Speaking to reporters before traveling to Texas, Donald Trump said he accepted no responsibility for the siege of the Capitol. Trump took it another step by saying his remarks, which were credited with inciting the mob, were “totally appropriate.”

Five people died in the takeover of the Capitol, including a police officer who was dragged and beaten to death.

Asked what is his own role in the Capitol insurrection, Trump responded, “So if you read my speech, and many people have done it, and I’ve seen it both in the papers and in the media, on television, it’s been analyzed, and people thought that what I said was totally appropriate.”

— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) January 12, 2021

The New York Times writes:

“People thought what I said was totally appropriate,” Mr. Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews, en route to Alamo, Texas, where he was set to visit the border wall. Instead, Mr. Trump claimed that racial justice protests over the summer were “the real problem.”

“If you look at what other people have said, politicians at a high level about the riots during the summer, the horrible riots in Portland and Seattle and various other places, that was a real problem,” he said.

Trump said the impeachment charge is causing “tremendous anger.” He added he didn’t want violence.