White House Press Secretay Jen Psaki took a swipe at former President Donald Trump following the rally he held over the weekend.
“In terms of the former president, his actions represented a unique and existential threat to our democracy, as the president has said many times. But…his remarks this weekend, he defended the actions of his supporters who stormed the Capitol and brutally attacked the law enforcement officers protecting it,” Psaki said during a Monday press briefing.
She added, “I think it’s important to shout that out and call that out. He even attacked his own vice president for not, in his words, having overturned the election. And it’s just a reminder of how unfit he is for office, and it’s telling that even some of his closest allies have rejected those remarks as inappropriate in the days since.”
Watch part of the press briefing below:
“It’s just a reminder of how unfit he is for office.”
— The Recount (@therecount) January 31, 2022
— WH Press Sec. Jen Psaki on Trump’s speech this weekend defending 1/6 insurrectionists pic.twitter.com/4G61ZPE2HI
During his rally, Trump told his supporters he would treat the January 6 rioters “fairly,” as IJR reported.
He added, “And if it requires pardons, we will give them pardons because they are being treated so unfairly.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told CBS News Trump’s comments are inappropriate.
“I don’t want to do anything that would make this more likely in the future,” he added.
Trump also criticized his former vice president in a statement Sunday night for refusing to overturn the results of the election.
“If the Vice President (Mike Pence) had ‘absolutely no right’ to change the Presidential Election results in the Senate, despite fraud and many other irregularities, how come the Democrats and RINO Republicans, like Wacky Susan Collins, are desperately trying to pass legislation that will not allow the Vice President to change the results of the election?” Trump said.
He added, “Actually, what they are saying, is that Mike Pence did have the right to change the outcome, and they now want to take that right away. Unfortunately, he didn’t exercise that power, he could have overturned the Election.”