Trump Slammed By Mike Pence For Saluting Jan. 6 Prisoner Choir’s Rendition Of The National Anthem At Rally

Former President Donald Trump was criticized by his own former vice president, Mike Pence, for saluting prisoners who participated in the January 6 Capitol riot and calling them “hostages” during the introduction of his Dayton, Ohio campaign rally.

“Ladies and gentlemen, please rise for the horribly and unfairly treated January 6th hostages,” the moderator of the rally on March 16 stated over the loudspeaker.

Trump raised his right hand and saluted as the “January 6 Choir” sang the “Star Spangled Banner.” The choir is composed of Proud Boys, Oath Keepers and others imprisoned for helping to advance the failed insurrection.

The rally started with the Pledge of Allegiance recited by January 6 defendants serving time in the Washington, D.C., jail.

“You see the spirit from the hostages, and that’s what they are: hostages,” Trump claimed at the rally. “They’ve been treated terribly and very unfairly. And you know that and everybody knows that.”

“We’re going to be working on that soon as the first day we get into office,” he added. “We’re going to save our country. We’re going to work with the people to treat those unbelievable patriots — and they were unbelievable patriots — and are you see[ing] the spirit? Just cheering. They’re cheering while they’re doing that, and they did that in prison. And it’s a disgrace in my opinion.”

On March 17, CBS’ Face The Nation, Pence slammed Trump’s use of the word “hostage” to describe these defendants.

“I think it’s very unfortunate at a time that there are American hostages being held in Gaza, that the president or any other leader will refer to people that are moving through our justice system as hostages,” Pence told the moderator of Face The Nation, Margaret Brennan. “It’s just unacceptable.”

“I was there on January 6,” the former vice president recalled. “I have no doubt in my mind, Margaret, that some people were caught up in the moment and – and entered the Capitol. And they’re certainly entitled to due process of law for any nonviolent activities that day but the assaults on police officers – ultimately an environment that claimed lives – is something that I think was tragic that day and I’ll never diminish it,” he then claimed. “And the legal system is processing these individuals through and giving them trials.”

In addition to Pence, both the Morning Joe hosts, Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, condemned Trump’s comments.

“Donald Trump, again, the Republican frontrunner, who’s basically clinched the nomination, addressing one of the first things he’ll do in office, is free the – and I say this in quotes – ‘hostages,'” Brzezinski stated. “It’s beyond twisted for him to use that word. Not surprised, but as disturbed as we’ll ever be.”

Scarborough, a former GOP congressman, said that the former president’s remarks were insulting to Americans who have loved ones being held hostages by Hamas after the October 7, 2023 attacks in Israel.

“What if you were an American family with hostages still being held in tunnels underneath Gaza, people who actually are hostages, who were doing nothing but being in their home or at a musical festival, minding their own business, when Hamas terrorists came and seized them and – and beat them, raped them, abused them – took them underground,” Scarborough stated.

“And Donald Trump comparing those people in name to others that drove from across the country, came to the Capitol, used bear spray on police officers, beat the hell out of cops, beat the hell out of other people who got in their way, wanted to hang Mike Pence, were looking for Nancy Pelosi, destroyed a lot of offices, defecated in the United States Capitol,” he then recounted. “And again, jammed cops’ heads in doors and tried to hurt as many people as they could.”

“That is a sickness and a twistedness, and the continued – you have people continuing to try to apologize for this behavior, starting with Donald Trump, trying to minimize what happened on Jan. 6,” he went on to say.

On August 3, 2023, Trump pleaded not guilty in court on Thursday to all four charges relating to the investigation into the conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election and the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. 

On January 26, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, an appointee of Ronald Reagan, said he was “shocked” that some Republican politicians tried rewriting history by calling the Capitol rioters “hostages.”