Trump Downplays Capitol Riot, Claims Trump Loyalists Were 'Hugging and Kissing' Cops

In a new interview with Fox News' Laura Ingraham, Donald Trump downplayed the U.S. Capitol riot, saying that his supporters posed 'zero threat.'

March 26, 2021

trump-riot — Image via Getty/Tom Pennington
Getty

Donald Trump minimized the severity of the U.S. Capitol insurrection, claiming that his supporters posed “zero threat” and were “hugging and kissing” the police.

He called into Laura Ingraham’s Fox News show on Thursday night where he shared his worries about the Capitol increasing its security, calling it “disgraceful” and a “political maneuver.”

“It was zero threat, right from the start, it was zero threat. Look, they went in, they shouldn’t have done it. Some of them went in, and they are hugging and kissing the police and the guards, you know, they had great relationships,” he said. “A lot of the people were waved in, and then they walked in and they walked out.”

While Trump suggested that the rioters face consequences for their actions, he also was quick to rely on a usual tactic: blaming Antifa for the siege, though there was no indication the left-wing political movement was involved.

“They’re persecuting a lot of those people, and some of them should be—some things should happen to them. But when I look at Antifa in Washington, even, what they did to Washington and what they did to other locations and the destruction, and frankly, the killing and the beating up of people, and nothing happens to them whatsoever. Why aren’t they going after Antifa?” Trump said.

Ingraham responded, “But you would say that people who commit crimes, regardless of what their political affiliations are, should be prosecuted?” to which Trump said, “Absolutely. What you said is exactly right.”

There doesn’t appear to be any evidence that rioters hugged or kissed officers. What Trump may be referring to is footage that shows an insurrectionist taking a selfie with a Capitol Police officer, and some officers seemingly allowing the mob into the building. The siege also wasn’t as Trump paints it, with the event ending in violence and the deaths of five people. Since Jan. 6, the FBI has arrested and criminally charged over 300 people in connection to the insurrection.