Former President Donald Trump reposted a meme on Truth Social that suggested the government led the Capitol riot on January 6, despite the fact that he was president at the time.
The meme, which Mr Trump “re-truthed,” said: “January 6 will go down in history as the day the government staged a riot to cover up the fact that they certified a fraudulent election.”
The meme has been liked nearly 9,000 times and shared 2,400 times as of Monday. In reaction to Mr Trump’s repost, journalist Aaron Rupar sarcastically wrote on Twitter: “rubbing my last 2 brain cells together as I try to remember who ran the government on January 6.”
The former president shared the meme despite a House committee that investigated January 6 declaring Mr Trump the “central cause” of the day’s events. “None of the events of January 6th would have happened without him,” the House panel wrote in its final report.
Mr Trump’s move comes as it appears that Special Counsel Jack Smith’s January 6 criminal probe is nearing the indictment phase. The former president announced on the platform last week that the special counsel informed him that he was a “target” in the investigation.
Mr Trump is currently the GOP frontrunner in the 2024 presidential race. A number of his colleagues have hesitated in calling out his actions – or inaction – leading up to the Capitol attack.
Mr Trump ‘re-truthed’ the meme that blamed the government for the Capitol riot
(Truth Social)
Fellow GOP presidential candidate and Mr Trump’s former vice president, Mike Pence, told CNN on Sunday that although his words were “reckless” on January 6, “I am not yet convinced that they were criminal.” He continued, “I don’t honestly know what his intention was that day.”
Similarly last week, another GOP candidate, Florida Gov Ron DeSantis, accused Mr Trump of not doing enough during the Capitol riot, saying he “should have come out more forcefully.” Mr DeSantis’ decision to call out his former ally arrives one month after he avoided answering a question about how the former president behaved on January 6.
Government was not to blame.