Multiple MAGA supporters have said they think new footage of Nancy Pelosi being evacuated during the January 6 riots proves “Trump was right” because in the clip she appears to be saying the National Guard should have been called at the start.
The fresh video has surfaced, which shows Pelosi inside the Capitol, after a mob of supporters of former President Donald Trump stormed the building in an attempt to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden‘s 2020 election win.
Pelosi, who is wearing a COVID mask, can apparently be heard complaining that the National Guard had not been called and saying: “We’ve got to take responsibility.”
The clip is part of some documentary footage that was turned over to the Republican-led House Committee on Administration this week, which has been seen by Newsweek.
The footage had been shot by Pelosi’s daughter Alexandra, for an HBO film that was released in 2022.
A snippet of the clip has been circulated on social media multiple times, often reposted by conservative media personality Greg Price.
🚨BREAKING: Never before seen footage of Pelosi on January 6 filmed by her daughter shows her admitting that its her fault that the Capitol wasn’t secure.
“We’re calling the National Guard now? They should have been here to start out.”
“We have totally failed. We need to take… pic.twitter.com/OZQ2lUXU2M
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) August 28, 2024
The footage shows Pelosi, the then-House Speaker, being escorted from the House floor by security.
She appears to be saying: “If they stop the proceedings, they will have succeeded in stopping the validation of the President of the United States.
“How many times did the members ask, ‘Are we prepared? Are we prepared?’ We’re not prepared for the worst.
“We’re calling the National Guard, now? It should’ve been here to start out. I just don’t understand it. Why do we empower people this way by not being ready?” She later adds: “We’ve got to take some responsibility.”
Conservative media personality and comedian Tim Young posted this clip and wrote: “Trump was right … AGAIN. In this J6 footage, Pelosi admits it was HER FAULT that the Capitol was not secured.”
Similarly, Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk said: “Pelosi failed on J6. She admits it in newly unearthed footage.”
Commentator Behizy said: “We now have never-before-seen footage of Speaker Nancy Pelosi admitting the truth about January 6th. This is complete EXONERATION for Trump.”
A spokesperson for Trump, Steven Cheung, told Newsweek: “Nancy Pelosi refused President Trump’s offer of soldiers and National Guard to help secure the Capitol. In unearthed footage, she even admits she was responsible for the security failure.”
Trump has long insisted that he offered thousands of National Guard troops to protect the Capitol on January 6, 2021, but he says this offer was rejected.
This has been denied by Pelosi and acting Defense secretary at that time Christopher Miller, who said as much during a 2022 interview with the Democratic-led House committee that investigated the attack.
Newsweek has contacted Pelosi via email for comment.
Her daughter Alexandra told The Hill: “Hope you appreciate the cinematography: backward and in heels! Now if you want context, go watch Pelosi in The House! Streaming now on HBO!”
Similar footage was revealed in June, where Pelosi was seen sitting in the back of a car making similar comments, such as: “We have to take responsibility.”
At the time, she responded to this clip and how it was being used on MSNBC’sDeadline: White House.
She said: “The fact is that the president of the United States, the former president and his ‘toties’ do not want to face the facts. They’re trying to do revisionist history on Jan. 6, but we cannot let us be dragged into their, again, false impression of what happened that day.
“They know what happened that day, they know how serious it is and was, and continues to have an impact on our country, and yet they want to call the people who were in there hostages.”
Nancy Pelosi speaks during the Democratic National Convention on August 21 in Chicago. New footage has been released of Pelosi during the January 6 riots.
AP
The Republican-led House Committee on Administration has been involved with investigations into January 6, trying to shift the blame previously laid at Trump’s feet by the Democratic-led January 6th Select Committee.
Barry Loudermilk, who is Chairman of the Oversight Subcommittee within the House Committee on Administration, said: “For over three years, Nancy Pelosi has refused to take responsibility for her failure to secure the Capitol grounds on January 6, 2021.
“Instead, she has pushed the focus of the failure on President Trump. As Speaker, she controlled House operations and security on the House side of the Capitol—which she acknowledges in this HBO footage.”
Newsweek has contacted former January 6 Committee Chairman Bennie G. Thompson and the U.S. House of Representatives for comment.
