In response to Donald Trump calling the violent January 6 insurrection a “day of love” at tonight’s Univision town hall, DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd released the following statement: 

“The violent January 6 insurrection was not a ‘day of love’ — it was a dangerous attack on our democracy that Donald Trump incited when he rallied his supporters to march on the Capitol. Trump is doubling down on his campaign of revenge and retribution, promising to pardon rioters and pushing dangerous election denialism while his VP pick JD Vance follows his lead in whitewashing the insurrection. Make no mistake: democracy is on the ballot, and Trump has made very clear he’ll gladly put it at risk again for his own selfish gain.”

🚨NEW: Donald Trump 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 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?”

Donald 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.”