Trump calls imprisoned Jan. 6 rioters ‘hostages’ during campaign rally

Former President Donald Trump referred to people who have been imprisoned concerning the Jan. 6 Capitol riot as “hostages” during a Houston rally on Thursday.

Before Trump launched into his speech, he walked onstage to the song “Justice for All,” which featured the J6 Prison Choir, comprised of those imprisoned concerning Jan. 6.

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“Well, thank you very much. And you know what that was … I call them the J6 hostages, not prisoners. I call them the hostages, what’s happened,” Trump said after the song finished. “And it’s a shame.”

The song hit No. 1 on some music charts in mid-March which Trump bragged about during his rally. “And when that came out, it went to the No. 1 song. It was beating everybody. It beat Taylor Swift,” he added. “It beat Miley Cyrus … they were No. 1 and 2. We’d knocked them off for a long time.”

Generally, Trump rallies feature him walking out to Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA,” but this was at least the second time a Trump rally played “Justice for All.” The first time was during a Waco, Texas, rally Trump held in late March.

The former president wrapped up a two-day tour of the Lone Star State with a campaign stop at the offshore drilling company Trendsetter Engineering where he slammed President Joe Biden‘s support for green energy policies such as building more electric vehicles and claimed he would cancel electric vehicle mandates on his first day in office if reelected.

“On day one of our new administration, we will end Biden’s nation-wrecking war on American energy,” Trump boasted. “Who’s in favor of cars that go very short distances that happened to be all electric? Is anybody?”

Trump also claimed that the successful deal struck by the United Auto Workers, General Motors, and the rest of the “Big Three” automobile companies would lead to job loss in the future. “They got an increase, but they won’t have jobs in three years because everything is going electric. And you know the story with the cars,” Trump said. “It doesn’t work. You’re not going to make electric cars in this country. We don’t have what’s necessary for electric cars. We have what’s necessary for gasoline cars or hybrids.”

During his speech, Trump blamed Biden for rising gas prices and rising inflation while bragging that while he was president, gas prices decreased to $1.87 a gallon.

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The former president also didn’t miss a chance to poke fun at his top rival, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), over allegations he wears height-enhancing insoles in his cowboy boots. “DeSanctimonious came to see me — ‘Would you do it?’ — tears in his eyes. Nobody would even believe it. I don’t know if he was wearing those same boots,” Trump said as he retold the story of DeSantis asking him for an endorsement during his first gubernatorial campaign. “I don’t care. That I don’t care about.”

As Trump continues to run for office, he faces 91 indictments over four criminal cases, two related to the 2020 election, and could likely appear at trial in the middle of the 2024 primary nominating contests.