Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) said Sunday that Donald Trump’s rhetoric today is even more “real and outspoken” than it was during the Jan. 6, 2021 uprising.
During an interview with CNN’s Jim Acosta, Lofgren was asked about the former president’s abusive language at a rally in Waco, Texas, on Saturday.
“The rhetoric that is being used today is no different than the type of rhetoric that was being used before January 6,” said Lofgren, who is on the House committee investigating the attack on the US Capitol, according to a clip recorded by Mediaite. “In fact, in some ways, it’s brighter and brighter than the events until January 6.”
Lofgren noted a social media post last week in which Trump targeted Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who is reportedly seeking charges against the former president over his role in a 2016 payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels.
Amid a stream of menacing comments about Bragg — including one that suggested a potential indictment would cause “death & destruction” — Trump posted a photo of him wielding a baseball bat next to a photo of the prosecutor with his hands up. The image was later deleted.
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“He despises the idea that his followers should remain peaceful. You know, it causes anxiety,” said Lofgren. “We know that not all of his followers like to take up arms, but enough of them are willing to fight for him that someone can be killed. And people were killed, obviously, on the 6th of January.
At the Waco rally, Trump told supporters that the 2024 presidential election would be “the last battle” and called the various investigations against him a political attack orchestrated by “radical leftist maniacs.” He also honored the rebels jailed for their role in the Capitol attack and vowed to find justice for them.
Some language echoes the rhetoric he used before the January 6, 2021, violence when he called on supporters to “fight like hell” and march to the Capitol to protest the lost election results.
House Majority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-Calif.) warned Friday that Trump clearly “hasn’t learned his lesson” from the unrest.
“It’s dangerous, and if he keeps it up, he’s going to kill people,” he said of Trump’s rhetoric.