Just as the three year anniversary from the Jan. 6th Capitol Riot passes, Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team revealed that not all of Donald Trump’s tweets from that day were actually posted by the former president himself. The one tweet urging protestors to stay peaceful was actually written by Dan Scavino, Trump’s former chief of staff and current senior advisor to his reelection campaign. Keep reading for more information.
Donald Trump's Tweets From The Jan. 6th Riot
On Jan. 6th, 2021, Trump's supporters attacked the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., two months after Trump lost the election to Joe Biden and amid Trump's claims of election interference. His supporters claimed they were acting on behalf of Trump, and believed he was the rightful president. Their attack resulted in over $2M in damages and the death of three police officers.
While the attack was happening, Trump was posting tweets to Twitter, now known as X, which he has since been banned from. Here's a list of the tweets that were sent out leading up to and during the attack:
At 12:43AM, Trump posted a link to a tweet from Will Chamberlain that reads, "Republicans confirmed Justice Barrett, which they had the clear, lawful right to do, and in response Chuck Schumer said "EVERYTHING IS ON THE TABLE NOW." If that's the case, why shouldn't Republican legislators go to the wall for the President?"
With this link, Trump wrote, "Get smart Republicans. FIGHT!"
8:22AM: "THE REPUBLICAN PARTY AND, MORE IMPORTANTLY, OUR COUNTRY, NEEDS THE PRESIDENCY MORE THAN EVER BEFORE - THE POWER OF THE VETO. STAY STRONG!"
9:15AM: "The States want to redo their votes. They found out they voted on a FRAUD. Legislatures never approved. Let them do it. BE STRONG!"
At 12:53PM, rioters overran the perimeter of the Capitol Building, and at 2:06PM, they entered the building.
2:24PM: "Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify. USA demands the truth!"
2:38PM: Please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement. They are truly on the side of our Country. Stay peaceful!
3:13PM: I am asking for everyone at the U.S. Capitol to remain peaceful. No violence! Remember, WE are the Party of Law & Order – respect the Law and our great men and women in Blue. Thank you!
6:01PM: These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long. Go home with love & in peace. Remember this day forever!
Dan Scavino Takes Responsibility for Jan. 6th Tweets From Donald Trump
Special Counsel Jack Smith and his team have interviewed many White House advisors and top lawyers, and some details from those interviews have been released. Sources told Smith's investigators that Scavino said Trump "was just not interested" in doing more to stop the attack on the Capitol that day.
Scavino also recalled telling Trump that evening: "This is all your legacy here, and there's smoke coming out of the Capitol," hoping that Trump would encourage a peaceful transition of power. Trump, rather was pressuring Mike Pence, his vice president, to block Congress from certifying the election results when it convened to do so on Jan. 6th.
Trump was urged by aides and officials to do something about the situation, but simply sat silently at the head of the table he was seated at to watch the riot unfold on TV. Sources said that Trump was "very angry" that the election was allegedly stolen from him. So, after none of their attempts to get Trump to stop the violence worked, Scavino and others with Trump left the room, which is when he posted the 2:24PM message about Mike Pence.
Aides, shocked, rushed back to Trump and told him that tweet was "not what we need," to which Trump replied, "But it's true."
Scavino then gave Trump a print out of proposed messages to post on Twitter, and even his daughter, Ivanka, "rushed down to the Oval Office dining room" to try and get her father to "discourage violence."
Shortly after this, Trump allowed Scavino to post his 2:38PM message about staying peaceful. However, violence continued to escalate, but aides said Trump "was just not interested at that moment to put [more messages] out."
Finally, Trump released a video of him making a speech. At 4:15PM, Trump said in his video, "This was a fraudulent election. But we have to have peace. So go home. We love you. You're very special."
