In his first network interview following his departure from office, former President Donald Trump engaged in a contentious conversation with NBC’s “Meet the Press” host, Kristen Welker, at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. During this interview, Trump laid blame for the events of January 6 squarely at the feet of former Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, stating, “Nancy Pelosi was in charge of security. She turned down 10,000 soldiers. If she didn’t turn down the soldiers, you wouldn’t have had Jan. 6.”
Trump refrained from directly answering whether he had called the military or law enforcement during the crisis, emphasizing, “I behaved so well, I did such a good job, Nancy Pelosi turned down 10,000 soldiers.” Welker countered that Pelosi did not possess the same authority as the commander in chief, to which Trump responded by alleging that the Capitol police had testified against Pelosi and “burned all the evidence.”
He went on to claim that Pelosi had control over the Capitol, and he had requested National Guard presence three days prior, but she had denied the request. Trump further insisted that the mayor of D.C. had provided a letter confirming Pelosi’s refusal. In response to this, Pelosi’s office denied the allegations, stating that “the former president’s allegations are completely made up.”
The decision to deploy National Guard troops to the Capitol rested with the Capitol Police Board, composed of officials such as the House and Senate sergeants at arms and the architect of the Capitol. They did not call for Guard assistance before the events of January 6 but did so later during the riot. The House sergeant at arms reported to Pelosi, while the Senate sergeant at arms reported to then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
“I understand that the police testified against her, the chief very strongly against her, the Capitol police, great people,” Trump said in the interview aired Sunday. “They testified against her, and they burned all the evidence. OK? They burned all the evidence. They destroyed all the evidence about Nancy Pelosi.”
She has authority over the Capitol,” Trump added. “National Guard not coming? I asked her [for them] to be there three days in advance, and she turned it down.
She says that that request was never officially made,” Welker, who newly took over the NBC program from former host Chuck Todd, interjected.
“The mayor of D.C. gave us a letter saying that she turns it down. OK, we have it. Nancy Pelosi also was asked, and she turned it down. The police commissioner of Capitol police …” Trump continues as Welker interrupts him. “Wait, a minute,” he pressed on, “Capitol police said that he wanted it, and Nancy Pelosi wouldn’t accept it. She’s responsible for Jan. 6.”
“Nancy Pelosi’s responsible, and the Jan. 6 Committee refused to interview her.”
Discrepancies emerged in the accounts of the officials on the board and the former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund regarding who requested Guard assistance and when. Sund alleged that he had made six requests for assistance, all of which were denied or delayed. He also claimed that House Sergeant-at-Arms Paul Irving was concerned about the “optics” and rejected National Guard presence.
Trump, when asked about his leadership on January 6, asserted that he had shown leadership and could have pardoned himself before leaving office but chose not to. He also disputed claims made before the Jan. 6 Committee that he grabbed a Secret Service agent by the neck. Despite being pressed, he did not reveal how he watched the events of January 6 unfold but maintained that he had encouraged people to go home and praised the police.
