WATCH: Trump Condemns ‘Mob Violence,’ Calls on Supporters to ‘Promote Peace in Our Country’
On Wednesday — the same day the House of Representatives impeached President Donald Trump for the second time, the president put out a video message via the White House’s official Twitter account, condemning the violent attack on the Capitol and calling for peace going forward.
“The incursion of the US Capitol struck at the very heart of our republic,” Trump said. “I want to be very clear. I unequivocally condemn the violence that we saw last week. Violence and vandalism have absolutely no place in our country and no place in our movement. Making America great again has always been about defending the rule of law, supporting the men and women of law enforcement, and upholding our nation’s most sacred traditions and values. Mob violence goes against everything I believe in and everything our movement stands for. No true supporter of mine could ever endorse political violence. No true supporter of mine could ever disrespect law enforcement or our great American flag. No true supporter of mine could ever threaten or harass their fellow Americans. If you do any of these things, you are not supporting our movement. You are attacking it. And you are attacking our country. We cannot tolerate it.”
The president added that, regardless of someone’s political affiliation or beliefs, “there is never a justification for violence.”
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 13, 2021
“No excuses, no exceptions,” the president said. “America is a nation of laws. Those who engaged in the attacks last week will be brought to justice. Now I am asking everyone who has ever believed in our agenda to be thinking of ways to ease tensions, calm tempers and help to promote peace in our country.”
The president was largely de-platformed after the assault on the Capitol as Twitter, Facebook, and several other social media platforms suspended his personal accounts.
Twitter posted an explanation for Trump’s suspension Jan. 8:
“After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them — specifically how they are being received and interpreted on and off Twitter — we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence.”
The president also seemed to address the cancelation in the White House video.
“I also want to say a few words about the unprecedented assault on free speech we have seen in recent days,” he said. “These are tense and difficult times. The efforts to censor, cancel and blacklist our fellow citizens are wrong and they are dangerous. What is needed now is for us to listen to one another, not to silence one another. All of us can choose by our actions to rise above the rancor and find common ground and shared purpose. We must focus on advancing the interests of the whole nation.”
Ethan E. Rocke is a contributor and former senior editor for Coffee or Die Magazine, a New York Times bestselling author, and award-winning photographer and filmmaker. He served as an infantryman with the 101st Airborne Division, deploying once to Kosovo for peacekeeping operations. He then joined the US Marine Corps, serving in Okinawa and the Asia-Pacific region with III Marine Expeditionary Force and at the Marine Corps Motion Picture and Television Liaison Office in Los Angeles, where he served as a consultant on dozens of television shows and documentaries and several feature films. His work has been published in Maxim Magazine, American Legion Magazine, and many others. He is co-author of The Last Punisher: A SEAL Team THREE Sniper’s True Account of the Battle of Ramadi.
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