House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) told aides she was ready to knock out former President Donald Trump if he dared to travel to the Capitol as rioters swarmed the complex on Jan. 6, 2021.
Heretofore unseen footage, shot by Pelosi’s daughter, filmmaker Alexandra Pelosi, shows the speaker in an office reacting to Trump’s speech at the Ellipse near the White House, during which he encouraged supporters to march to the Capitol and said he would join them to protest the certification of now-President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory.
“Tell him, if he comes here, we’re going to the White House,” Pelosi joked before laughing.
As reported by CNN, which aired the video, Pelosi’s chief of staff notified the speaker that the Secret Service “dissuaded [Trump] from coming to Capitol Hill.”
“If he comes, I’m going to punch him out,” Pelosi told aides in response. “I’ve been waiting for this. For trespassing on the Capitol grounds, I’m going to punch him out. And I’m going to go to jail, and I’m going to be happy.”
Trump did not end up going to the Capitol that day, although the Jan. 6 Committee has received evidence that he pushed for it but was denied by the Secret Service.
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CNN‘s Anderson Cooper aired the footage, which he said was filmed for a documentary, on his show Thursday evening after the Jan. 6 committee held what may be its final hearing.
The Jan. 6 committee played several minutes of video, including of congressional leaders who were moved to Fort McNair while working to deploy law enforcement to secure the Capitol. Cooper said CNN obtained most of the more than 40 minutes of “material” given to the panel and would be airing it.
