Former U.S. president Donald Trump said he would pardon “a large portion” of the people involved in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol in a CNN town hall on Wednesday night.
Trump also declined to express regret for the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol. He called Jan. 6, 2021, a “beautiful day” and said the crowd he spoke to before the attack “were there with love in their heart.”
“I am inclined to pardon many of them. I can’t say for every single one because a couple of them probably they got out of control,” Trump told CNN host Kaitlan Collins.
When pressed on whether he would pardon four members of the Proud Boys convicted of seditious conspiracy, Trump said he would have to take a look at their case.
“But I will say, in Washington, D.C., you cannot get a fair trial. You cannot. Just like in New York City, you can’t get a fair trial.”
Trump repeated false claims
Wednesday’s town hall marked Trump’s first appearance on CNN since 2016. He had branded the network “fake news” and never granted any of its journalists an interview while president.
The Republican is facing a crescendo of legal problems, yet seems in a stronger position than ever to become his party’s presidential nominee, and he’s attempting to reach mainstream media viewers despite having deepened his embrace of extremists since leaving the White House.
The 90-minute town hall was filmed live before an audience of New Hampshire Republicans who gave Trump a standing ovation as he took the stage.
The former president repeated many false claims. He refused to acknowledge that he lost the 2020 election and reasserted it was rigged against him.
Trump also made his first public comments about a New York trial where a jury on Tuesday held him liable for sexually abusing a woman nearly 30 years ago and defaming her when she spoke about it publicly. He skipped the trial and did not testify in his own defence.
The former president denied sexually abusing magazine writer E. Jean Carroll in the 1990s.
“I don’t know her,” Trump said. “I never met her. I had no idea who she is.”
Carroll was awarded $5 million US in damages. Trump said he plans to appeal the verdict.
