On Sunday, September 17, 2023, former US President Donald Trump had a sharp exchange with NBC’s Kristen Welker when she asked if he watched the January 6 riot unfold on TV in the White House dining room.
Welker asked Trump the question during an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Trump refused to answer the question, saying, “I’m not going to tell you anything.”
Welker pressed Trump, saying, “But Mr. President, you were the president of the United States. The American people deserve to know what you were doing on that day.”
“Were you in the dining room watching TV?”
Trump responded, “I’m not going to tell you. I’ll tell people later at an appropriate time.”
“Tell me how you watched this all unfold,” Welker asked the former president, according to Business Insider.
Welker then asked: “What did you do when the Capitol was under attack, though?”
Trump replied: “Did you see the statements I made in the Oval Office and just outside of the Oval Office?”
The then-incumbent president said he delivered a “beautiful statement” when he told rioters, “This was a fraudulent election, but we can’t play into the hands of these people.
“We have to have peace. So go home. We love you; you’re very special.”
Welker responded: “That was 4 o’clock in the afternoon, three hours after the attack started. I want to know who you called on that day.”
When quizzed again if he acted swiftly by calling military or law enforcement when the Capitol was first attacked, Trump again pushed back saying:
“I’m not going to tell you anything,” he said. “Let me put it this way. I behaved so well. I did such a good job.”
The exchange between Welker and Trump was the latest in a series of tense moments between the two during the interview. Trump had repeatedly interrupted Welker and accused her of being biased against him.
The exchange also highlighted Trump’s continued refusal to answer questions about his role in the January 6 riot. Trump has repeatedly claimed that he did nothing wrong on January 6, but he has refused to provide details about what he was doing on that day.
The January 6 riot was a violent attack on the US Capitol by Trump supporters who were trying to prevent Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election. The riot was the culmination of months of false claims by Trump that the election had been stolen from him.
The January 6 riot is the subject of an ongoing investigation by the House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack. The committee has held a series of public hearings in which it has presented evidence that Trump was involved in a conspiracy to overturn the results of the election.
The committee is also investigating Trump’s actions on January 6 itself. The committee has subpoenaed Trump to testify, but Trump has refused to comply.
The January 6 riot was a serious attack on American democracy. It is important to understand Trump’s role in the riot and to hold him accountable for his actions.
