Donald Trump’s last acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller is blaming his former boss for the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
Miller said Trump’s speech at the ‘Stop the Steal’ rally incited his supporters to storm the Capitol.
“Would anybody have marched on the Capitol, and tried to overrun the Capitol, without the president’s speech? I think it’s pretty much definitive that wouldn’t have happened,” Miller said in an interview with Vice.
Five people, including Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick died as a result of the riot.
“It seems cause-and-effect,” Miller said of the riot. “The question is, did he know he was enraging people to do that? I don’t know.”
During his speech, Trump urged his supporters to march down to the Capitol and “fight like hell” or else “you’re not going to have a country anymore.”
Miller replaced Mark Esper, who was fired for contradicting Trump in the days after the election. Miller was Defense Secretary at the time of the deadly riot and has faced criticisms for the delayed deployment of the National Guard to the Capitol on Jan 6.
Miller rejected those criticisms, telling Vice, “it comes back to understanding how the military works—this isn’t a video game, it’s not Black Ops Call of Duty.”
Miller’s full interview will air exclusively on VICE on Showtime at 8 p.m. on Sunday, March 14.
