A particular contentious moment during an interview with NBC News’ Kristen Welker saw former President Donald Trump refuse to help her advance the narrative of the sham January 6 Committee.
“I’m not going to tell you…Why would I tell you that?”
(Video: NBC News)
Refutations of the hearsay accounts from so-called “bombshell” witness, former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, didn’t appear to satisfy the newly minted “Meet the Press” host as she endeavored to pry out details as yet unconfirmed.
During their lengthy one-on-one discussion that premiered Sunday, Welker turned to the events of Jan. 6, 2021 and attempted to eke out the president’s precise whereabouts as the U.S. Capitol was breached.
“Tell me how you watched this all unfold. Were you in the dining room watching TV?” tried the host after Trump had offered up a number of oft-overlooked points of his previously reported efforts to bulk up security at the Capitol days before the scheduled certification of the 2020 presidential election.
“I’m not going to tell you. I’ll the people later at an appropriate time,” insisted the president.
Undeterred, Welker tried again, “What did you do when the Capitol was under attack though?”
It was then that Trump pointed to the video that had been released on the afternoon of Jan. 6 where he pushed for everyone to go home. The host made note of the gap in the timeline that the president appeared to be glossing over as she asserted, “That was at 4 o’clock in the afternoon. More than three hours after the attack.”
In her next attempt to get new information from him, Welker wondered at who Trump may have called before order had been restored at the Capitol.
“Why would I tell you that?” came another dismissal from the president as he pointed to then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) responsibilities as head of the legislative branch at the time and her own apparent inaction to prepare when reports had been coming in about perceived threats to the proceeding.
“Nancy Pelosi doesn’t have the authority that you have as commander-in-chief though,” the host pushed back. “Why didn’t you send help in that moment though?”
“Frankly, just so you understand, I assumed that she took care of it,” responded Trump who reminded again about conversation leading up to Jan. 6 seeking to have a larger security presence.
He then went on to unequivocally assert that, “She’s responsible for Jan. 6. Nancy Pelosi’s responsible.
“Nancy Pelosi is responsible,” added the president. “And the JG Committee refused to interview her.”
As he had pointed out earlier in their conversation, the committee instead had focused on the account of Hutchinson that claimed Trump had attempted to overtake his Secret Service detail in order to head to the Capitol himself.
“…so I took a guy who was like a black belt in karate and grabbed his neck and tried to choke him…How ridiculous. Just so you understand, and I have great respect for Secret Service, by the way. They’re fantastic. The Secret Service said, ‘Sir, it would be better if you didn’t.’ I said, ‘I’d love to do it.’ They said, ‘It would be better.’ And so we went back to the White House,” explained the president after calling Hutchinson’s claims, “…the craziest account I’ve ever heard.”
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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