During the first presidential debate on Tuesday night, former President Donald Trump referenced D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser while the candidates discussed the peaceful transfer of power and the January 6 Capitol riot in 2021.
When asked about the events of that day, Trump stated that he “just showed up for a speech” and also made mention of the D.C. mayor.
“I went to Nancy Pelosi and the mayor of Washington, D.C. and the mayor put it back in writing as you know. I said, you know, this is going to be a very big rally or whatever you want to call it. Again, it wasn’t done by me. It was done by others. I said, ‘I’d like to give you 10,000 National Guard or soldiers.’ They rejected me,” Trump said Tuesday evening.
Immediately after the debate concluded, Bowser posted a message on social media.
“On January 6, Trump summoned a violent mob and dispatched them to the US Capitol,” Bowser said on X. “Trump never offered DC 10,000 troops, and the President — not the DC Mayor — controls the DC National Guard. Unlike Trump, we immediately offered the DC Metropolitan Police Department to support the US Capitol Police. We owe the DC Police and the US Capitol Police our never ending gratitude for saving our Capitol and democracy.”
Bowser’s stance is supported by the final report from the bipartisan select committee investigating the January 6th attacks, which concluded that there was “no evidence” to back up Trump’s claims.
In February, Shine My Crown reported on Bowser pushing back against recent comments from Trump, in which he suggested planned to take control of the D.C. government should he win the 2024 election. Trump’s remarks came shortly after the tragic shooting of former administration official Michael Gill, who was killed in a series of violent crimes across the city.
“People are coming here and they’re getting shot. They come here for an evening – ‘I want to see the Lincoln Memorial. I want to see something. I want to see something so beautiful. I want to look at the Capitol building. I want to look at the White House.’ And they go home in a casket,” he said to a sea of reporters.
He continued: “We have to make our capitol safe, and we have to make it clean and respected and beautiful, and that’s part of my plan. And we’re gonna run it through the federal government, and it’s gonna be run very tough and very smart and very safe.”
Bowser responded to his remarks, stating “I think it’s kinda disgusting to use this person’s death in that way, and we won’t engage in it.”
