Trump Claims Democrats ‘Were Staging a Coup,’ Blames Pelosi for Jan. 6 Capitol Attack

Donald Trump said he was the victim of an attempted “coup” and claimed Speaker Nancy Pelosi is “responsible” for the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.

In an interview with Rob Schmitt of Newsmax that aired on Tuesday night, the 45th president gave viewers a tour of an alternate reality in which he was the victim, rather than the perpetrator of an attempted overthrow.

After listing some his accomplishments as president, Trump declared, “We did a great job, but at the same time we were fighting the radical left on the impeachment hoaxes, which was what? Over a perfect phone call to Ukraine. It was perfect.”

That “perfect” phone call ended up getting Trump impeached. During the call, he told the president of Ukraine that the U.S. would send aid to the country, but Trump added that he wanted its government to investigate the Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, who served on the board of a Ukrainian energy company.

The House impeached Trump over the attempted quid pro quo for abuse of office and obstruction of justice.

“We were fighting these people,” Trump continued. “We had no choice. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have been there. They would’ve gotten us out. They were trying to–they were staging a coup. They were trying to get us out of office.”

Later in the interview, Trump made the dubious claim that he ordered 10,000 troops to protect the Capitol ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021 election certification taking place there. That morning, he held a rally in Washington where he repeated his false claim that the 2020 election had been stolen from him. He called on Vice President Mike Pence – the certification’s presiding officer – to singlehandedly overturn the results of the election. Trump also encouraged rally-goers to march to the Capitol and “show strength.” The rest is history.

“Nancy Pelosi should be investigated for doing such a bad job on Capitol security,” he said. “I asked for 10,000 soldiers and we would have given 20 – and it’s well documented – to go, and because I knew how big the rally would be. The rally was a protest against a rigged election, and I knew how big it was going to be. And I said, ‘Why don’t we have soldiers there?’ But she’s in charge of Capitol security, and she didn’t want any soldiers. So she’s responsible for it.”

Trump has made the “10,000 soldiers” claim numerous times, but there is no evidence he ever made such a request. Moreover, as commander-in-chief, he was in the position to order soldiers and/or federal law enforcement officers to where they were needed in the nation’s capital.

Additionally, the Jan. 6 committee has revealed it has “firsthand testimony” describing how Trump watched the Capitol riot on television while taking no action.

Trump was impeached for a second time in January 2021, for incitement of insurrection. As with his first impeachment, he was acquitted by the Senate.

Watch above via Newsmax.