Donald Trump says attacks on police officers in January 6 riots were ‘minor incidents’
Donald Trump has said that attacks on police officers during the January 6 riots were “minor incidents”.
In his first sit-down interview since being inaugurated on Monday, recorded in the Oval Office, Mr Trump told Fox News’ Sean Hannity most of those who were jailed over the US Capitol riots were “absolutely innocent”.
As part of a flurry of executive orders on his first day back in office, the president pardoned around 1,500 people who were convicted over the unrest – including more than 200 who were jailed for felony assault on police officers.
Speaking to Hannity on Fox, Mr Trump said of those convicted: “Nobody’s ever been treated so badly. They were treated like the worst criminals in history.”
He went on to claim those at the US Capitol were simply there “protesting the vote” before again falsely claiming the 2020 election was “rigged”.
When asked by Mr Hannity about the pardons for those jailed for assault, the president said: “They were very minor incidents, and it was time.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
‘Most of Capitol rioters were innocent’
The president was equally dismissive of the alleged threat to US security posed by TikTok.
He ordered the reactivation of the video-sharing site shortly after it had been closed down in the US by a law passed under the Biden administration, because of concerns over links between the owners and the Chinese government and the perceived threat to personal data.
He said “we have so many things made in China” and questioned why it would be important for China to be spying on “young kids watching crazy videos”.
Elsewhere, Mr Trump said the US government should not give California aid to help rebuild after wildfires in Los Angeles until it uses water from the northern part of the state.
The president has accused Governor Gavin Newsom of refusing to redirect water from northern California as it protects the Delta smelt – an endangered species of fish. Mr Newsom has denied the claim
“I don’t think we should give California anything until they let water flow down,” he said.
Mr Hannity also asked the president about surviving an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, last summer, where Mr Trump was shot in the ear by a gunman after turning his head at the moment the shot rang out.
Mr Trump said it was “split second perfect timing” to look at the immigration board he had behind him that day, and added: “I don’t think you can just call it luck.”
When asked if surviving the attempt had changed him, the president said: “I haven’t changed. But it’s increased my faith in God.”
Read more from Sky News:
Former ‘MAGA cult’ member rejects riot pardon from Trump
Trump’s unpredictability already has profound consequences
👉 Follow Trump 100 on your podcast app 👈
After previously promising to do so in his first term in office, Mr Trump also suggested his administration was looking into releasing all information on the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.
He told Mr Hannity that Mike Pompeo – his first secretary of state – raised national security concerns over the release of documents, but said he is still looking at declassifying them.
“I’m going to release them immediately upon getting – we’re going to see the information – we’re looking at it right now,” he said.
Mr Trump inevitably spent some time railing against the previous administration, but again said Joe Biden had left a nice letter for him in the drawer of the desk in the Oval Office, the contents of which he has now allowed to be published.
Biden’s letter to Trump in full
Dear President Trump,
As I take leave of this sacred office I wish you and your family all the best in the next four years.
The American people – and people around the world – look to this house for steadiness in the inevitable storms of history, and my prayer is that in the coming years will be a time of prosperity, peace, and grace for our nation.
May God bless you and guide you as He has blessed and guided our beloved country since our founding.
– Joe Biden
US
America will not put up with it for much longer!’: Donald Trump hits out at Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy once again
A state of emergency has been declared in South Carolina as wildfires caused by dry and gusty conditions have forced people to evacuate some areas.
More than 175 fires covered 6.6 square miles in the state on Sunday as the National Weather Service warned of an increased risk of blazes in the region.
The number of fires was down to 163 by early Monday, the state’s forestry commission said.
South Carolina governor Henry McMaster declared a state of emergency on Sunday to support the wildfire response effort and a state-wide burning ban is in effect.
People in eight neighbourhoods were forced to evacuate as several fires raged in the state’s Horry County, officials said.
Soldiers used two Blackhawk helicopters to drop water 600 gallons at a time on the blazes, the South Carolina National Guard said on Sunday.
Meanwhile, firefighters made progress containing a fire in Carolina Forest, where people had been ordered to evacuate several neighbourhoods, according to Horry County Fire Rescue.
Footage showed some people running down the street as smoke filled the sky.
However, Horry County Fire Rescue announced by late Sunday that Carolina Forest evacuees could return home.
The Red Cross of South Carolina said approximately 135 Carolina Forest residents had taken shelter in a county recreation centre.
Smoke is seen rising from fires in Horry County. Pic: AP/Horry County Fire Rescue
The fire in the area had burned 2.5 square miles as of Sunday evening, the South Carolina Forestry Commission estimated.
