Ex-Trump official shut down by CNN hosts for defense of J6 rioters as 'patriots'

A former Donald Trump official ran into a brick wall on Thursday morning when he tried to defend his old boss for calling Jan. 6 insurrectionists "patriots."

In recent days, the former president has been trying to equate the rioters who stormed the Capitol and sent lawmakers from both sides of the aisle fleeing for their lives with students setting up encampments on college campuses in support of Palestinians in Gaza.

Trump, as he has for weeks, recently insisted the Capitol attackers are "patriots," and that led Marc Lotter who served as a director of communication for the former president, to defend him once again on CNN.

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However, CNN hosts John Berman and Kate Bolduan were not having it.

"From a com's perspective, do you want your candidate out saying this?" co-host Bolduan pressed Lotter.

"Well, I think what we have to understand is we're asking a political candidate, regardless of whether it's Donald Trump or Democrat, Republican, are you just going to accept at face value the result when we've seen in state, local elections, go back to the 2000 election, if we would have asked Al Gore in April of 2000, will you accept the election results? Not challenge, not go to court, not take your legal rights to have questions asked about the counting and the ballots, no one would have expected that," he attempted.

"I get that," Bolduan protested. "But Donald Trump is in a category of his own when it comes to this commentary after January 6, after the 2020 election, which he still does not accept the results even though it was a fair election. After that, how can this, this is in a category of its own,."

"But I don't think you can actually hold a candidate to a category of its own. They have the same legal rights ...," he replied only to have the CNN host interrupt.

"Legal rights for sure, but I'm talking about the political violence that is not completely, that he does not completely denounce or take the opportunity to when he's asked about political violence, not just fairness of an election."

"Well, I mean, we're not talking about political violence here, we're talking about accepting the results of an election," Lotter shot back before continuing, "I think, obviously overall we're always going to condemn political violence. I think January 6 was a horrible day. The folks who were there exercising their rights at the ellipse ..."

"He calls them the 'J6 patriots,'" host Berman interrupted. "He's not condemning the violence, he's calling them 'J6 patriots.'"

"There were tens of thousands of people who were there at the ellipse," Lotter persisted, as Berman talked over him, "He says he won't rule out pardoning all the people who were inside the Capitol. He calls them 'J6 patriots.'"

Berman then cut back to coverage of Los Angeles police dismantling the protest at the UCLA campus.

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