President Trump doubled down on his bid to overturn the election result in a Wednesday video, telling an angry mob that breached the Capitol building in a bid to overturn the election results, “I know how you feel.”
After telling his supporters to attack the national legislature, Trump appeared to give in to pressure to call them off.
“We can’t play into the hands of these people,” Trump said. “So go home. We love you. You’re very special.”
He concluded the message by saying, “I know how you feel, but go home and go in peace.”
Facebook removed the video, with Vice President of Integrity Guy Rosen saying on Twitter that the social network took it down “because on balance we believe it contributes to rather than diminishes the risk of ongoing violence.”
This is an emergency situation and we are taking appropriate emergency measures, including removing President Trump's video. We removed it because on balance we believe it contributes to rather than diminishes the risk of ongoing violence.
— Guy Rosen (@guyro) January 6, 2021
YouTube also blocked access to the video, removing it from the White House’s page on the network because of “policies regarding content that alleges widespread fraud or errors changed the outcome,” the platform told NBC news in a statement.
Trump devoted as much of the message to cursory statements that the mob depart as he did towards reiterating the falsehood that he won the November election.
“I know your pain, I know your hurt, we had an election that was stolen from us,” Trump began the video by saying. “It was a landslide election, and everyone knows it — especially the other side.”
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2021
Trump and his associates had earlier incited the violence at the Capitol, during which one woman was shot inside the premises.
Rudy Giuliani said at a rally this morning that the crowd should engage in “trial by combat,” while Trump egged on the mob to enter the Capitol and stop the certification of electoral votes cast in favor of President-elect Joe Biden.
Trump added in the video that his supporters have to “respect law order” and to “respect our great people in law and order,” but said nothing to walk back his, and the rioters’, aim: overturning the election results.
Rather, the President doubled down on that, egging the mob on by boosting the delusion that he won in November.
“There’s never been a time like this, where such a thing happened, that they could take it away from all of us, from me, from you, from our country,” Trump said. “This was a fraudulent election.”
