Former President Donald Trump said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) was “responsible” for the riot at the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Partial transcript as follows:
TRUMP: Nancy Pelosi was in charge of security and turned down 10,000 soldiers, if she didn’t turn down the soldiers, you wouldn’t have January 6.
KRISTEN WELKER: Did you call military or law enforcement?
TRUMP: I’m not going to tell you anything. Let me put it this way, I behaved so well. I did such a good job. Nancy Pelosi turned down 10,000 soldiers. If she didn’t do that.
WELKER: Nancy Pelosi doesn’t have the authority that you have as commander in chief, though.
TRUMP: Listen to me Kristen. Listen to me. I understand that the police testified against her, Capitol Police, great people. They testified against her and they burned all of the evidence, Okay? They burned all of the evidence they destroyed all of the evidence about Nancy Pelosi.
WELKER: What do you say to people who wonder why you as commander in chief you have authorities that Nancy Pelosi doesn’t have.
TRUMP: She has authority over the Capitol.
WELKER: Why didn’t you say help in the moment, though?
TRUMP: Frankly, I assumed that she took care of it.
WELKER: When you realized that the National Guard wasn’t coming?
TRUMP: You don’t realize anything until quite a while that the National Guard aren’t coming. I asked it to be there three days in advance, and she turned it down.
WELKER: She says that that request was never officially made.
TRUMP: Just stop it. The mayor of D.C. gave us a letter, saying that she turns it down, okay? We have it. Nancy Pelosi also was asked, and she turned it down. The police commissioner of Capitol Police —
WELKER: I’m talking about the day of, though.
TRUMP: Wait a minute.
WELKER: Yeah.
TRUMP: Capitol Police said that he wanted it, and Nancy Pelosi wouldn’t accept it. She’s responsible for January 6.
WELKER: Let’s — Mr. President.
TRUMP: Nancy Pelosi is responsible. And the J6 Committee refused to interview her.
WELKER: Mr. President, you’re the president though. You have — you have authorities that no one else has, as the commander-in-chief. Do you think you showed leadership on that day?
TRUMP: Yes. Absolutely. I did.
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