WASHINGTON (NewsNation Now) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday answered reporters’ questions for the first time since the riots at the U.S. Capitol last week.
As he prepared to board a plane on his way to Alamo, Texas, a city near the U.S.-Mexico border, Trump declined to take responsibility for the insurrection by his supporters who had gathered in Washington for a rally against the election results.
When asked about his role and personal responsibility in fomenting the attack, President Trump said that people have said his remarks to supporters at the rally ahead of the Capitol breach were “totally appropriate.”
“So if you read my speech, and many people have done it, and I’ve seen it both in the papers and in the media, on television, it’s been analyzed and people thought that what I said was totally appropriate,” Trump said. “And if you look at what other people have said, politicians at a high level, about the riots during the summer, the horrible riots in Portland and Seattle and various other places. That was a real problem, what they said. But they’ve analyzed my speech in my words and my final paragraph, my final sentence and everybody to the ‘T’ just a thought it was totally appropriate.”
Read the full transcript of Pres. Trump’s rally speech
Watch Trump’s full speech in the player below:
Trump also commented on Democratic lawmakers’ calls for his impeachment Tuesday. He said efforts to remove him from office are causing tremendous danger and anger in the U.S.
“I want no violence,” he added.
A Capitol police officer died from injuries suffered in the riot, and police fatally shot a woman during the violence. Three others died in what authorities said were medical emergencies.