On Thursday, former President Donald Trump unleashed a series of delusional claims on Truth Social, alleging that the “Deep State” and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi were responsible for the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
Trump asserted that revelations from journalist John Solomon and Congressman Barry Loudermilk expose a conspiracy to undermine his directives regarding National Guard deployment that he claims could have prevented the unrest.
“SHOCKING BREAKING NEWS”, Trump began. “As exposed by the Great John Solomon, a REAL Journalist who cares about the TRUTH, and the GREAT work of Congressman Barry Loudermilk and Republicans on the House Oversight Committee, the Deep State chose to disregard my direct authorization of at least 10,000 National Guard Troops to ensure that Washington, D.C., was safe and secure on January 6, 2021.”
He continued: “These Deep State subversives disobeyed the President’s directives, which would have prevented any unrest that day – January 6th, as it is known, would never have taken place”
Trump emphasized, “These revelations END the Sham J6 Civil Hoaxes,” pointing to decisions made by the Supreme Court as validation of his claims. He criticized Pelosi, suggesting she should be held accountable for her purported role in the events of that day.
“These revelations END the Sham J6 Civil Hoaxes and the lawless D.C. Case brought by Deranged Jack Smith, which has already been demolished by the United States Supreme Court’s Historic Immunity and Fischer Decisions,” Trump wrote. “I called for everyone to act PEACEFULLY and PATRIOTICALLY, and demanded that D.C. be PROTECTED.”
“The Deep State, and Crazy Nancy Pelosi, who admitted to her daughter on videotape that she was “responsible,” have to be held to account, including for the damages, wasted resources, and time spent defending the Witch Hunts and Hoaxes. We have to SAVE our broken Justice System!”
In reality, Pelosi does not explicitly claim full responsibility for the attack in the released video footage. As noted by the Associated Press, “As Speaker of the House, Pelosi does not direct the National Guard.” It’s also important to note that the U.S. Capitol Police and the National Guard operate as completely separate agencies.
The footage, made public earlier this month by a Republican-controlled congressional committee, has been leveraged by GOP lawmakers and conservative commentators to downplay Trump’s involvement in the events of January 6, especially in the lead-up to the upcoming November 5 election.
Notably, Trump’s rhetoric encouraged his supporters to gather at the Capitol, including his infamous December 19 tweet urging followers to “Be there, will be wild!” — and frequently repeated baseless claims that the 2020 election had been stolen from him in the weeks after Biden was declared the winner. His speech at a rally outside the White House just before the attack has also been repeatedly scrutinized. In it, he said, “We fight like hell and if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore,” among other inflammatory remarks.
