NEWTON, Iowa — Former President Donald Trump campaigned here on the third anniversary of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot Saturday, shrugging off the event as “patriotic and peaceful,” then attacking the lead prosecutor bringing charges against him and the congressional committee that investigated the insurrection.
Trump persisted in falsely claiming that the 2020 presidential election he lost to Joe Biden was “rigged” — the same exhortations that led prompted his supporters to breach the Capitol in an attempt to halt congressional certification of the results — and he dismissed both the lead-up and aftermath of the riot that resulted in multiple deaths.
“Nobody thought J6 was even a possibility,” he told supporters at Des Moines Area Community College’s Newton campus.
Iowa caucuses: On 3rd anniversary of Jan. 6 riots, GOP presidential candidates reveal what they learned
And later, when speaking about policies on the U.S. southern border, he invoked the term “insurrection” to reference immigrants crossing the U.S. illegally, and contrasted it with Jan. 6, which he said was done “patriotically and peacefully.”
“You talk about insurrection? That’s the real deal,” he said. “Not patriotically and peacefully.”
In remarks Friday in Iowa and throughout the campaign, Trump referenced those convicted and imprisoned for crimes relating to the riot as “hostages.” Their imprisonment was “one of the saddest things in the history of our country,” he said Friday.
Trump also mocked the U.S. House panel that investigated the Jan. 6 riot, calling it a “fake committee” and attacking former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, one of the panel’s two Republican members.
And he said Jack Smith, the special counsel who has criminally charged Trump for interfering in the 2020 election, was “the personification of evil” and “a sad sack.”
“Because I fought against a corrupt election, I was indicted,” Trump said, ignoring multiple judicial rulings and even his own administration that found there was no evidence of fraud that would have altered the outcome.
Iowa caucuses: Trump sends sympathy over Perry shooting, ‘but we have to get over it’
Trump says Civil War was ‘fascinating’ and ‘horrible,’ and could have been avoided
The former president in his remarks Saturday also ruminated on the American Civil War, saying he was “so attracted to” studying it and theorizing that the conflict between the Union and the Confederacy could have been avoided through negotiation.
“I think you could have negotiated that,” Trump said. “So many people died.
He added that “of course, if you negotiated it, you probably wouldn’t even know who Abraham Lincoln was.”
Several attempts were made to mend relations and negotiate a compromise on the issue of slavery before southern states began to secede, including the Compromise of 1850, which allowed California to enter the Union as a free state while strengthening fugitive slave laws, among other provisions.
Those deals ultimately just delayed the war.
Trump: ‘I’m going to caucus, OK?’ (He can’t)
The former president told supporters in Newton Saturday that he planned to be in Iowa for Caucus Day, and said he was “going to caucus,” although he would be barred from doing so under the Iowa Republican Party’s rules for the contest.
Trump, a resident of Florida, is not eligible to participate in the caucuses, which are limited to registered Republicans who are legal Iowa residents.
“I’m coming to Iowa, we’re going to be picking some nice location, we have a lot of people. I’m going to caucus, OK?” Trump said, eliciting cheers from the crowd.
And when encouraging attendees to learn the caucus procedure, he said “I’m going to have to learn, too, by the way.”
“I haven’t done this before. But they’re going to teach me. I’m a quick study, and so are you.”
His remarks were quickly pointed out by allies of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, whose wife, Casey, was criticized and a response from the Iowa GOP after encouraging supporters from outside of the state to “descend” on the state for the caucuses.
Trump’s swing through Iowa on the penultimate weekend before the caucuses comes just days after a school shooting in Perry, which killed an 11-year-old and wounded several other students and staff, including the school principal. The 17-year-old gunman died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
In remarks Friday afternoon in Sioux Center, he expressed “support and deepest sympathies” to the families and victims, saying “it’s so surprising to see it here.”
“But we have to get over it. We have to move forward,” Trump added. “To all the relatives, and all the people who are devastated right now, to the point they can’t breathe, they can’t live, we are with you all the way.”
At that Sioux Center speech and a second Friday stop in Mason City, he ramped up his attacks on Haley and DeSantis,
In December’s Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom Iowa Poll, Trump was the faraway frontrunner in the Republican field, receiving 51% first-choice support and leading his closest challenger by 32 percentage points.
Register reporters Donnelle Eller and Michaela Ramm contributed to this story.
Galen Bacharier covers politics for the Register. Reach him at [email protected] or (573) 219-7440, and follow him on Twitter @galenbacharier.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Donald Trump in Iowa on anniversary of Jan. 6 riot calls it ‘patriotic’
Amanda Smith is a dedicated U.S. correspondent with a passion for uncovering the stories that shape the nation. With a background in political science, she provides in-depth analysis and insightful commentary on domestic affairs, ensuring readers are well-informed about the latest developments across the United States.
