On Eve of Jan. 6 Anniversary, Trump Issues Statement Calling On ‘MAGA Nation’ to ‘Rise Up’ Against Vaccine Mandates

(Tasos Katopodis, Getty Images)

Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday called on his supporters to “rise up” against vaccine mandates in a statement bashing the Biden administration’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Trump issued the statement on the eve of the one-year anniversary of the January 6th riot at the U.S. Capitol, which Trump critics attribute to similar language targeting U.S. institutions and the 2020 presidential election.

Trump had initially scheduled a press conference to take place on January 6th, but canceled it, reportedly under pressure from allies.

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) confirmed to Axios that he told Trump “there could be peril in doing a news conference. Best to focus on election reform instead.”

While Trump’s Wednesday statement did not mention the January 6th riot or allegations of voter fraud in the 2020 election, which fueled the riot, the use of the term “rise up” raised eyebrows.

Trump’s call for his supporters to “rise up” one year after he incited an attack on our Capitol is a reminder that he is not deterred. He will try to do it again if given the opportunity. https://t.co/XaNH0y4nZS

— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) January 5, 2022

“Rise up” https://t.co/Ilst9CALno

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) January 5, 2022

Trump: “This is an outrage, and MAGA nation should rise up and oppose this egregious federal government overreach.”

Taste check: Very poor taste by the former president to urge his supporters to “rise up” on the day before the anniversary of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot by a MAGA mob

— John T. Bennett (@BennettJohnT) January 5, 2022

Trump’s full statement is below:

Statement by Donald J. Trump, 45th President of the United States of America

The Biden Administration’s response to COVID is getting worse every day. Joe Biden said, “there is no federal solution” to the pandemic, but he then federalized the distribution of antibodies, and red states are getting the short end of the stick. In my administration, we respected the role of Governors to take care of their own states, and they could request antibodies and therapeutics depending on what they needed. That’s the way our Country is supposed to be run.

Now, there’s talk by the Biden Administration again about closing schools and even vaccine mandates for school children. This is an outrage, and MAGA nation should rise up and oppose this egregious federal government overreach. The Democrats are so incredibly mandate happy—there is discussion about a vaccine mandate for school kids this year in Detroit and other Democrat-run places.

Our administration did what they said could not be done—vaccines in record time. But we never issued mandates, and I never would! People should be able to choose how they want to govern their own health. The federal government must be reined in and give the people back the freedom to decide whether they want to be vaccinated or not.

Joe Biden said he would never issue mandates, but he did it anyway like so many other things.

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