Trump ‘All But Announces’ He’s Running in 2024 in Lengthy Statement Attacking Jan. 6 Hearings
Andy Jacobsohn, Getty
Former President Donald Trump put out a 12-page statement on Monday following Monday’s Jan. 6 Committee hearings.
In the very lengthy statement, complete with footnotes, Trump doubles down on his debunked allegations that the 2020 election was stolen from him and “all but announces” a 2024 run, according to one political pundit.
In the statement, Trump repeatedly cites Dinesh D’Souza’s conspiracy theory movie 2000 Mules, which elicited a hearty laugh from former Trump Attorney General Bill Barr during his deposition — which was shown on Monday at the hearings.
2000 Mules has been roundly debunked by fact-checkers and Barr found its findings so “indefensible” he literally had to laugh at it.
“It’s also highly likely that True the Vote did not uncover 100% of the mules, making the numbers much larger than a landslide in scope, and that there were many more mules out there affecting more of the Election than we realize. This was not a close Election,” Trump wrote in his statement referencing the “mules,” operatives, D’Souza claims Democrats used to stuff ballot boxes.
“And I was somewhat demoralized because I thought if he really believes this stuff, he has lost contact with — he has become detached from reality if he really believes this stuff,” Barr said during his deposition before the Jan. 6 Committee, discussing Trump’s early claims of voter fraud.
Trump ended Monday’s statement by writing, “This is merely an attempt to stop a man that is leading in every poll, against both Republicans and Democrats by wide margins, from running again for the Presidency.”
Trump continued:
The reason I am leading in the polls is because Democrats have caused record inflation, sky high gas prices, energy dependence on our adversaries, the education system is in crisis, illegal aliens are invading our border, the supply chain has crippled our way of life, parents can’t get baby formula, mandates have crippled businesses, and our way of life has been crushed by government regulations. The United States is being destroyed.
He ends by arguing that he could “save” the country, very much in the vein of a candidate announcing a run for office:
The Democrats know that I would correct all of this, and they are doing everything in their power to stop me – but we can’t be stopped. We have to Save America.
Politico’s Chief Washington Correspondent Ryan Lizza commented on Trump’s choice of words, noting, “At the end of this statement Trump all but announces a 2024 run.”
At the end of this statement Trump all but announces a 2024 run https://t.co/OvpFrnj9Tn pic.twitter.com/EAPR7iKBYs
— Ryan Lizza (@RyanLizza) June 13, 2022
