Republican Candidate for President Donald Trump attends the Noticias Univision - Destino 2024 Town Hall at the Univision Studios Florida on October 16, 2024 in Doral, Florida. (Photo by Guille Briceno/imageSPACE/MediaPunch)
Tampa construction worker Ramiro Gonzalez asked Donald Trump during a recent Univision town hall about the former president’s actions, or inactions, during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol.
“What happened during January 6?” Gonzalez asked. “And the fact that you waited so long to take action while your supporters were in the Capitol?”
“That was a day of love,” Trump replied. “It could have been the largest group I’ve ever spoken before. They asked me to speak, so I went and I spoke.”
Trump summoned supporters to a rally at the Ellipse in front of the White House on Jan. 6, then told them to go to the Capitol. The first group broke into the building around 2:11 p.m. after overwhelming Capitol Police and smashing windows to gain entry.
Trump released a video message more than two hours later, at 4:17 p.m., in which he told the rioters, "We love you. You’re very special,” but urged them to go home.
Sarah Mathews, who served as Trump’s deputy White House press secretary, responded to the “day of love” comment on CNN: “I resigned on January 6 because I saw firsthand Donald Trump’s unwillingness to call off the mob. And a real tipping point for me. I kept hoping he would (step up) and meet the moment, but he didn’t. Why? Because he was enjoying what he was seeing.”
Trump's actions and inactions during the Capitol riot remain a subject of ongoing investigation. The House’s special Jan. 6 committee highlighted the hours during which Trump made insufficient efforts to stop the violence. Democrats and some Republicans have condemned his conduct that day as a failure to fulfill his duty as president to protect the Capitol and its occupants.
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