'What I Said Was Totally Appropriate:' Trump Disavows Responsibility for Capitol Siege
President says there is tremendous anger about moves to impeach him but added he does not want violence
U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday disavowed any responsibility for his supporters' violent siege on the U.S. Capitol last week, saying his remarks at the time were appropriate.
"If you read my speech ... what I said was totally appropriate," he told reporters at Joint Base Andrews when asked about any personal responsibility he had regarding the January 6 attack when his supporters stormed the Capitol with members of Congress and his own Vice President Mike Pence inside.
Trump, under pressure to resign after his supporters carried out a deadly breach of the U.S. Capitol last week, said there was tremendous anger about moves to impeach him but added he did not want violence.
"I want no violence," Trump told reporters as he left for a trip to the border wall in Alamo, Texas.
In his first remarks to reporters since December 8, the embattled Republican president did not answer a question about whether he would resign.
He criticized impeachment moves by Democratic lawmakers.
"This impeachment is causing tremendous anger and they're doing it, and it's really a terrible thing that they're doing," Trump said. He added that the move to impeach him, on a charge of inciting insurrection over the Capitol attack, was a continuation of the "witch hunt" against him.
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Trump would become the first U.S. president to be impeached twice if the House of Representatives votes in favor of impeachment on Wednesday.