January 13th local time, Trump issued a personal statement condemning the demonstration violence. The statement was first sent to Fox and later posted on the official Twitter account of the White House. The statement is short and capitalized.
American media Vox commented that the statement “reads like Twitter”. In addition, the White House account also posted a video of Trump’s speech on the same day, which also condemned violence.
At the same time as the statement was issued, the House passed the impeachment bill against Trump. But Trump’s statement did not mention the impeachment bill, and some Republicans quoted his statement in the House of Representatives to defend him.
Trump statement said: “In view of reports of more demonstrations, I urge against violence, violations and any form of sabotage.
This is not what I advocate, nor is it what the United States advocates. I appeal to all Americans to help ease tension and calm anger. Thank you.”
This statement is very short, with only 52 words. Of these, three “NO” and “ALL” are purely capitalized, similar to the style of some Trump’s usual tweets.
The statement was first sent to Fox News and then released through the official White House website and Twitter.
“President Trump asked all Americans to join him to ensure an orderly, peaceful transition next week, and he also asked big tech companies to work with him,” a senior Trump adviser also told Fox News.
“This is a pivotal moment in our nation’s history, and we can certainly unite to deliver this important message instead of continuing to play partisan politics.” The consultant added.
In addition to the statement, the White House tweeted a video on the same day, which also included Trump’s condemnation of violence and calls for “law and order”.
In his speech, he talked about the events of Congress last week and commented: “I want to make it clear here that I unequivocally condemn the violence we saw last week. Violence and destruction absolutely have no place in our country and in our movement.
Making America great again has always been about defending the rule of law.”
In addition, Trump also mentioned that those involved in the attack will be brought to justice last week, and the U.S. Secret Service has informed him of the potential threat in planning.
Finally, he appealed to people to find ways to calm down emotions and promote peace.
U.S. media Vox commented that Trump’s statement “reads very much like a tweet”, but the statement still has “two shortcomings”.
First, the Trump statement mentions “all Americans”, implying that Democrats are also responsible for the events in the Capitol. But in fact, Republicans have spent months talking about “election fraud”, so Trump should only convey the message to his supporters.
Similarly, many Republicans in the House debate said that “both sides” should be held accountable for the congressional riots.
Second, Trump’s statement did not condemn the remarks about “election fraud”. It is these remarks that inspired the action to storm the Capitol.
Trump has repeatedly condemned violence since last week’s riots, but he has not admitted the fact that Biden won the election legally and decisively.
The website of American politicians noted that Trump and Ronna McDaniel, chairman of the Republican National Committee, issued statements condemning the violence at the same time, but neither of them mentioned the impeachment bill voted by the House of Representatives.
Rep. Jim Jordan, a Republican from Ohio, read out Trump’s statement in the House of Representatives.
He and some Republicans defended Trump against the impeachment clause that accused him of inciting the “insurrection” of last week’s Capitol.
On the afternoon of January 13th local time, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the impeachment bill against US President Trump by 232 votes in favor, 197 against, with 4 abstentions.
This also means that the House of Representatives officially decided to impeach Trump for a second time on charges of “sedition” in last week’s congressional riots, making Trump the first president in American history to be impeached twice.
Among them, 10 Republican congressmen voted in favor and 4 Republican congressmen abstained. But in the last impeachment against Trump, no Republican congressman voted in favor.
After last week’s congressional riots, Trump attracted nearly unanimous criticism in politics and public opinion across the country, and several social media also banned and restricted his and his supporters’ accounts.
There are also U.S. media reports that Trump admitted that he was responsible for the congressional incident when talking to House Republican Leader McCarthy.
But on the 12th, in his first appearance after the congressional incident, he insisted that his speech was “completely appropriate”. Several foreign media analysts pointed out that this statement represents Trump’s belief that he has no responsibility for the congressional riots and “without regret”.
In addition, Trump also attacked the House of Representatives for his second impeachment, calling it “very dangerous to the United States”.
