A question of accuracy What did Trump say on January 6?

Before supporters stormed the US Capitol, Trump gave a speech to rally the crowd, who assembled in Washington under the false belief that he had won the 2020 election and Biden had stolen his victory.

- Rachel Leingang

Donald Trump during his speech to supporters before the insurrection

What did Trump say in his speech to supporters on 6 January?

Trump used the word “fight” throughout his speech, including in the line: “We fight like hell and if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.”

Throughout his long address, Trump detailed what he claimed as evidence of malfeasance in the election - claims US courts rejected when his team and allies brought lawsuits seeking to overturn the election results.

Trump also called on Mike Pence, his then vice-president, to “come through for us” by rejecting the electoral votes - something Pence did not do - saying it would be a “sad day for our country” if Pence did otherwise.

“It is up to Congress to confront this egregious assault on our democracy,” Trump said. “And after this, we’re going to walk down, and I'll be there with you ... we're going to walk down to the Capitol, and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women, and we're probably not going to be cheering so much for some of them. Because you'll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength and you have to be strong. We have come to demand that Congress do the right thing and only count the electors who have been lawfully slated, lawfully slated.”

Did Trump incite a riot?