Politico | Donald Trump on January 6 insurrection: ‘these were great people’
- Trump supporters besieged the Capitol after a speech he gave
- Former president described the participants as loving and patriotic
This story is published in a content partnership with POLITICO. It was originally reported by David Cohen on politico.com on July 11, 2021.
Former US president Donald Trump on Sunday widely praised those who attended the Jan. 6 rally that preceded the insurrection at the Capitol, repeatedly using the word “love” to describe the tone of the event.
Echoing his rhetoric about the 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, Trump said, “These were peaceful people, these were great people.”
Speaking on Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartirom on the Fox News Channel, he also said the rally participants were patriots, that some of them were unjustly arrested and jailed, and that a woman who was shot and killed by law enforcement during the insurrection was a great hero.