Trump repeats false claims over 2020 election loss, deflects responsibility for Jan. 6
Associated PressWASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump persisted in saying during the presidential debate that he won the 2020 election and took no responsibility for any of the mayhem that unfolded at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, when his supporters stormed the building to block the peaceful transfer of power. In 2020, Democrat Joe Biden won 306 electoral votes to Trump’s 232, and there was no widespread fraud, as election officials across the country, including Trump’s then-attorney general, William Barr, have confirmed. In the ABC debate, Trump was asked twice if he regretted anything he did on Jan. 6, when he told his supporters to march to the Capitol and exhorted them to “fight like hell.” On the Philadelphia stage, Trump first responded by complaining that the questioner had failed to note that he had encouraged the crowd to behave “peacefully and patriotically.” Trump also noted that one of his backers, Ashli Babbitt, was fatally shot inside the building by a Capitol Police officer. Trump told the crowd: “If you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.” That’s after his lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, declared: “Let’s have trial by combat.” Trump didn’t appeal for the rioters to leave the Capitol until more than three hours after the assault began. It’s time to turn the page.” Though Trump had seemed to acknowledge in a recent podcast interview that he had indeed “lost by a whisker,” he insisted Tuesday night that that was a sarcastic remark and resumed his boasts about the election.