The day after the Jan. 6 attack, Donald Trump said: “Like all Americans, I am outraged by the violence, lawlessness and mayhem.” He went on to describe the riot as a “heinous attack” that “defiled the seat of American democracy.”
Reading from a prepared text, the then-president went on to say, “To those who engage in the acts of violence and destruction: You do not represent our country, and to those who broke the law: You will pay.”
Four years later, the Republican made sure they wouldn’t pay for their crimes at all: Within hours of his presidential inauguration, Trump issued roughly 1,500 pardons and commuted the sentences of 14 Jan. 6 criminals — including violent felons who were in prison for assaulting police officers.
The president has had all kinds of time to come up with a justification for his decision, but he’s apparently struggled to come up with anything persuasive. During his first week back in the White House, for example, Trump told Fox News’ Sean Hannity that the violent assaults were really just “very minor incidents.”
Just when it seemed the Republican couldn’t possibly come up with new lies about the criminals who rioted in his name, Trump managed to break new ground on Sunday during a Q&A aboard Air Force One.
Reporter: You are going to meet with first responders today, but you pardoned hundreds of people who assaulted first responders.Trump: No, I pardoned people who were assaulted themselves… by our government. What I did was a great thing for humanity.
— Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social) 2025-02-10T03:44:02.518Z
“I pardoned people who were assaulted themselves, they were assaulted by our government,” the president told reporters. He added, “They didn’t assault; they were assaulted. And what I did was a great thing for humanity.”
He did not appear to be kidding.
The idea that Jan. 6 criminals “didn’t assault” is, of course, utterly insane. NBC News recently highlighted some of the numerous people found guilty of violent attacks, all of whom were set free by Trump. The list included violent felons, some of whom used bear spray, metal whips, flag poles, pepper spray, and stun guns while assaulting police officers.
In all, roughly 140 officers were injured by pro-Trump rioters, and five officers’ deaths are tied directly to the insurrectionist violence.
In January, Trump dismissed the attacks as “very minor incidents.” In February, the Republican apparently decided that the “incidents” didn’t occur at all, because in his mind, the rioters “didn’t assault” anyone.
Such nonsense doesn’t appear to be persuading anyone: The latest national survey from the Pew Research Center found that nearly three-quarters of Americans (74%) — and even a narrow majority of Republican voters (54%) — disapprove of Trump pardoning violent Jan. 6 criminals. (Click the link for more information on the poll’s methodology and margin of error.)
If the president intends to turn those numbers are around, he’s going to need better lies.
