Trump’s Driver on J6 Disputes Infamous Claim POTUS Tried to Grab Steering Wheel to Go to Capitol: Report

Former President Donald Trump’s driver disputed the infamous claim that the former president tried to grab the steering wheel from him on Jan. 6, 2021, and go to the U.S. Capitol, according to a transcript obtained by The New York Times (NYT).

Following his speech on Jan. 6, 2021, Trump reportedly entered his armored vehicle and began discussing how big the crowd was at his address. Trump then said that he wanted to go to the U.S. Capitol, the president’s driver said in an interview with House lawmakers, according to The NYT. Trump’s lead Secret Service agent Robert Engel told the president that such a move was not possible because they did not have the plans to do so, the driver told The NYT. At no point did Trump yell at the driver to go to the Capitol nor did he lunge for the steering wheel, the driver reportedly testified.

“The president was insistent on going to the Capitol,” the driver said in the transcript, according to The NYT. “It was clear to me he wanted to go to the Capitol. He was not screaming at Mr. Engel. He was not screaming at me. Certainly his voice was raised, but it did not seem to me that he was irate — certainly not, certainly didn’t seem as irritated or agitated as he had on the way to the Ellipse.”

Donald Trump’s driver on Jan. 6 confirmed that Trump demanded to go to the Capitol but said “I did not see him reach” for the steering wheel, contradicting the most hotly disputed elements of testimony given to the House committee by a White House aide. https://t.co/PG5e7fABYd

— The New York Times (@nytimes) March 11, 2024

The driver’s testimony contradicts that of Cassidy Hutchinson’s, a former White House aid to Trump’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows. Hutchinson previously testified that she had heard that the former president had reached for the steering wheel the day of the Capitol riot. Hutchinson told House investigators that Trump had ordered his deputy chief of staff Tony Ornato and Engel to take him to the Capitol before then reaching for the steering wheel from the backseat and grabbing Engel by the clavicle.

“I did not see him reach,” the driver told investigators, The NYT reported. “He never grabbed the steering wheel. I didn’t see him, you know, lunge to try to get into the front seat at all. You know, what stood out was the irritation in his voice, more than his physical presence.” (Read more from “Trump’s Driver on J6 Disputes Infamous Claim POTUS Tried to Grab Steering Wheel to Go to Capitol: Report” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr