Former President Donald Trump blamed former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) for the riots at the Capitol Building on Jan. 6, 2021, claiming that she turned down 10,000 soldiers.
Trump made the comments during an interview with NBC's "Meet the Press" that aired Sunday.
Trump alleges Pelosi turned down 10,000 soldiers ahead of Capitol riot: 'She’s responsible for Jan. 6' https://t.co/LgY4rvqGbO
— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 18, 2023
"Nancy Pelosi was in charge of security. She turned down 10,000 soldiers. If she didn’t turn down the soldiers, you wouldn’t have had Jan. 6," Trump told NBC’s "Meet the Press" host Kristen Welker.
"I understand that the police testified against her, the chief very strongly against her, the Capitol police, great people," Trump said in the interview aired Sunday. "They testified against her, and they burned all the evidence. OK? They burned all the evidence. They destroyed all the evidence about Nancy Pelosi."
Pelosi on Trump blaming her for Jan. 6 attack: ‘There is a sickness here’ https://t.co/RZZUcMsY6Q
— BuddyDek (@buddy_dek) September 18, 2023
Pelosi responded with her own accusations against the former president following his Sunday interview.
“He knows he’s responsible for that, so he projects it onto others,” Pelosi said during an interview on “The Sunday Show with Jonathan Capehart” on MSNBC. “The assault on the Capitol building, the assault on the Constitution, the assault on our democracy, shame on him; however, he always projects.”
“[Sen.] Chuck Schumer [D-N.Y.] and I begged him to send the troops again and again,” Pelosi said. “These Trumpites were attacking the Capitol, fighting the police, threatening my life and the life of the vice president … there is a sickness here, and there has to be an intervention.”
Pelosi used the attacks to explain part of the reason she is running for another term, feeling that the nation is at stake over the upcoming presidential election.
At 83, Pelosi is older than Biden, who has been criticized by many as being too old to run for another term as president.
Trump continues to push forward in his comeback bid for president, currently leading among GOP candidates and battling closely with Biden in national polls.
