Donald Trump on Tuesday implied that antisemitism at the 2017 Charlottesville white supremacist rally was “a big hoax,” and questioned whether students who took over Columbia University building would face similar consequences to January 6th rioters.
“This whole country is up in arms, breaking into colleges, knocking the hell out of Columbia University,” Trump said while speaking to reporters ahead of trial in his New York hush money case. “And I wonder if what's going to happen to them will be anything comparable to what happened to J6.”
“I wonder if that's going to be the same kind of treatment they gave J6. Let's see how that all works out. I think I can give you the answer right now,” Trump added.
The former president blamed President Biden for the rise in protests in recent weeks, and downplayed the Charlottesville “Unite the Right” rally while rejecting accusations that the event was antisemitic, despite white supremacists chanting, “Jews will not replace us.”
“[Biden] said he ran because of Charlottesville. Well, if the people that know Charlottesville, when you extend the statement — it's a big hoax, what they say was said, and they understand that,” Trump said “And Charlottesville is peanuts compared to what you're looking at now.”
