Here’s What Donald Trump Told His Supporters That Made Them Head to The Capitol in Huge Numbers

On January 6, 2021, thousands of President Donald Trump’s supporters gathered in Washington, D.C., for the ‘Save America Rally,’ an event that quickly became infamous. Held near the White House at the Elipse, Trump’s speech at the rally sparked a chain of events that led to one of the darkest days in modern American history; the storming of the U.S. Capitol. During his nearly hour-long speech, Trump urged his supporters to "stop the steal" and march to the Capitol to protest Congress's certification of President-elect Joe Biden's victory.

In his speech, Trump said, “Media will not show the magnitude of this crowd even I when I turned on today, I looked, and I saw thousands of people here, but you don't see hundreds of thousands of people behind you because they don't want to show that. We have hundreds of thousands of people here, and I just want them to be recognized by the fake news media. Turn your cameras, please, and show what is really happening out here because these people are not going to take it any longer, they're not going to take it any longer…The fake news and the big tech, big tech, are now coming into their own. We beat them four years ago, we surprised them…”

Trump's speech was not just an attack on the media and tech companies but also a rallying cry to his base. He remarked, “All of us here today do not want to see our election victory stolen by a bold and radical left Democrats which is what they are doing and stolen by the fake news media. That is what they have done and what they are doing. We will never give up. We will never concede. It doesn't happen. You don't concede when there's theft involved. Our country has had enough. We will not take it anymore, and that is what this is all about. And to use a favorite term that all of you people really came up with, we will stop the steal.”

As per ABC News, the president's words escalated as he called for direct action. He exclaimed, “Almost 75 million people voted for our campaign, the most of any incumbent president by far in the history of our country; 12 million more than four years ago. And I was told by the real pollsters; that we do have real pollsters. They knew that we were going to do well and we were going to win. What I was told if I went from 63 million, which we had four years ago to 66 million, there was no chance of losing. Well, we didn't go to 66, we went to 75 million, and they say we lost. We didn't lose. And by the way, does anybody believe that Joe had 80 million votes? Does anybody believe that?”

Trump further added, “He had 80 million computer votes. It's a disgrace. Even when you look at last night, they were all running around like chickens with their heads cut off with boxes, and nobody knows what the hell is going on. There's never been anything like this. We will not let them silence your voices. We're not going to let it happen. Not going to let it happen.”

This statement was a direct incitement, urging the gathered crowd to march to the Capitol and make their voices heard in opposition to the certification process.

Following Trump’s speech, thousands of attendees, many without masks, began their march towards Capitol Hill. Federal law enforcement vehicles struggled to reach the Capitol before the mob.

As the crowd reached the Capitol, they overwhelmed security, breached barriers, and forced their way into the building. Lawmakers, including Vice President Mike Pence, were evacuated as the rioters vandalized offices and disrupted the certification process.

As per CNBC, In the chaos that followed, Trump initially remained silent, but as pressure escalated from both sides of the political aisle, he released a video on social media. In the video, he said, “I know your pain, I know you’re hurt. But you have to go home now, we have to have peace. We have to have law and order, we have to respect our great people in law and order.”

He later tweeted, "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." This statement seemed to justify the mob's actions and only added to the controversy surrounding his role in the Capitol riot.