On Nov. 5, 2024, a claim circulated on social media that U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump told the press that his followers "are not violent people," and that if he lost the 2024 election, he wouldn't have to "tell them that there'd be no violence."
A post on X shared a video of the exchange, prompting other users to comment.
One person said, "We aren't the violent ones. You lunatic leftists are the ones that burned our country down!!" Another quoted the post and referred to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, saying, "#Trump continues to spread falsehoods, but we all witnessed the truth unfold live on television that day."
(@KamalaHQ on X)
The claim he made the remark is accurate, so we have rated it correct attribution. The statement shared in social media posts occurred when Trump stopped for reporter questions after voting at the Morton and Barbara Mandel Recreation Center in Palm Beach, Florida, on Election Day.
A video of the impromptu news conference was available on YouTube via CBS News, with the statement in question occurring at the 00:06:15 mark as a journalist asked Trump if he would tell his supporters to be non-violent if he lost and accept the election results.
Trump responded:
I don't have to tell them that there'd be no violence. Of course there'll be no violence. My supporters are not violent people. I don't have to tell them that. And I certainly don't want any violence, but I certainly don't have to tell... These are great people. These are people that believe in no violence. Unlike your question. You believe in violence.
After giving this response, Trump moved on to another question.
This statement echoes Trump's proclamations of "no violence" following the Jan. 6, 2021, riots at the U.S. Capitol, in which five people died, a direct result of Trump's refusal to accept the 2020 election results.