Kaitlan Collins, host of CNN’s town hall Wednesday night with Donald Trump, was put into journalist purgatory after she tried to blame the former President for the Capitol riot.
In a moment that became an instant Trump Classic, the former President whipped out notes from his jacket pocket countering her claims.
It happened when Collins questioned why it took Trump so long to tell supporters to leave the Capitol that fateful day, insinuating that he wanted the Capitol riot to continue. Trump was ready for it.
“When they went to the Capitol and they were breaking into the Capitol, smashing windows, injuring police officers, why did it take you three hours to tell them to go home?” Collins asked.
“I don’t believe it did. Oh, let me pull it out. I have to pull it out,” he replied, reaching into his jacket pocket to get timestamps for his public statements.
“On January 5, the day before, I said, ‘Please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement. They are truly on the side of our Country. Stay peaceful!’”
Watch the incredible moment:
Trump just pulls out receipts to disprove Kaitlin Collins’ claims on the CNN town hall… and the crowd cheers!
This is NOT going the way CNN wanted it to. pic.twitter.com/7byCeFkCHr
— Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) May 11, 2023
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Trump Defends His Actions on January 6th
At the rally prior to the January 6th riot at the Capitol, Trump stated: “I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.”
A timeline of events published by NPR shows protestors began getting riled up at 1:00 PM while a breach of the actual barricades and the Capitol took place sometime between 1:30 and 2:00 PM.
Thanks to Elon Musk, we can once again see Trump’s Twitter feed – the place his most ardent supporters could most easily access him during the riot.
I am asking for everyone at the U.S. Capitol to remain peaceful. No violence! Remember, WE are the Party of Law & Order – respect the Law and our great men and women in Blue. Thank you!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2021
Roughly an hour later he released a video urging people to go home. This is what Collins is referencing, ignoring Trump’s earlier tweets and comments.
Trump referenced that video during the CNN town hall.
“If you remember I made a video right outside the Oval Office in the rose garden, and I’m very proud of that video. I didn’t have a script. I don’t need a script unlike a certain person in there right,” he told Collins, a jab at President Biden who has aides providing him with notes at events telling him where to sit and when to stand.
Unfortunately, Trump was banned from Twitter, along with his video imploring rioters to stop.
President Trump disproves the CNN lie right on stage. Pulls out the receipts!
This man is unstoppable!pic.twitter.com/xds4T1nxxN
— Marjorie Taylor Greene 🇺🇸 (@mtgreenee) May 11, 2023
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Trump Will Pardon Vast Majority of January 6th Protesters
In addition to defending his actions on January 6th, Trump reiterated a campaign promise to pardon individuals who remained peaceful during the riot but were nevertheless caught up in the dragnet.
But he did note, as everyone acknowledges, that some of those involved did, in fact, have bad intentions and did, in fact, commit crimes that day. Those people, however, were few and far between and will certainly not receive leniency from a D.C. jury.
“I am inclined to pardon many of them,” Trump said of the protesters. “I can’t say for every single one because a couple of them probably — they got out of control.”
CNN Crowd Cheers as Trump Vows to Pardon Many People Arrested on January 6
“You have two standards of justice in this country … And then what they’ve done to these people, they’ve persecuted these people. And yeah, my answer is, if I get in … it will be a large portion of… pic.twitter.com/E2TniiiKMn
— The Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) May 11, 2023
Trump noted that BLM and Antifa protesters who looted businesses and burned cities for months on end prior to the Capitol riot were treated with kid gloves, but the January 6th rioters were hit with the full wrath of the law.
“I’m not trying to justify anything, but you have two standards of justice in this country,” he claimed. “And what they’ve done … what they’ve done to so many people is nothing. Nothing. And then what they’ve done to these people, they’ve persecuted these people.”
Trump added that many of them are “great people.”
Collins pressed Trump on whether he would pardon the four Proud Buys who were just convicted of seditious conspiracy. The Republican frontrunner for the 2024 nomination said he would have to look at the case but suggested they may have not been granted a fair trial.
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