Trump called crowd gathered before January 6 riot “in love”

Old President TrumpDonald TrumpCaitlyn Jenner vows to back Trump if he makes another White House offer Biden says he doesn’t want voting rights ‘wrapped up’ in filibuster debate The Club for Growth’s attacks Cheney in commercial, compares her to Clinton MORE in the months following the deadly Jan.6 riot at the United States Capitol called out the crowd he spoke to on the Ellipse ahead of the “love” attack, according to audio released by the Washington Post Wednesday night.

The remarks came in a March interview with Post reporters Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker for their new book “I Alone Can Fix It,” which was released on Tuesday after the first snippets revealed tensions between senior officials at administration before and after the riot. .

In the recently released audio, Trump said in the interview with his Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, which he hoped the crowd gathered for his Stop the Steal rally and other rallies on the National Mall that day would show their support for his unsubstantiated fraud allegations in the 2020 elections.

“Personally, what I wanted is what they wanted,” he told reporters, who repeatedly asked the former president what he hoped to happen when he urged his supporters to march towards the Capitol.

“They came just to show their support because I think the election was rigged to a level that nothing has ever been rigged before,” he explained.

Trump said the people gathered to hear him and others speak at the rallies that day “were a loving crowd.”

“There was a lot of love, I heard that from everyone,” he continued. “Many, many people said to me, ‘It was a loving crowd. “”

Trump went on to say he did not want to tell his supporters to enter the Capitol building, where lawmakers were gathered to certify President BidenJoe Biden Biden Says Wages Will Need To Raise To Fix Hiring Problems Caitlyn Jenner Pledges To Back Trump If He Makes Another White House Offer Biden: Republicans Who Say Democrats Want To Fund Police Lies MOREThe victory of the Electoral College, claiming that the rioters had been “introduced by the police”.

“The Capitol police were bringing people in, the Capitol police were very friendly,” he said.

While Democrats and others have expressed concerns that some officers may have been complicit in the riot, citing a video showing barricades moving for rioters to break through and at least one officer who posed for a selfie with a rioter, Washington, DC, and Capitol Hill police officers were among those seriously injured trying to respond to the riots.

Capitol Hill Police Officer Brian Sicknick died of injuries, and two other officers in the weeks following the mob attack died by suicide.

The Hill has reached out to Trump officials for further comment.

In the interview for the book, in which reporters detailed that Trump told his vice president, Mike penceMichael (Mike) Richard PencePoll: Trump leads 2024 GOP primary followed by Pence, DeSantis Guess who undermined public confidence in vaccines? Pence v. Biden on China: Competing but Coherent Visions READ MORE, that he did not “have the courage” to reject the 2020 election results, the former president said he was “not locked into anything” regarding a possible 2024 running mate, but added that he was “disappointed” with Sous.