- The January 6 panel disclosed how Donald Trump was slow to take action during the Capitol riot.
- Sources told ABC News that Trump was reluctant to calm his protesters through Twitter.
- A top Trump aide had to write and present tweets to post on Trump's account, ABC News reported.
As Donald Trump watched rioters storm the Capitol on television on January 6, 2021, one of the president's top aides drafted Trump's first tweet that urged protesters to remain peaceful, ABC News reported.
Last year, a congressional panel investigating Trump's role in the January 6 events outlined how the former president was reluctant to call in additional law enforcement to stop rioters during the first few hours of the Capitol breach and instead spent much of his time watching television or making calls to his attorney and Republican allies.
New details of what went on inside the White House during that time show Trump needed the hand of Dan Scavino, who was his deputy chief of staff and is now senior advisor to Trump's reelection campaign, to try to calm protesters.
Scavino was one of dozens of witnesses interviewed by special counsel Jack Smith's team as part of the Justice Department's probe into the former president's actions on January 6. The ABC News report is based on sources' knowledge of Scavino's testimony.
As the Capitol breach unfolded, a small group of people around Trump, including Scavino, tried to persuade him to send a forceful message to the protesters, sources told ABC News.
Instead, after about 20 minutes of urging, Scavino and others left Trump alone in the White House dining room, which is when Trump posted a tweet disparaging Vice President Mike Pence for not having "the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country," the sources said.
They told ABC News that the tweet shocked several aides, including Scavino, the only other person with access to Trump's Twitter account.
Trump's aides and White House counsel Pat Cipollone once again tried to urge Trump to send a strong message to the protesters, the sources said.
Scavino then printed out several tweets to propose to Trump, sources told the outlet.
Around 2:38 p.m. local time, a tweet was posted on Trump's Twitter account: "Please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement. They are truly on the side of our Country. Stay peaceful!"
The post would be the first tweet urging Trump's supporters to remain calm, according to a timeline of the former president's tweets on the day of the riots.
Trump didn't even write his tweet urging January 6 protesters to remain 'peaceful': report
Donald Trump's deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino printed out messages to post on Trump's Twitter to calm Jan. 6 rioters, sources told ABC News.
www.businessinsider.com
Trump and his supporters have been peddling this lie since January 6. So, it wasn't even Trump who told the rioters to stand down. It was Dan Scavino, who was his deputy chief of staff and is now senior advisor to Trump's reelection campaign, to try to calm protesters. What do you think?
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