rioters To Backing ‘Protest’

January 6, 2021Trump breaks his hours-long silence as the riot ensued with two tweets in the afternoon asking supporters to stay peaceful, before releasing a video saying, “we love you, you’re very special,” where he urges the rioters to go home but does not condemn them; Trump ends the day by saying “these are the things that happen when a landslide election victory is unceremoniously & viciously stripped away.”

January 7, 2021Trump releases a more somber prerecorded message, saying he was outraged by the “violence, lawlessness and mayhem” that took place the previous day. He also acknowledges Biden would succeed him as president.

January 11, 2021Trump reportedly blames “antifa people” for causing the riot during a “tense and aggressive” phone call with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, which comes a day after he reluctantly orders flags be flown at half-staff in honor of two Capitol police officers who died after clashing with Trump supporters.

January 13, 2021After the House of Representatives impeaches him for an unprecedented second time, Trump gives an Oval Office address in which he says, “I unequivocally condemned the violence that we saw last week, violence and vandalism have absolutely no place in our country and no place in our movement”

July 1, 2021Months later, Trump’s tone changes: He releases a statement asking “who shot Ashli Babbitt?”—a Trump supporter who was shot and killed by law enforcement inside the Capitol on January 6. His statement comes hours after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announces  members of the committee investigating the January 6 attack, and represents a rare comment from Trump about January 6.

July 7, 2021 and August 11, 2021Trump doubles down on his support for Babbitt, who had become a martyr figure to many of his supporters, suggesting she had been killed for “no reason” and then releasing a statement claiming she had been “murdered” despite the Justice Department saying the officer who shot her acted in self-defense.

September 16, 2021Trump claims jailed January 6 rioters were “being persecuted so unfairly,” calling the rioting a “protest concerning the Rigged Presidential Election.”

October 6, 2021Trump releases a statement saying “the real insurrection happened on November 3rd, the Presidential Election, not on January 6th—which was a day of protesting the Fake Election results.” He’s repeated that claim several times since.

October 11, 2021Trump publishes a video on what would have been Babbitt’s 36th birthday, saying there “was no reason Ashli should have lost her life that day.”

December 21, 2021Trump calls the January 6 riot a “completely unarmed protest” in a statement, despite evidence showing numerous rioters were, in fact, armed.

January 6, 2022President Joe Biden gives an address to commemorate the anniversary of the Capitol rioting, placing the blame on Trump for inciting his supporters. Trump responds with a statement again repeating false claims of election fraud, saying, “The Democrats want to own this day of January 6th so they can stoke fears and divide America. I say, let them have it because America sees through theirs (sic) lies and polarizations.”