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Former President Donald Trump hinted at a presidential run in 2024 on Saturday, saying he would consider pardoning anyone indicted in connection with the fatal January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol if re-elected.
Trump made the statements during a campaign-style gathering in Texas, where he regretted the criminal indictments that Capitol rioters had received as a result of their attempt to disrupt the counting of Electoral College votes after he lost the 2020 election. He claims that the rioters are being treated unfairly.
“If I run and win, we will treat those folks fairly beginning January 6.”We will treat them fairly,” Trump said. “And if pardons are required, we will grant them. Because they are treated so inequitable.”
His remarks reflect a growing Republican sentiment that the Capitol rioters should be forgiven and the events of January 6 should be forgotten, as the House select committee investigating the events of January 6 has issued dozens of subpoenas to individuals and organizations as part of its investigation and is expected to release an interim report on its findings this summer. Some of Trump’s legislative allies have advocated for rioters’ pardons. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a potential Republican presidential contender in 2024, recently called the one-year anniversary of the Capitol riot a “smear campaign” against Trump supporters.
“It’s a travesty. It’s a travesty, “Trump spoke about the charges and jail terms endured by rioters.
More than 700 people have been charged in connection with the Capitol attack, according to the Department of Justice.
Trump mentioned pardons during a speech in which he repeated his claims about rampant voting fraud, which he blamed for his defeat to President Joe Biden in 2020. Republicans in statehouses throughout the country have used Trump’s falsehoods to pass new legislation making it more difficult for some people to vote, as well as to seek continued reviews of the 2020 election results.
Trump has not stated publicly that he intends to run for president in 2024. This would result in a slew of legal and campaign funding obligations.
“We are going to take back the White House,” he predicted in 2024.
