Trump Defends Pardons for Capitol Rioters

President Trump defended his decision to pardon around 1,500 people involved in the Capitol riot, including many convicted of assaulting police officers, in a news conference Tuesday. He said the sentences handed down to members of the Oath Keeper and Proud Boys were "ridiculous and excessive," the Washington Post reports. "Aren't you sending the message that assaulting officers is OK?" one reporter asked, per the BBC. Trump replied that the Jan. 6 convicts "spent years in jail" while "murderers don't even go to jail in this country."

• Stargate. Trump, joined by Masayoshi Son of SoftBank, Sam Altman of OpenAI, and Larry Ellison of Oracle, announced Stargate, a new entity that will invest $500 billion in artificial intelligence infrastructure, the AP reports. Trump said it will be the "largest AI infrastructure project, by far, in history." He said the investment over the next four years would create at least 100,000 jobs.

• TikTok. Trump said he would be open to Ellison or Elon Musk buying TikTok, reports CNBC, Asked if he was open to "Elon buying TikTok, Trump replied, "I would be if he wanted to buy it, yes. I'd like Larry to buy it, too."
• LA wildfires. Trump criticized California's Democratic leaders over the Los Angeles wildfires, repeating what the Post calls "misleading claims" about fire hydrant water shortages. "Just so you know, they have a valve, and it turns like—think of a sink but multiply it times many thousands of times the size of it. It's massive," he said. Trump said he plans to visit California Friday as part of the first official trip of his second term.
• Ukraine. Trump said he was looking into the issue of sending more weapons to Ukraine, reports Reuters. He said he would probably increase sanctions on Russia if Vladimir Putin refuses to negotiate ending the war.

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