Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi responded to ex-President Donald Trump’s recent allegations regarding her role in the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol during an interview on MSNBC’s The Sunday Show, hosted by Jonathan Capehart. Trump had pointed fingers at Pelosi during an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press.
The January 6, 2021, riot, where supporters of the former president stormed the Capitol, aimed to halt the certification of President Joe Biden’s election victory. Trump had persistently claimed, without evidence, that the 2020 election had been stolen from him. Tragically, five people, including a Capitol police officer, lost their lives, and numerous others were injured.
Two more law enforcement officers later took their own lives. The House January 6 committee’s final report concluded that Trump had engaged in a “multi-part conspiracy” to overturn the legitimate election results and failed to take action to prevent his supporters from attacking the Capitol. Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
During his interview with Meet the Press’ new moderator, Kristen Welker, Trump squarely blamed Pelosi for the violence, alleging that she was “responsible for January 6th” and asserting that she was “in charge of security.” Pelosi retorted, suggesting that Trump was projecting his own guilt onto others.
“Nancy Pelosi is responsible,” Trump had claimed, to which Pelosi responded to Capehart, “The former White House occupant has always been about projection. He knows he’s responsible for that, so he projects it onto others. His incitement of an insurrection, an attack on our Constitution on the day we were supposed to certify – and we did – the Electoral College’s work… The attack on the Capitol building, the attack on the Constitution, the attack on our democracy. Shame on him. However, he always projects.”
Pelosi also clarified Trump’s claim about her declining troops, stating, “He used to say, ‘Well, she turned down my troops.’ No, we begged him. Chuck Schumer and I begged him repeatedly, as did his Secretary of the Army, Ryan D. McCarthy, and, I believe, the Secretary of Defense. They made it ‘Oh, there are too many obstacles, bureaucratic issues, we can’t do it.’ They are well aware of their own exposure, so they project.”
Notably, Trump, who is running for a return to the White House, is currently facing 91 charges across four federal and state felony indictments related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, handling of classified documents, and alleged hush money payments to conceal extramarital affairs. He has vehemently denied all these charges and expressed no concerns about the possibility of going to prison. “I don’t even think about it,” he asserted during the interview.
