In response to new reporting from CNN revealing posts shared by Trump campaign manager Chris LaCivita on Trump’s reckless lies that led to the January 6 “insurrection,” DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd released the following statement: 

“Those closest to Donald Trump know that he was responsible for inspiring a mob to attack the Capitol and try to overturn an election he knew he lost – and new reporting shows that list appears to include his own campaign manager. Just like his VP pick JD Vance, Trump’s campaign manager Chris LaCivita was once willing to speak the truth about how dangerous Trump is. Trump’s core campaign team might’ve lost their backbone, but the American people haven’t – they’ll reject Trump for good this November.”

NEW: Donald Trump’s campaign manager shared posts that January 6 was an “insurrection” based on “a lie that Trump told.” 

CNN: “In a series of reposts on X – formerly Twitter – LaCivita shared comments calling January 6 an ‘insurrection’ that was fueled by Trump’s baseless election lies. Some of those posts have since been deleted from LaCivita’s feed, but CNN was able to review them on the Internet Archive WayBack Machine, which archives internet webpages.

“On January 6, 2021, LaCivita reposted several posts that harshly condemned Trump, suggesting that even some of his closest allies once viewed the deadly outcome as a direct result of Trump’s lies. […]

“LaCivita’s shared posts included a statement on January 6 from former President George W. Bush, who expressed ‘disbelief and dismay’ at the violent assault on the Capitol, calling it ‘a sickening and heartbreaking sight.’

‘“I am appalled by the reckless behavior of some political leaders since the election and by the lack of respect shown today for our institutions, our traditions, and our law enforcement,’ read the statement by Bush that LaCivita shared. ‘The violent assault on the Capitol – and disruption of a Constitutionally-mandated meeting of Congress – was undertaken by people whose passions have been inflamed by falsehoods and false hopes.’ […]

“Another post shared by LaCivita was a stark message from a Republican Senate aide, which John McCormack, then a reporter for the conservative magazine National Review, shared on X.

“Text message from a GOP Senate aide: ‘This is a disgusting tragedy. Someone literally lost their life because of a lie that Trump told, Cruz/Hawley capitalized on, and fringe media echoed. This is in no way shape or form sustainable.’

“Another since-removed post from LaCivita’s feed included a comment calling those who stormed the Capitol ‘thugs.’ The comment from a GOP political staffer linked to a CNN tweet reading, ‘Pro-Trump protesters have stormed the US Capitol, where members of Congress were meeting to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s win.’

“‘They are not protestors. They are thugs,’ the post read.”

Trump previously gushed over the violent insurrection he rallied on January 6, praising it as a “day of love.”

Donald Trump: “Nothing done wrong at all. Nothing done wrong. […] That was a day of love.”

Trump — who has previously called January 6 a “beautiful day” — continues to praise and promise pardons for the rioters, who he calls “hostages” and “patriots” that were “treated very unfairly.”

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.”

Rachel Scott, ABC News: “140 police officers were assaulted [on January 6]. Their injuries included broken bones, at least one officer lost an eye, one had two cracked ribs, two smashed spinal discs, another had a stroke. Were the people who assaulted those 140 officers, including those I just mentioned, ‘patriots’ who deserve pardons?”

[Trump refuses to answer]

Scott: “But sir, my question is on those rioters who assaulted officers. Would you pardon those people?”

Trump: “Oh absolutely I would. If they’re innocent, I would pardon them.”

Scott: “They’ve been convicted.”

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

Trump: “Those people were treated very harshly […] nobody was killed on January 6. But I think that the people on January 6 were treated very unfairly […] they were there to complain about an election, and you know it’s very interesting, the biggest crowd I’ve ever spoken to.”

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

TIME: “Trump has sought to recast the insurrectionist riot as an act of patriotism. ‘I call them the J-6 patriots,’ Trump tells TIME. When asked whether he would consider pardoning every one of them, he says: ‘Yes, absolutely.’”

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.”

JD Vance continues to downplay the violence on January 6, even saying Trump “had every right” to encourage the mob that stormed the Capitol – which he says was “not on [Trump].”

JD Vance: “[Donald Trump], of course, he had every right to encourage people to protest peacefully, and the fact that a few knuckleheads went off and did something they shouldn’t do, that’s not on him.”

The Hill: “JD Vance says he is ‘skeptical’ Pence’s life was in danger on Jan. 6”

Politico: “[Vance] downplayed the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, when Pence was forced to evacuate the building as rioters called for his hanging.”

Trump, who is vowing to be a dictator on “day one,” told voters they “won’t have to vote anymore” if he’s elected president. 

The Atlantic: “Trump Says He’ll Be a Dictator on ‘Day One’”

Trump: “You won’t have to do it anymore. Four more years, you know what – it will be fixed, it will be fine. You won’t have to vote anymore.”

Trump is still pushing lies about his loss by over 7 million votes in the 2020 election. Vance is right there with him, even refusing to commit to accepting this November’s results.

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.”

HuffPost: “[Vance] said he would accept a Biden win only if he considered the election to be legitimate. […] Vance’s comments illustrate a new tactic by Republican lawmakers, who are now placing conditions on accepting election results.”

New York Times: “J.D. Vance Says He Would Accept the Election Results, With a Caveat”

Vance: “I think the entire post-2020 thing would have gone a lot better if there had actually been an effort to provide alternative slates of electors, and to force us to have that debate. I think it would’ve been a much better thing for the country. […] [Trump] was trying to take a constitutional process to its natural conclusion.

“I think it would’ve been extraordinarily disappointing to a whole host of people that I care a lot about if Trump had just taken it [and conceded the 2020 election before January 6].”

Vance: “No real Republican with any credibility in the party is still blaming [Trump for January 6].”

ABC News: “JD Vance says [he] wouldn’t have certified 2020 race until states submitted pro-Trump electors”

New York Times: “[Vance] has said that, unlike Vice President Mike Pence in 2020, he would have helped Mr. Trump overturn the results, by accepting Trump electors that had not been elected by voters.”