[4] On January 9, The New York Times reported that Trump had told White House aides he regretted committing to an orderly transition of power and would never resign from office.

[22] A survey by the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston taken January 12–20 showed that nearly a third (32%) of Texas Republicans supported the attack, although overall 83% of all Texans who expressed an opinion were opposed to it.

Starting January 7, 2021, the Smithsonian Museum enacted its "rapid-response protocol" to gather rally signs, posters, flags, and weapons abandoned on the National Mall and began work on a digital arts exhibit.

[46] Lindsey Graham later told The Washington Post that "it took [Trump] awhile to appreciate the gravity of the situation ... [he] saw these people [the rioters] as allies in his journey and sympathetic to the idea that the election was stolen".

"[47][44] At 6:25 p.m., Trump tweeted: "These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long" and then issued a call: "Go home with love & in peace.

[44][48][49] At 7:00 p.m., Rudy Giuliani placed a second call to Lee's number and left a voicemail intended for Tuberville urging him to make more objections to the electoral votes as part of a bid "to try to just slow it down".

[4] On January 9, The New York Times reported that Trump had told White House aides that he regretted committing to an orderly transition of power and would never resign from office.

[53] On January 12, in his first public appearance since the Capitol riot, Trump condemned the violence but denied he was responsible for inciting the mob stating that his remarks at the "Save America" rally were "totally appropriate".

[61][62][63] In December 2022, in a post on Truth Social, Trump referred to the 2020 election as a "Massive Fraud" requiring a response that "allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution".

[64] Two weeks later, in another Truth Social post, he referred to the FBI and Justice Department as "the Cancer" that was sickening the nation, adding: "These Weaponized Thugs and Tyrants must be dealt with".

"[66] Five days after the riot, First Lady Melania Trump issued a statement that condemned the violence and also complained about unspecified criticism of her, saying "I find it shameful that surrounding these tragic events there has been salacious gossip, unwarranted personal attacks, and false misleading accusations on me—from people who are looking to, be relevant and have an agenda",[67] recycling lines from her 2020 Republican National Convention speech.

[68] As the attack took place, she was reportedly conducting a photoshoot inside the White House for a self-proposed coffee table book on furniture and decorative items she acquired and restored during her husband's term.

"[80][81][82][83][84] On January 12, General Mark Milley, the entire Joint Chiefs of Staff, and all of the heads of each military branch issued a statement condemning the attack and reminding all service members of their obligation to support and defend the Constitution and reject extremism.

[102] House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA), who was shot in 2017 while at baseball practice with fellow Republicans, issued a statement that "United States Capitol Police saved my life.

[104] She was joined by senators Kelly Loeffler (R-GA), James Lankford (R-OK), Steve Daines (R-MT), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and Mike Braun (R-IN), all of whom reversed course on the issue of contesting the electoral vote after witnessing the violence of the mob.

[105] Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) said, "What happened at the U.S. Capitol today was an insurrection, incited by the President of the United States" and part of "an unprecedented attack on our democracy".

[120] Former attorney general William Barr, who had resigned two weeks prior, denounced the violence, calling it "outrageous and despicable", adding that the president's actions were a "betrayal of his office and supporters" and that "orchestrating a mob to pressure Congress is inexcusable".

[121][122] Trump's former White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney urged the President to call a stop to the attack,[123] and later resigned from his post as the United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland.

[125][126] Terry Gainer, a former chief of the Capitol Police and former Senate sergeant-at arms, described the protests as unprecedented in law enforcement, declaring that "this is a much more hateful crowd incited by the president himself.

[137][138][139] In a highly unusual move, within several days of the riot, a number of U.S. diplomats used the State Department's Dissent Channel to send two cables that condemned Trump's incitement of the Capitol attack; called upon Pence and the Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment to declare Trump unfit for office; and wrote that "[f]ailing to publicly hold the president to account would further damage our democracy and our ability to effectively accomplish our foreign policy goals abroad".

[9] Football coach Bill Belichick, scheduled to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Trump on January 14, declined the award, citing the "tragic events" that had occurred.

[148] Conservative media hosts Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, Greg Kelly, and Mark Levin also sought to deflect responsibility from Trump supporters.

[153] John Catanzara, chair of the Chicago chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police, said that the rioters who attacked the Capitol were "entitled to voice their frustration" and claimed the event, which resulted in several deaths, had been non-violent.

[156] Far-right conspiracy theory and fake news website InfoWars ran the headline "Unarmed woman carrying Trump flag executed in U.S. Capitol building" on January 6.

[157] In December 2022, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene told the New York Young Republican Club: "If Steve Bannon and I had organized that [the Capitol attack], we would have won.

The event was attended by Rudy Giuliani, Steve Bannon, Donald Trump Jr., and Jack Posobeic; lawmakers including George Santos, Mike Collins and Cory Mills; and members of VDARE and Project Veritas.

Speculation began that Epps was a federal agent inciting the attack with a post on the 4chan anonymous message board declaring "This Fed was caught on camera encouraging the crowd to raid the Capitol on the next day", then went viral on social media and was promoted by Darren Beattie, Chanel Rion, Steve Bannon and Tucker Carlson – both on his program and in "Patriot Purge".

[185] On January 6, radio broadcasting conglomerate Cumulus Media, whose roster of conservative talk pundits includes Dan Bongino, Mark Levin and Ben Shapiro, directed its on-air personalities to stop spreading false information about the 2020 election being "stolen" or face termination.

[190][191][192][193][194][clarification needed] After filing two reports with the Department of Homeland Security's Office of the Inspector General about "attempted censorship of intelligence analysis",[190] Murphy alleged that Wolf, Ken Cuccinelli, and Kirstjen Nielsen actively supported President Trump's views.

[195][196][197] Murphy allegedly received a demotion and retaliation after he expressed to Adam Schiff, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, his concerns that right wing groups were not being analyzed adequately as domestic threats.