In Outtakes From Jan. 7 Video, Trump Refused to Say Election Was Over

The outtakes from a video message former President Trump recorded for his supporters the day after the riot at the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, were played during Thursday night's House hearing on the attack, and they show Trump balking at the idea of saying that the presidential election had been decided. In a clip posted by the Guardian and the New York Times, Trump, reading from a script, says "But this election is now over. Congress has certified the results," before breaking off. "I don’t want to say the election’s over,” he said. “I just want to say ‘Congress has certified the results’ without saying the election’s over.”

Per the New York Post, Ivanka Trump can then be heard off-screen repeating, "Now, Congress has certified," before Trump says, "Right. I didn’t say ‘over’ so let’s—let me see. Go to the paragraph before." In the end, he in fact did not say the election was over, Yahoo News reports. It took Trump almost an hour to record the less-than-3-minute video message. Other clips show him striking the lectern in frustration more than once, complaining he couldn't see the words well, and arguing over other words. (Trump also reportedly pushed back on using the word "peace" in another infamous video recorded on the day of the riot.)