The Jan 6 committee investigating links between Donald Trump, then-president of the US, and the Capitol Hill rioters presented never-before-seen footage of his address from the White House Rose Garden, the day after the insurrection. The evidence was presented on day 8 of the hearings and showed the 76-year-old Republican going off-script while addressing the rioters. 

The committee said Trump’s staff had prepared a speech for him and asked him to stick to it. As per the evidence provided, the then-president had seen the script. However, he didn’t quite keep to what was written. 

Further, the committee pointed out the script which said “I am asking you to leave the Capitol region NOW and go home in a peaceful way”. Trump decided to deviate, and the footage shows his message being recorded where he completely went “off the cuff”. 

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Trump’s message was almost interrupted by someone about to enter the Rose Garden, but once the coast is clear the then-president begins his address. He first mentions how people are hurt and that the election was stolen from him, referring to the 2020 presidential vote which saw Democrat Joe Biden win. 

He continued that despite the election being taken away, there must be “peace” and those in “law and order” must be respected. Trump reasserted that these were unprecedented times when “such a thing” happened, and the apparent landslide victory the then-president had was taken away from him and his supporters. 

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Despite calling for peace and asking rioters to go home, Trump continued saying it was a “fraudulent election”. He also said the rioters supporting him were “very special”. 

Also, in Trump’s message to the country, released at 4:17 PM, the then-president refused to say the election was over. “I don’t want to say the election’s over, I just want to say ‘Congress has certified the results’ without saying the election’s over, okay?”, he noted, as per evidence presented by the Jan 6 committee.