President Donald Trump released a five-minute video last night, in which he again strongly decried the violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6, and urged that there be no violence in the coming days leading to the inauguration of Joe Biden. Trump was quite emphatic in his effort to put a lot of daylight between himself and those engaging in violence. “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. If you do any of these things, you are not supporting our movement — you are attacking it and you are attacking our country. We cannot tolerate it.”
Trump’s opening comment was: “I want to be very clear: I unequivocally condemn the violence that we saw last week. Violence and vandalism have absolutely no place in our country and no place in our movement. ‘Making America Great Again’ has always been about defending the rule of law, supporting the men and women of law enforcement and upholding our nation’s most sacred traditions and values.”
He added: “There is never a justification for violence. No excuses, no exceptions. America is a nation of laws.” He called on people to “ease tensions, calm tempers and help to promote peace in our country.”
Trump also used the occasion to rip into the “unprecedented assault on free speech we have seen in recent days… These are tense and difficult times. The efforts to censor, cancel and blacklist our fellow citizens are wrong and they are dangerous. What is needed now is for us to listen to one another, not to silence one another. All of us can choose by our actions to rise above the rancor and find common ground and shared purpose,” Trump said. “Today I am calling on all Americans to overcome the passions of the moment and join together as one American people. Let us choose to move forward united, for the good of our families, our communities, and our country.”
He also assured people that the government would “secure the city and ensure that a transition can occur safely and without incident.”
Trump also put out a written statement on Wednesday, according to NPR. “I urge that there must be NO violence, NO lawbreaking and NO vandalism of any kind. That is not what I stand for, and it is not what America stands for. I call on ALL Americans to help ease tensions and calm tempers.”
