Trump in Texas says 25th Amendment is "of zero risk to me"
Washington — President Trump visited the border town of Alamo, Texas, on Tuesday, delivering remarks at his first event since last week's attack on the Capitol people that left five people dead. Most of the president's remarks focused on his agenda to build a wall along the southern border and enforce stricter border policies, but the president also decried the impending second impeachment effort against him, calling it a "hoax" before addressing the violent events of Wednesday very briefly.
Mr. Trump said his movement believes in the rule of law, not violence.
"I'd like to briefly address the events of last week. Millions of our citizens watched on Wednesday as a mob stormed the Capitol and trashed the halls of government. As I have consistently said throughout my administration, we believe in respecting America's history and traditions, not tearing them down," he said.
The president dismissed any possibility that Vice President Pence and half his Cabinet would invoke the 25th Amendment to force him out of office before his term ends in just over a week, something Democrats are pushing for on Capitol Hill.
"The 25th Amendment is of zero risk to me, but will come back to haunt Joe Biden and the Biden administration," Mr. Trump said, without saying why. "As the expression goes, be careful what you wish for."
Mr. Trump's visit to Alamo took local officials by surprise. The city manager of the city put out a release Monday afternoon saying the city administration "had not been officially contacted regarding this visit and therefore, have NO DETAILS regarding his itinerary."
The president signed a plaque along a section of the border wall ahead of his speech.
Mr. Trump also briefly addressed reporters while leaving the White House in the morning, also denouncing House Democrats' plans to impeach him for a second time.
"I think it's causing tremendous anger," the president said, adding that he wants "no violence."
When speaking to reporters, Mr. Trump took no responsibility for his words and the influence they had on supporters who stormed the Capitol. Mr. Trump claimed, inaccurately, that the general assessment is that his Wednesday speech was "appropriate." Both Democrats and Republicans have said the president bears at least some responsibility for last week's events.
"It's been analyzed and people thought what I said was totally appropriate," Mr. Trump said when a reporter asked about his "personal responsibility" in last week's riots.
The House is poised to vote on a resolution calling on Pence to convene the Cabinet and invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Mr. Trump from office. Democrats plan to move forward on a vote on impeachment on Wednesday if Pence fails to act.
In a call with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on Monday, the president both sought to blame antifa for the violence last week and admitted that he is at least partially to blame for the riots at the Capitol last Wednesday, and on Monday, McCarthy recounted his conversation with Mr. Trump to fellow House Republicans. But any blame he was apparently willing to shoulder in his discussion with McCarthy disappeared when he spoke to reporters Tuesday.
