Trump Confronted On Air Force One For ‘Pardoning People Who Assaulted First Responders’: ‘Why Did You Do That?’
President Donald Trump was confronted on Air Force One by a reporter who asked why he pardoned “people who assaulted first responders” even as he was about to “honor” them in New Orleans before Super Bowl LIX.
Trump had a busy Super Bowl Sunday, sitting for a pre-game interview with Fox News anchor Bret Baier — during which he predicted the Kansas City Chiefs would defeat the Philadelphia Eagles — and taking questions aboard Air Force One on his way to becoming the first sitting president to attend the game.
He also spent a few minutes meeting with first responders and families involved in the New Year’s Day attack — which he falsely blamed on immigration at the time — and posed for a grinning photo giving a thumbs-up.
President Donald Trump meets the families of the victims and first responders from the January 1st terrorist attack in New Orleans. #SBLIX pic.twitter.com/jqPRI6Oyf0
— NFL (@NFL) February 9, 2025
During his Air Force One gaggle, a reporter confronted Trump for pardoning January 6 rioters who committed violent offenders who “assaulted first responders” and connected it to his planned visit with the New Orleans responders.
Trump lashed out by denying they assaulted anyone and raged at how the rioters were treated — calling his pardons “a great thing for humanity”:
REPORTER: You said you said you’re going to honor first responders today, but you pardoned hundreds of people who assaulted first responders. Why did you do that?
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Who? I (inaudible).
REPORTER: You are going to meet with first responders today, but you pardoned people who assaulted first responders–.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I pardoned people who were assaulted themselves! They were assaulted by our government! I pardoned J6 people who were assaulted by our government. That’s who were assaulted and they were treated unfairly.
There’s never been a group of people in this country outside of maybe one instance I can think of, but I won’t get into it, that were treated more horribly than the people of J6.
So no, I didn’t assault. They didn’t assault– they were assaulted, and what I did was a great thing for humanity.
Watch above via The White House.
