As Donald Trump and Speaker MAGA Mike Johnson hold a joint press conference to spread more lies, DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd released the following statement: 

“We don’t need a press conference to know that Donald Trump and MAGA Mike Johnson are extreme election deniers and serial liars who are hellbent on threatening our democracy and spreading baseless falsehoods about the 2020 election. After leading the effort to help Trump overturn the results of the last presidential election, Johnson is now once again standing right at Trump’s side as they push his anti-democracy playbook that includes pardoning violent insurrectionists, repeating false claims about his loss in 2020 by more than 7 million votes, and promising a ‘bloodbath’ if Trump loses in November. The only thing this sad joint appearance will accomplish is to make it even more obvious to the American people that the future of our democracy is on the line this November.”

Donald Trump is still pushing baseless lies about his loss by over 7 million votes in the 2020 election.

Associated Press: “[Trump] is flooding the airwaves and his social media platform with distortions, misinformation and unfounded conspiracy theories about his defeat.”

NBC News: “Re-litigating the 2020 election, repeating false claims it was stolen and casting aspersions on the security of mail voting remain major fixtures for [Trump] on the stump. … He regularly refers to the 2020 election as ‘rigged’ on his social media channels.”

WPR: “One day before his campaign stop in Green Bay, former President Donald Trump continued to push the false claim that he won Wisconsin four years ago — despite a recount, audits and court cases showing he lost to President Joe Biden.”

New York Times: “Donald J. Trump pressured state and federal government officials to overturn results of the 2020 election in more than 30 phone calls or meetings.”

Associated Press: “Trump, running for the White House for the third time, has signaled that the 2020 election will remain an integral part of his 2024 presidential bid.”

Trump continues to praise and embrace violent January 6 rioters – calling them “hostages” and “patriots” and vowing to pardon “a large portion” of those who attacked our Capitol. 

Associated Press: “Trump is making the Jan. 6 attack a cornerstone of his bid for the White House” 

Semafor: “How Donald Trump learned to love the January 6 prisoner movement”

The Hill: “Trump describes imprisoned Jan. 6 rioters as ‘hostages’”

Washington Post: “Trump vows pardons, government apology to Capitol rioters if elected”

Business Insider: “Then-President Donald Trump didn’t want to specifically call for the Justice Department to prosecute January 6 rioters or forcefully condemn those who stormed the Capitol as unrepresentative of the MAGA movement.”

Washington Post: “No, Trump did not order 10,000 troops to secure the Capitol on Jan. 6”

NBC News: “Former President Donald Trump promised Wednesday night that if he is elected he will pardon a ‘large portion’ of the people convicted of federal offenses for their participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.”

​​Washington Post: ​​“Former president Donald Trump on Thursday praised and embraced a woman convicted of defying police orders on the U.S. Capitol grounds on Jan. 6, 2021. … Trump has steadily escalated his advocacy for people charged in the Capitol riot, including by pledging to pardon them if he returns to the White House, praising them as patriots, participating in a recording with Jan. 6 prisoners singing the national anthem, and playing it at his first rally of the 2024 campaign last month.”

Trump: “January 6, it was the largest crowd I’ve ever spoken to. And they were there proud, they were there with love in their heart. That was an unbelievable — and it was a beautiful day.”

NBC News: “Trump spoke at a fundraiser for Jan. 6 defendants”

Trump is promising a “bloodbath” if he loses in November.

NBC News: “Trump says there will be a ‘bloodbath’ if he loses the election”

Politico: “Trump says country faces ‘bloodbath’ if Biden wins in November”

Rolling Stone: “Trump Says There Will Be a ‘Bloodbath’ and Elections Will End if He Isn’t Reelected”

New York Times: “Trump Defends His Warning of a ‘Blood Bath for the Country’”

Speaker MAGA Mike Johnson was a key “architect” of Trump’s Big Lie — helping spread election conspiracy theories and leading the effort to overturn the 2020 election results.

Washington Post: “Johnson played one of the most significant roles of any member of Congress in the effort to overturn the election.”

HuffPost: “Johnson, a former lawyer, led an amicus brief signed by over 100 Republican members of Congress backing a flawed Texas lawsuit that asked the Supreme Court to overturn the 2020 election. He also played a key role in crafting the rationale that many of his GOP colleagues used in justifying their votes to throw out the 2020 election results ― even just hours after the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.”

Johnson urged supporters to “fight” on the morning of January 6 and has since tried to downplay the riot and prevent those who violently attacked law enforcement from being charged. 

Johnson on January 6, 2021: “We MUST fight for election integrity, the Constitution, and the preservation of our republic! It will be my honor to help lead that fight in the Congress today.”

Louisiana Illuminator: “Johnson, who is close to Trump, did not acknowledge that the people who attacked the Capitol were the president’s supporters. He told a reporter that he thought there was a possibly a ‘big mix of people involved in this.’

“‘I don’t think President Trump is any more responsible for what happened at the Capitol today than the congressmen of Portland are responsible for what happened there,’ said Johnson, referring to some violence that erupted in Oregon over the summer. ‘What caused [the Capitol riot] is the same thing that has caused all the unrest over the last many months.’”

2021: Johnson voted against creating an independent commission to investigate the January 6 attack.

NBC News: “Speaker Mike Johnson says he’s blurring Jan. 6 footage so rioters don’t get charged”

Raw Story: “Mike Johnson says Jan. 6 rioters  just ‘happened to be walking through the building’”