Trump removed lines from Jan. 7 speech saying rioters did not represent ‘our movement’
Former President Trump cut lines from a Jan. 7, 2021, address condemning the rioters who entered the Capitol the day prior as not representing him or “our movement.”
A draft of the speech marked up by Trump, shared by Jan. 6 committee member Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Va.), includes additional evidence not shown by the panel during its Thursday hearing, its final one expected this summer.
The draft shows Trump used a sharpie to cross out a line saying, “I want to be very clear. You do not represent me. You do not represent our movement.”
A number of top White House aides say they were unsure why Trump made the changes he did, but they did oppose them.
“That needed to be stated forcefully,” Pat Cipollone, Trump’s White House counsel, said in an interview with the committee.
Trump also cut other lines dealing with the consequences rioters should face.
The prepared draft said he would encourage the Justice Department to prosecute rioters “to the fullest extent of the law. We must send a clear message. Not with mercy, but with justice. Legal consequences must be swift and firm.”
Cassidy Hutchinson, an aide to Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows, said the primary motivation for the address was to get out a stronger message condemning the riot than the administration had given had the day before. But there was also concern that the Cabinet might seek to remove Trump from office.
“The secondary reason for that was think about what might happen in the final 15 days of your presidency if we don’t do this. There’s already talks about invoking the 25th Amendment. You need this as cover,” she said in video shared by the committee.
The committee on Thursday showed Trump struggled while filming the video address to say the election is over, cutting himself off while reading from a teleprompter.
……..
- Discussion
-
Trump removed lines from Jan. 7 speech saying rioters did not represent "our movement" https://t.co/7j7KHj6ZT6 pic.twitter.com/3lJJBsHIPF
— The Hill (@thehill) July 25, 2022It took more than 24 hours for President Trump to address the nation again after his Rose Garden video on January 6th in which he affectionately told his followers to go home in peace.
There were more things he was unwilling to say. pic.twitter.com/cJBIX5ROxs
— Rep. Elaine Luria (@RepElaineLuria) July 25, 2022
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.