Instead, Mr Trump poured "gasoline on the fire" by aggressively tweeting his false claims of a stolen election and telling the crowd of supporters in a video address how special they were,The next day, he declared anew: "I don't want to say the election is over."
"President Trump didn't fail to act," said Representative Adam Kinzinger, a fellow Republican but frequent Trump critic who flew fighter jets in Iraq and Afghanistan. "He chose not to act." "And President Trump was treating it as a celebratory occasion. So it just further cemented my decision to resign."
At the Capitol, the mob was chanting "hang Mike Pence", testified Matt Pottinger, a deputy national security adviser for Mr Trump, as Mr Trump tweeted his condemnation of his vice president. "He refused to do what every American president must," said Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the panel's Republican vice chair.
Among the witnesses testifying on Thursday in a recorded video was retired District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department sergeant Mark Robinson who told the committee that Mr Trump was well aware of the number of weapons in the crowd of his supporters but wanted to go regardless.
Why lie about the deaths on Jan 6th? You said 5 died. Only one is the truth. An unarmed woman shot through a window by a plain clothed 'security' guard. Your prejudices are showing. What other mistruths do you report?
No he didn't ignore anyone. He went on the TV and told them to go home. The video is there online for all to see.