At a rally Friday night in Arizona, former President Donald Trump slammed the panel investigating the Jan. 6 riots, and his vice president, Mike Pence, who is also eyeing a presidential run, made a rival appearance in the Arizona state. Grand Canyon.
Speaking in Prescott Valley in support of Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake and US Senate candidate Blake MastersTrump attacked the House select committee investigating the uprising at the US Capitol in 2021.
Trump said he saw Thursday night hearingwhich focused primarily on what he was doing as the violent mob stormed the Capitol as Congress certified Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory. The former president called it a “hoax.”
also denied former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson testimony last month, in which he detailed Trump’s apparent plan to go to Capitol Hill on Jan. 6 and tell supporters after his “Stop the Steal” rally at the Ellipse that he had not lost the election.
Hutchinson testified under oath that Tony Ornato, a top security official for the president, told him about an altercation on January 6 in which Trump allegedly jumped on the steering wheel of the presidential vehicleknown as “the Beast,” he demanded to be brought to the Capitol, and was physically restrained by Secret Service agent Robert Engel when he was told he was returning to the White House.
According to Hutchinson, Ornato “described [Trump] as angry. The president said something to the effect of: ‘I’m the fucking president. Take me to the Capitol now!” he said.
On Friday night, Trump denied Hutchinson’s testimony, saying he physically could not have done what she had claimed. The former president also denied Hutchinson’s claim that he saw a White House valet cleaning up a mess after Trump apparently smashed a plate of his lunch against a wall.
“They have me throwing food,” Trump told the crowd. “I don’t throw food at the White House. I don’t throw food anywhere. I eat food.
He also criticized Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers, who told committee members on Jan. 6 that Trump pressured him. say the 2020 election was rigged no evidence Triumph called Bowers “a RHINO coward who ran against the Republican Party” during the June hearing.
Trump said of the House investigation: “Where does it end? Where does it end? Never forget: Everything this corrupt system is doing to me is about preserving its power and control over the American people, for whatever reason. They want to harm me in any way so that I can no longer represent you.
“If I stayed home, if I took it easy, if I announced that I would no longer run for political office, the persecution of Donald Trump would stop immediately,” he added. “They’re coming for me because I’m defending you.”
Trump made no mention of Pence on Friday night, but the two had dueling events in Arizona where they campaigned against gubernatorial candidates. pennies, who is watching a 2024 raceattended two events with Karrin Taylor Robson, a development attorney who has called to put the 2020 election behind her.
Next week, Trump and Pence will cross paths again in Washington, DC, Trump’s first visit to the nation’s capital since leaving office, where they each make important speeches In the same day.