Under heavy pressure from his advisers, President Trump on Wednesday released a five-minute video recorded in the Oval Office condemning last week’s mob violence at the Capitol and urging his supporters to stand down from further rioting next week.
The video was made public hours after Mr. Trump was impeached a second time and was the result, advisers said, of Mr. Trump’s realization of the catastrophic fallout from the deadly riot, which also left lawmakers fearing for their lives in the seat of American democracy.
The video was released on a White House Twitter account.
Mr. Trump offered no note of humility, regret or self-reflection about his two months of false claims that the election was stolen from him. But it was also a broader condemnation of the violence than he has offered so far.
A week ago, only hours after the rampage, Mr. Trump told his supporters who had rioted: “We love you. You’re very special.”
Mr. Trump’s aides have warned him that he faces potential legal exposure for the riot, which was committed by his supporters immediately after a speech in which the president urged them to “fight” the results of the election. The House impeached him on a single article, accusing him of “inciting violence against the government of the United States.”
The release of the video came after the president’s company, the Trump Organization, faced canceled contracts in New York, and after Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican majority leader, told allies he was pleased by the Democrats’ impeachment efforts and let it be known publicly that he was considering voting to convict the president in a Senate trial.
“As I have said, the incursion of the U.S. Capitol struck at the very heart of our republic,” Mr. Trump said. “It angered and appalled millions of Americans across the political spectrum.”
“I want to be very clear: I unequivocally condemn the violence that we saw last week,” Mr. Trump said. “Violence and vandalism have absolutely no place in our country. And no place in our movement. Making America great again has always been about defending the rule of law” and supporting law enforcement officials.
“Mob violence goes against everything I believe in and everything our movement stands for. No true supporter of mine could ever endorse political violence,” he said.
“If you do any of these things you are not supporting our movement. You are attacking it and you are attacking our country,” Mr. Trump said. “We cannot tolerate it.”
But Mr. Trump did not mention the name of President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr., he did not concede the election and he did not talk about Mr. Biden’s inauguration, which is to take place next week under extraordinary security because of the threats inspired by the Capitol riot. He also did not mention that he had just made history as the first president to be impeached twice.
He did, however, use the video to denounce what he called restrictions of free speech, referring not just to social media platforms that have banned him but alluding to the argument that Republican House members made to argue against his impeachment.
The aides most involved in the video were the White House counsel, Pat A. Cipollone; his deputy, Pat Philbin; and Mr. Trump’s main speechwriter, Stephen Miller.
Capitol Riot Fallout
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During the day, Mr. Trump watched the impeachment debate in the House at various points and told advisers he was furious with Mr. McConnell and felt blindsided by him.
Some advisers discussed the possibility of Mr. Trump resigning a few days early, in part because it would allow him to have the option of running again in 2024 and perhaps avoid the risk of being convicted and barred from future office by the Senate.
But the president has been dismissive of any suggestion that he leave the presidency early and told White House aides that President Richard M. Nixon, whose influence in the party ended when he resigned, did not have much to show for it.
Advisers said that Mr. Trump had to be dissuaded from going to the House floor to try to defend himself during Wednesday’s impeachment proceedings, something he wanted to do during his first impeachment in December 2019, advisers said.
