Donalds Said “Lawless Vigilantes Wreaked Havoc On The United States Capitol Building” On January 6. According to Donalds’ Congressional Facebook, “I woke up this morning intending to uphold laws I feel were not followed during the 2020 Presidential election, and I will still object. But that effort screeched to a halt when lawless vigilantes wreaked havoc on the United States Capitol Building. Jeremiah 30:17” [Facebook, Congressman Byron Donalds, 1/6/21]
Trump Said January 6 Was “A Beautiful Day” And The Protestors Had “Love In Their Heart.” According to the Hill, “Former President Trump on Wednesday defended his actions on Jan. 6, 2021, and said protesters who descended on Washington, D.C., that day had ‘love in their heart.’ Trump was asked at a CNN town hall whether he had any regrets about his conduct on Jan. 6, when rioters violently stormed the Capitol, trying to stop the certification of the 2020 election. The riots followed a speech by Trump outside the White House in which he repeated debunked claims that the 2020 election was fraudulent. ‘I’ve never spoken to a crowd as large as this,’ Trump said of that day. ‘That was because they thought the election was rigged. And they were there proud. They were there with love in their heart. That was an unbelievable, and it was a beautiful day.’” [Hill, 5/10/23]
January 6, 2021, 2:49 PM: Donalds Said There Was “No Place For Anarchy” Regarding January 6 Protestors Storming The U.S. Capitol. According to Donalds’ Twitter, “Americans have the right to peacefully protest & demand their government works for them—that doesn’t mean we resort to violence. Rule of law must stand during our nation's brightest & darkest hours & that includes right now. We are better than this. There is no place for anarchy.” [Twitter, @ByronDonalds, 1/6/21]
January 6, 2021, 3:13 PM: Trump Called The Violent January 6 Protestors “To Remain Peaceful.” According to Trump’s Twitter, “I am asking for everyone at the U.S. Capitol to remain peaceful. No violence! Remember, WE are the Party of Law & Order – respect the Law and our great men and women in Blue. Thank you!” [Twitter, @realDonald Trump, 1/6/21]
VIDEO: Donalds Said Those Who Broke Into The Capitol On January 6 And Were “Wreaking Havoc” Should Be Prosecuted. According Donalds on Newsmax via Twitter, “DONALDS: We can disagree, we can debate, we can be upset, we can be angry, but you're not allowed to go and start wreaking havoc and violence and going into places, breaking windows, putting your feet up on people's desks. I don't care how much, whether you like or hate Nancy Pelosi. That's her desk, that's her property, that's her office. And even though me and her will probably never get along on anything, I would never disrespect her office that way. And I would expect people to not disrespect it that way as well. And if they're gonna do that, they should be prosecuted.” [Donalds on Newsmax via Donalds’ Twitter, 1/7/21]
Trump Said He Would Pardon A “Large Portion” Of The People Convicted Of Federal Offenses For Their Participation In The January 6 Attack On The U.S. Capitol “Very Early On.” According to NBC News, “Former President Donald Trump promised Wednesday night that if he is elected he will pardon a ‘large portion’ of the people convicted of federal offenses for their participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. ‘I am inclined to pardon many of them,’ Trump said at a town hall hosted by CNN at Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire. ‘I can't say for every single one, because a couple of them, probably they got out of control.’ He added that ‘most likely’ he would pardon ‘a large portion of them.’ ‘And it'll be very early on,’ Trump said.” [NBC News, 5/10/23]
Donalds Said He Did Not Get The COVID-19 Vaccine Because He Did Not Want To. According to Florida Politics, “The Congressman also told voters he’d made up his mind about vaccinations, and he’s just saying no. ‘I’m 42 years old, I had COVID-19,’ Donalds said. ‘I’m not getting vaccinated because I don’t want to. It has nothing to do with what the Surgeon General said. It has nothing to do with what Joe Biden wants. That is my own decision as a freethinking human being. I don’t want to do it. I don’t want the shot. I can think of millions of Americans who are like that. Leave us alone. Please.’” [Florida Politics, 7/19/21]
