Former President Donald Trump, speaking out Thursday after the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in his appeal of the Colorado high court's ruling to keep him off the state's GOP primary ballot, said that if the Jan. 6, 2021, protests at the Capitol formed an "insurrection," then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was to blame.
"I heard and I watched and the one thing I'll say is they kept saying about what I said right after the insurrection ... which I think was an insurrection caused by Nancy Pelosi," Trump, the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, told reporters gathered outside his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, reports NBC News.
In addition, Trump told reporters that none of the Capitol protesters were using guns on Jan. 6, pointing out that only Ashli Babbitt was shot and killed.
"If it was an insurrection, which there were no guns, no anything except for the fact that they shot Ashli Babbitt," Trump said. "Somebody from [the] police force shot Ashli Babbitt — so unnecessary, so sad, so horrible. But there were no guns, there was no anything."
Trump further pointed out that as the Jan. 6 protests raged, he made posts on Twitter asking his supporters to "go home."
He added that when compared to statements that Democrats made, "you will see a whole different dialogue."
"If you take a look at my words right after, take a look at my speech from the Rose Garden ... you'll see very beautiful, very heartwarming statements," Trump said.
The high court's justices appeared skeptical Thursday of Colorado's arguments in the case, according to reports, and raised questions about how states can enforce the amendment against candidates and focused on whether Congress must first pass legislation in the matter.
Further, the judges said they were concerned about states having the power to take actions that could have an impact on a nationwide presidential election.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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