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As the U.S. Supreme Court now considers the arguments made in the 14th Amendment case against President Trump in Colorado, the events of Jan. 6, 2021, have been yet against thrust into the spotlight.
President Trump addressed the media from the steps of his home, Mar-a-Lago, on Thursday after Supreme Court justices adjourned following the close of oral arguments from his attorneys and attorneys for the plaintiffs in Colorado.
The argument rests on whether Colorado can uphold their decision to strip the president’s name from the 2024 ballot based on the 14th Amendment, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution, which states that someone who has engaged in an “insurrection” or a “rebellion” cannot hold public office.
However, the interpretation of that section is hotly debated, and even Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh pointed out that Trump had “not been charged” with insurrection at any point.
In his comments at Mar-a-Lago, the president reflected on what happened on Jan. 6, accusing Nancy Pelosi of being the only one guilty of an “insurrection” herself for her role in refusing to bring in the National Guard.
Trump caveated, “If it WAS an insurrection – there were no guns, no anything, except for the fact that they SHOT Ashli Babbitt. Somebody from the police force shot Ashli Babbitt.” He added, “So unnecessary, so sad, so horrible.”
President Trump reiterated his call for peaceful behavior on Jan. 6, 2021, rebuffing critics’ claims that he somehow incited violent behavior.
He explained, “If you take a look at my words, right after, you take a look at my speech from the Rose Garden…at that time, we were tweeting, and I was on Twitter. If you take a look at those five or six tweets you’ll see, very beautiful, very heartwarming statements.”
Trump urged the press to go back and watch his statement from the Rose Garden on Jan. 6, adding that Democrats like Rep. Maxine Waters, R-Calif., had never faced scrutiny for her verifiably violent rhetoric in the past.
“I didn’t do that, I said, ‘peacefully and patriotically,’” he concluded.