Did the Trump family party at the sight of the riots on Capitol Hill?
Videos posted on social networks claim that Donald Trump and his family celebrated the January 6 riots on Capitol Hill. In the footage, the US President is seen stepping out into a large tent, staring at monitors while music blares, and family members dance. Except that these images were filmed several hours before the start of the clashes.
The video was relayed by an American internet user and has garnered more than 5 million views since January 7. We see Donald Trump Junior talking in front of the camera, rather cheerful, then filming what seems to be a kind of ephemeral headquarters, installed in a tent, where are arranged many screens watched by the president and his wife. We hear music, and we see Kimberly Guilfoyle, wife of Donald Trump Junior, dancing.
The internet user sharing the video says the Trump family watched and “encouraged” the violence on Capitol Hill from their own “situation room”.
The video was relayed by French netizens criticizing the attitude of the Trump family, saying the footage was taken at the time of the riots.
When was this scene filmed?
The original video was posted to Donald Trump Junior's Facebook page at 12:35 p.m. on Jan. 6 Washington time, then edited at 4:43 p.m., since deleted. On the screenshots below, the publication times are still visible.
However, according to the chronological accounts of the facts relayed by several media, the first barriers around the Capitol in Washington were forced a little after 2 p.m. In his post, Donald Trump Junior himself confirms that these images were filmed before Donald Trump's speech at Ellipse Park near the Capitol, which started around noon US time, and ended about an hour later, around 13 hours.
It is therefore not correct to say that the Trump family danced or celebrated the riots on Capitol Hill, as the riots began more than two hours after this video was filmed.
A much criticized bellicose rhetoric
On the other hand, many Internet users have criticized the tone of defiance and almost warrior used by Donald Trump Junior in this video. We can especially hear him say:
Words he repeated on stage just before his father gave his speech: "Resist and fight! Resist and hold your political representatives accountable."
President-elect Joe Biden did not hesitate to hold Donald Trump responsible for the attack on Capitol Hill, on the grounds that he stoked the hatred of protesters. Since the incidents of January 6, several political representatives and American media have called for the impeachment of Donald Trump before January 20, the date of the handover.
For his part, the future ex-tenant of the White House finally condemned the violence of the Capitol by affirming that "those who did this do not represent our country". He said he won the election, however, but would ensure "a smooth and orderly transition of power."
