Normally, after a significant or monumental political occurrence, Donald Trump would take to Twitter to express his thoughts. Since his permanent suspension from the social media platform, however, his reaction to his second-ever impeachment comes in the form a video which has been posted on the White House’s Twitter page.
On Wednesday (Jan. 13), the president addressed Americans in a clip that sees him denouncing Capitol Hill rioters for the first time since last week’s insurrection.
“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…,” he said.
“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…Mob violence goes against everything I believe in and everything our movement stands for.”
Trump has been accused of inciting the Jan. 6 riots since he encouraged his supporters to march to Capitol Hill after his protest at the National Mall earlier that day. Though he suggested they “remain peaceful,” he failed to decry their actions in subsequent speeches.
“No true supporters of mine could ever endorse political violence,” he continued. “No true supporter of mine could 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 speech omits an acknowledgment of his role in the Capitol chaos as well as any mention of his second impeachment — which occurred early Wednesday (Jan. 13).
Look below to see POTUS’ full speech.