WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump mentioned D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser during the first presidential debate on Tuesday night. The candidates talked about the peaceful transfer of power and the Jan. 6 Capitol riot in 2021.
When asked about that day, former President Donald Trump said he, "just showed up for a speech." He also mentioned the mayor of D.C.
"I went to Nancy Pelosi and the mayor of Washington, D.C. and the mayor put it back in writing as you know. I said, you know, this is going to be a very big rally or whatever you want to call it. Again, it wasn't done by me. It was done by others. I said, 'I'd like to give you 10,000 National Guard or soldiers.' They rejected me," Trump said from the debate stage.
Bowser put a message on social media immediately after the debate wrapped up.
"On January 6, Trump summoned a violent mob and dispatched them to the US Capitol," Bowser said on X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter, "Trump never offered DC 10,000 troops, and the President — not the DC Mayor — controls the DC National Guard. Unlike Trump, we immediately offered the DC Metropolitan Police Department to support the US Capitol Police. We owe the DC Police and the US Capitol Police our never ending gratitude for saving our Capitol and democracy."
The claim by the mayor is backed up by the final report by the bipartisan select committee to investigate the Jan. 6th attacks. It determined there was "no evidence" to support Trump's claims.