No structures had succumbed to the blaze and no injuries had been reported as of Sunday morning, officials said.
It came as fire crews were working to contain multiple wildfires burning in four forests across North Carolina.
The largest covered around 0.6 square miles and burned in Uwharrie National Forest – about 50 miles east of Charlotte.
The North Carolina Forest Service said on Sunday that it had been made progress on the fire, reaching about one-third containment.
People flee an area in Myrtle Beach. Pic: AP
The small southwestern town of Tryon in Polk County, North Carolina, had urged some residents to evacuate on Saturday as a fire spread rapidly there.
The evacuations remained in effect on Sunday.
A decision on whether to lift the evacuation orders was expected to be made on Monday after intentional burns are set to try to stop the fire from spreading.
That fire had burned about 0.8 square miles as of Sunday evening, with 0% containment, according to the Polk County Emergency Management and Fire Marshal’s office.
Read more US news:
Crypto prices rally after Trump announcement
US speaker says Zelenskyy might need to resign
New York Dolls singer dies
A helicopter drops water to help contain a fire in the Carolina Forest area. Pic: AP
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
The North Carolina Forest Service was conducting water drops and back-burning operations on the ground and residents should expect a lot of smoke during those operations, officials said.
It comes as at least six active fires were burning in Georgia on Sunday, with nearly 5.8 miles burned in a seven-day span that brought the region gusty winds and low humidity, according to a Georgia Forestry Commission fire summary.
Officials have not said what caused any of the fires.
The dry and gusty conditions fuelling the fires are expected to fade as a cold front pushes out the dry air mass over the southeast of the US and brings rain by Tuesday, the National Weather Service said.
The convergence of warmth, dry air and gusty winds is not inconsistent with the season’s La Niña weather phenomenon, which is associated with warmer, drier winters in the Carolinas, according to North Carolina State University.
The blazes come after two wildfires in Los Angeles killed 29 people and scorched thousands of acres across 24 days.
More than 18,000 structures were damaged or destroyed in the deadly Eaton and Palisades blazes, which swept across California in January.
Cryptocurrency prices have jumped after Donald Trump revealed he would like Bitcoin and other lesser-traded tokens to be in a new US strategic crypto reserve.
He said his January executive order on digital assets would create a stockpile of currencies including Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Solana and Cardano (ADA).
The names had not previously been announced.
The American president said in a post on Truth Social: “A US Crypto Reserve will elevate this critical industry after years of corrupt attacks by the Biden Administration, which is why my Executive Order on Digital Assets directed the Presidential Working Group to move forward on a Crypto Strategic Reserve that includes XRP, SOL, and ADA.”
“I will make sure the US is the Crypto Capital of the World.”
“And, obviously, BTC and ETH, as other valuable Cryptocurrencies, will be at the heart of the Reserve,” he said in a follow-up post. “I also love Bitcoin and Ethereum!”
Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market value, rose over 11% to $94,164 after Sunday’s announcement.
Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, was up around 13% at $2,516.
XRP surged 33% while the token tied to Solana jumped 25%. Cardano’s coin soared more than 60%.
Bitcoin was trading up around 20% from last week’s lows.
US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on cryptocurrencies in January. Pic: Reuters
The total cryptocurrency market rose about 10%, or more than $300bn (£238bn), in the hours since the announcement, according to cryptocurrency data and analysis company CoinGecko.
This is the first time Mr Trump has specified his support for a crypto “reserve” rather than a “stockpile”. While the former assumes actively buying crypto in regular installments, a stockpile would not sell any of the crypto currently held by the US government.
Mr Trump is hosting the first White House Crypto Summit on Friday, and investors will be watching closely for more clues about the direction of the reserve plans.
His family have also launched their own coins, including his wife Melania.
Read more from Sky News:
TikTok and Reddit investigated over use of children’s data
Second privately funded spacecraft touches down on moon
Mr Trump first introduced the idea of a Bitcoin stockpile, which would “keep 100% of all the Bitcoin the US government currently holds or acquires into the future” last summer at major industry conference Bitcoin 2024 in Nashville.
After his re-election to the White House in November, there were more calls for a strategic Bitcoin reserve, helping to send the price of the flagship cryptocurrency to new all-time highs.
Under his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden, regulators cracked down on the industry in an attempt to protect Americans from fraud and money laundering.
Under Mr Trump, the Securities and Exchange Commission has withdrawn investigations into several crypto companies and dropped a lawsuit against Coinbase, the largest crypto exchange in the US.
But in recent weeks, crypto prices have fallen sharply, with some of the biggest digital currencies erasing nearly all of the gains made after Mr Trump’s election win triggered excitement across the industry.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports11 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway