Fact check: Did Trump ask Pelosi to call in the national guard on January 6th

1. Summary of the results

The question itself contains a fundamental misunderstanding of how the National Guard deployment works. No member of Congress, including Nancy Pelosi, has the authority to activate the DC National Guard - this power lies solely with the president, defense secretary, and U.S. Army secretary ^[1].

The timeline, according to multiple sources, shows that:

• Trump had pre-authorized up to 20,000 National Guard troops days before January 6th ^[2]
• Trump specifically requested 10,000 troops on January 5th ^[3]
• Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund requested National Guard support on January 3rd ^[3]

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

Several crucial pieces of context are missing from the original question:

• The deployment required a request from either a governor or DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, who rejected the offer ^[2]
• House Sergeant at Arms Paul Irving, who reported to Pelosi, was identified as a key obstacle, reportedly saying "Pelosi will never go for it" ^{[3] [2]}
• When the crisis unfolded, Pelosi did approve a request to seek National Guard support and pushed to get troops to the Capitol when deployment was delayed ^[1]
• The deployment was reportedly delayed due to "optics" concerns by Pelosi's Sergeant-at-Arms ^[4]

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original question reflects a common misunderstanding that has been used for political purposes. Here's how different groups benefit from various narratives:

• Trump supporters benefit from emphasizing that he pre-authorized troops and that Democratic leadership rejected them ^[5], as it shifts blame for the events of January 6th
• Democratic leadership benefits from the narrative that Trump refused to send help, though this is contradicted by multiple sources ^{[4] [3] [2]}
• The sources suggest that previous criticism of Trump's National Guard deployment during Black Lives Matter protests may have influenced decision-making, with Democrats being hesitant to approve Guard deployment due to these past controversies ^[5]

The reality appears more complex than either side's narrative suggests, with multiple decision-makers and bureaucratic obstacles involved in the process.