Monday, December 26, 2022

There it is

Trump has frequently insisted he called for 10,000 troops (sometimes it’s inflated as 20,000) to keep the peace on Jan. 6, 2021, as part of his defense against accusations that he incited the attack on the Capitol as Congress met to certify the 2020 Electoral College count on the presidential election.

Christopher Miller, then the acting secretary of defense, testified under oath to the Jan. 6 committee that there was no such order for troops from Trump, according to the report.

[...]

But two days before the violence erupted, Trump insisted that he should accompany protesters on a march to the Capitol aimed at blocking certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s presidential win, according to testimony from Max Miller, who was a White House senior adviser at the time.

That’s when Trump “floated the idea of having 10,000 National Guardsmen deployed to protect him and his supporters from any supposed threat from left-wing counterprotesters,” recounted Miller, who said he told Trump it was a bad idea.

[...]

Trump’s desire to deploy 10,000 active-duty troops to quell Black Lives Matter protests near the White House in June 2020 triggered fears among Pentagon officials that he might issue an “illegal order” for troops to help him remain in power after losing the 2020 election, according to the committee report.

  HuffPo
And this was Trump's claim at the time:
“I requested … I definitely gave the number of 10,000 National Guardsmen, and [said] I think you should have 10,000 of the National Guard ready. They took that number. From what I understand, they gave it to the people at the Capitol, which is controlled by Pelosi. And I heard they rejected it because they didn’t think it would look good. So, you know, that was a big mistake.”

  The Dispatch
It wasn't troops to guard the Capitol that he wanted, and it wasn't Nancy Pelosi who told him it wouldn't look good. Not to mention, the Speaker of the House would have no power to reject troops sent by the president.  The Capitol is not "controlled by Pelosi."

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

No comments: