Trump dodges questions on Capitol rioting

Several former Trump associates have claimed that he watched the incident from a room near the Oval Office 

WASHINGTON – In his first major network interview since leaving office, former President Donald Trump refused to divulge details about his activities on Jan. 6, 2021, the day of the Capitol uprising.

Speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Trump did not say who he spoke with during the violent incident or whether he watched the event on television.

He responded to those questions by saying that he would provide the details “in due course.”

“I’m not going to tell you. I’ll tell people later at an appropriate time,” Trump told moderator Kristen Welker after she asked if he spent that afternoon watching the attack on television in a dining room at the White House.

Several former Trump associates have claimed that he watched the incident from a room near the Oval Office and sometimes rewatched parts of it.

During the interview, Trump also defended his remarks from the day of the attack, calling them “beautiful statements.”

Regarding legal consequences for those involved in the Capitol uprising, Trump said he was considering pardons, including for Enrique Tarrio, the former leader of the Proud Boys, who is currently serving a 22-year prison sentence.

Trump currently faces numerous legal challenges, including 91 indictments spread across four cases.

These range from attempts to overturn the 2020 election to allegations of hush money payments. He denies any wrongdoing and did not express concern about the possibility of imprisonment.

In addition, Trump has admitted that he disregarded the advice of White House lawyers to accept his 2020 election defeat to Joe Biden.

Instead, he relied on his intuition and a select group of people who agreed with his views on the election. The interview also marked the debut of Kristen Welker as host of “Meet the Press.”