“This impeachment is causing tremendous anger, and you’re doing it, and it’s really a terrible thing that they’re doing,” Trump said, apparently blaming reporters for his looming impeachment.
“For [House Speaker] Nancy Pelosi and [Senate Democratic leader] Chuck Schumer to continue on this path, I think it’s causing tremendous danger to our country, and it’s causing tremendous anger,” he said.
The president then added, “I want no violence.”
“As far as this is concerned, we want no violence, we want absolutely no violence,” Trump said.
But he did not explicitly condemn the actions by the mob of his supporters at the Capitol, who were motivated to protest against and prevent congressional confirmation of Biden’s election as the next president.
Schumer later said, “Donald Trump should not hold office one day longer, and what we saw in his statement today is proof positive of that.”
Trump, who has been banned from a slew of social media platforms since last week because of his comments, also said in his comments: “I think Big Tech has made a terrible mistake.”
In an apparent reference to his ban on Twitter and elsewhere, Trump said it is “very, very bad for our country and that’s leading others to do the same thing.”
“And it causes a lot of problems and a lot of danger. Big mistake. They shouldn’t be doing it,” the president said.
“But there’s always a counter move when they do that. I’ve never seen such anger as I see right now, and that’s a terrible thing.”
Asked whether he would resign before the end of his term next week, Trump did not answer.
Trump addressed his supporters’ invasion of the Capitol later Tuesday, at the start of a speech in Alamo, Texas, on the U.S.-Mexico border. Again, he did not take any responsibility for inciting the crowd, and he did not outright condemn the violence.
“Millions of our citizens watched on Wednesday as a mob stormed the Capitol and trashed the halls of government. As I have consistently said throughout my administration, we believe in respecting America’s history and traditions, not tearing them down. We believe in the rule of law, not violence or rioting,” Trump said.
“Now is the time for our nation to heal, and it’s time for peace, for calm,” he added in the speech. “Respect for law enforcement, and the great people within law enforcement — so many are here — is the foundation of the MAGA agenda. And we’re a nation of law, and we’re a nation of order.”
Trump’s looming impeachment, like his first one, directly stems from his actions seeking to prevent Biden from becoming president.
House Democrats first impeached Trump in late 2019 for pressuring the president of Ukraine that summer to announce that country was investigating Biden and his son Hunter over purported misconduct. While leaning on Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Trump was withholding military aid to Ukraine, which was battling pro-Russian forces, even though the aid was already approved by Congress.
On Wednesday, the riot interrupted a joint session of Congress confirming Biden’s election victory. His win was later confirmed early Thursday in a proceeding overseen by Vice President Mike Pence.
Three members of Trump’s Cabinet have resigned in the wake of last Wednesday’s riot: Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, and Chad Wolf, who had been acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.
The District of Columbia’s attorney general said Monday that he will investigate whether to criminally charge Trump, his son Donald Trump Jr., the president’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., for inciting the riot with their statements at the White House rally just before Trump’s supporters invaded the Capitol.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., reportedly told GOP caucus members on the same day that Trump bore some responsibility for the riot.