Trump Urged People To Get The COVID-19 Vaccine Which He Called A “Great” And “Safe Vaccine.” According to CBS News, “Former President Trump again urged people to be vaccinated against COVID-19, saying he would recommend vaccination to ‘a lot of people that don't want to get it, and a lot of those people voted for me.’ In an interview Tuesday night on Fox News, Mr. Trump acknowledged that people were free to decide for themselves whether they would be vaccinated against the virus. ‘We have our freedoms and we have to live by that and I agree with that also. But it is a great vaccine. It is a safe vaccine and it is something that works,’ he said. Mr. Trump has promoted the vaccination before. When he appeared Feb. 28 at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, he said, ‘Everybody, go get your shot.’” [CBS News, 3/17/21]
Trump Received The COVID-19 Vaccine At The White House. According to CBS News, “Mr. Trump and former first lady Melania Trump got vaccinated privately at the White House in January, while other top GOP officials, including Vice President Pence, got the shot on television in a public show of support. Mr. Trump hasn't publicly mentioned that he was inoculated.” [CBS News, 3/17/21]
Trump: “I Think If We Didn’t Come Up During The Trump Administration With The Vaccine, You Could Have 100 Million People Dead.” According to the New York Post, “Former President Donald Trump said that if not for his COVID-19 vaccine effort, Operation Warp Speed, 100 million people might have died from the bug, saying he’s ‘very proud’ of his efforts to get Americans jabbed. ‘I think if we didn’t come up during the Trump administration with the vaccine, you could have 100 million people dead, just like you had in 1917,’ Trump said in an interview on Fox News that aired Saturday night.” [New York Post, 8/8/21]
Donalds Praised DeSantis On How He Handled COVID-19 In Florida While Trump Bashed Him
Donalds Pointed To DeSantis’ Work That “Provided Lifesaving Treatment W/ Monoclonal Antibody Treatment Sites.” According to Donalds’ Congressional Twitter, “FL has prioritized the most vulnerable, vaccinating 88% of seniors, & DeSantis has provided lifesaving treatment w/ monoclonal antibody treatment sites. No government entity should engage in overreaching mandates for masking or vaccines. I will never support these mandates.” [Twitter, @RepDonaldsPress, 8/31/21]
Donalds Compared The Number Of COVID-19 Related Deaths In Florida, Which Appeared To Be Lower, With Other States Like New York And California. According to Donalds’ Congressional Twitter, “.@CNN & their cohorts in big media are again trying to scapegoat FL & DeSantis for all things COVID. REMINDER: NY: 2.14M Cases, 53,250 Deaths, 65+ Vaxx 84.5%, CA: 4.03M Cases, 64,402 Deaths, 65+Vaxx 81.8%, FL: 2.55M Cases, 38,896 Deaths, 65+ Vaxx 85.6%, FL isn't the issue.” [Twitter, @RepDonaldsPress, 7/30/21]
Trump On How DeSantis Handled The COVID-19 Pandemic: “Why Do They Say That Desanctus Did A Good Job? New York Had Fewer Deaths! Also, He Shut Down The State, And Even Its Beaches.” According to, “A knockdown tug-of-war over Covid-19 and pandemic restrictions has reignited in the Republican primary for president, of all places. […] But one of the biggest fights emerging so far is a push by the Trump campaign to bash DeSantis’ handling of the Covid-19 pandemic — moves that propelled DeSantis into conservative superstardom and that were pivotal in his nearly 20-point reelection win last November. […] Trump himself unloaded on DeSantis as well on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday by going after the state’s Covid-19 death rate and saying ‘why do they say that DeSanctus did a good job? New York had fewer deaths! Also, he shut down the State, and even its beaches (unlike other Republican Governors).’” [Politico, 5/31/23]
2011: Donalds Celebrated Trump Not Running For President. According to CNN, “Florida Republican Rep. Byron Donalds, a Donald Trump loyalist and one of the former president’s most trusted surrogates, is widely viewed to be on Trump’s short list of vice presidential contenders. But in 2011, Donalds posted to Facebook celebrating Trump’s decision not to challenge then-President Barack Obama for the White House. ’Trump won’t run. Thank God!’ Donalds wrote in one Facebook post in May 2011.” [CNN, 3/29/24]
2011: Donalds: “Trump Is A Huge Distraction, And Cares More About Himself Than The Country In My Opinion.” According to CNN, “‘Trump is a huge distraction, and cares more about himself than the country in my opinion, but I could care less about him,’ Donalds wrote in a Facebook post in April 2011 when discussing Trump’s claims that Obama’s birth certificate was fake.” [CNN, 3/29/24]
Donalds Criticized Trump As “A Self-Promoter.” According to CNN, ‘Trump is a self-promoter yelling about 25% tariffs on China,’ Donalds said in the same string of Facebook posts.” [CNN, 3/29/24]