JUST SAY NO! Trump ignores the question when asked if he’ll condemn violence
After his attorneys argued in the D.C. Circuit Appeals Court that presidential immunity protects him from prosecution for election crimes, Donald Trump spoke to reporters on his own behalf. He weighed in on three matters that he deems of high importance — but refused to answer one particularly important question.
Trump spoke on presidential immunity, maintaining that it must be absolute, or presidents will be afraid to take important actions. He and his attorneys have offered very little wiggle room, maintaining that without a conviction in the Senate, nothing deemed an official action can be prosecuted, even after a president leaves office.
He maintains that his actions were official and in the interest of protecting the security of elections, and told his audience that two of the most important things for a nation are border security and secure elections. However, he walked away without answering the last question from reporters:
“You just used the word bedlam. Will you tell your supporters no, no matter what, no violence?”
Trump ignored the question entirely.
His refusal to give orders to his supporters not to engage in political violence isn’t a great surprise.
In fact, President Joe Biden said only two days ago that Trump would not speak against political violence, and Biden himself condemned such actions from anyone on any point in the political spectrum. He said:
“I’ll say what Donald Trump won’t. Political violence is never, ever, acceptable in the United States political system. Never, never, never. It has no place in a democracy. None.”
There have been concerns expressed throughout Trump’s legal troubles that his supporters could become violent again over his prosecution and conviction or the 2024 election if he loses and again says that the results were “rigged.”
While there have been a few isolated acts and a lot of violent threats, as well as some swatting incidents, there have been no acts of mob violence so far to begin to compare to January 6th.
Watch Trump’s post-appeal speech below.
Here’s the moment when he ignores a question about political violence.
Trump doesn't answer this question: "Will you tell your supporters now, no matter what, no violence?" pic.twitter.com/BETi3Itxfx
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 9, 2024
Finally, here’s Biden two days earlier, predicting that Trump would refuse to address political violence.
Former President Trump: "I think they feel this is the way they're going to try and win and that's not the way it goes. It'll be bedlam in the country. It's a very bad thing. It's a very bad precedent. It's the opening of a Pandora's Box…" pic.twitter.com/fyYqul1CPC
— CSPAN (@cspan) January 9, 2024
Steph Bazzle covers politics and theocracy, always aiming for a world free from extremism and authoritarianism. Follow Steph on Twitter @imjustasteph.
