The former president repeatedly refused to accept his defeat and called anyone who does “stupid.”
Former president Donald Trump kicked off his highly publicized return to mainstream prime time TV by repeatedly refusing to accept his defeat in the 2020 election and defending the mob of his supporters who disrupted the peaceful transfer of power.
“When you look at what happened during that election, unless you’re a very stupid person, you see what happened,” Trump said in response to CNN host Kaitlan Collins’s opening question asking him to accept the 2020 results. “That was a rigged election.”
He went on to call Jan. 6, 2021, when a violent mob of his supporters assaulted police and broke into the Capitol to disrupt the certification of his electoral defeat, a “beautiful day.” He said Ashli Babbitt, the rioter killed by police trying to break into the House chamber, should not have been shot; denied that then-Vice President Mike Pence, who was hiding from rioters chanting for his hanging, was in any danger; and repeated his promise to pardon participants in the insurrection.
Trump made the remarks during a televised town hall on CNN, his highest-profile return to a mainstream news setting since leaving office. It came just a day after a New York jury concluded that Trump was liable for sexually abusing and then defaming the writer E. Jean Carroll, drawing criticism from some Republicans and leading others to renew questions about his electability.
Despite those concerns about Trump’s viability in a general election, in the Republican primary he has built up a formidable early polling lead and is gaining momentum with endorsements from elected officials, some of whom have begun calling his nomination “inevitable,” even as he faces growing legal peril. His leading rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, is preparing to officially announce his candidacy soon, with electability expected to be core to his message.
Trump took part in Wednesday’s town hall as he faces local, state and federal investigations, with his efforts to overturn his loss in the 2020 election and raise money off false claims of election fraud coming under scrutiny from prosecutors, in addition to his handling of classified materials.
