Trump condemned for mob actions at Capitol
A day that
President Trump saw as a last stand for him and his supporters descended into one of the ugliest scenes in American political history, as a mob stormed the U.S. Capitol shortly after Trump spoke to it, forcing the evacuation of Congress.
The episode led to broad condemnations of Trump for inciting the riots, with some calling for his immediate impeachment and removal.
The fury and outrage did not only come from Democrats.
The National Association of Manufacturers, a conservative business group, said the 25th Amendment should be invoked for Trump’s removal.
Rep.
Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) said a video the president released, in which he repeated his baseless claims about having won a landslide election before telling his supporters to go home, was insufficient. She said the day’s events will be remembered by history as a “part of his legacy.”
The chaotic day also further revealed the deep divide within the Republican Party over Trump’s behavior since losing the election and the efforts by dozens of Republicans to challenge the Electoral College vote count on Wednesday despite a lack of evidence of meaningful voter fraud.
Senate Majority Leader
Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who found out his party had officially lost the majority in the upper chamber while the riots were taking place, opened the day by warning that if the election were overturned “our democracy would enter a death spiral.”
“Lies have consequences,” said Sen.
Ben Sasse (R-Neb.). “This violence was the inevitable and ugly outcome of the President’s addiction to constantly stoking division.”
Trump has for weeks inaccurately insisted to his supporters that he won the presidential election, calling it “fraudulent,” “rigged” and “stolen.” The president has long had his eye on Jan. 6, believing that Vice President Pence and Congress could somehow block the certification of electoral votes affirming
Joe Biden as the next president.
Several former White House aides, including former chief of staff
Mick Mulvaney and recently departed communications director Alyssa Farah, implored Trump to more forcefully condemn the actions of his supporters.
“I need you to hear me: the Election was NOT stolen. We lost,” Farah tweeted.
The president’s address did little to quell the unrest or undo what had already transpired. Instead, it largely added to what some in the GOP viewed as a final, lasting stain on Trump’s legacy.
“The president of the United States’ statement now, in my view, was completely inadequate,” Liz Cheney said. “What he has done and what he has caused here is something that we've never seen before in our history.
“This will be part of his legacy, and it is a dangerous moment for the country,” she added.
Later, Trump seemed to excuse if not condone the chaos.
“These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long,” he tweeted.
“This is chaos. It is mob rule. It is dangerous. This is sedition and should be treated as such,” the manufacturers group said.
“Vice President Pence, who was evacuated from the Capitol, should seriously consider working with the Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment to preserve democracy.”
A day that President Trump saw as a last stand for him and his supporters descended into one of the ugliest scenes in American political history, as a mob stormed the U.S. Capitol shortly after Tru…
thehill.com
I just had a thought. Trump should remain president to Jan 20. But his inciting violence should not be tolerated. And seeing that he can not tell the difference between real life and fiction he should remain seated in the rotunda (except for bathroom breaks and a nap on the cot) in a straight jacket with a ball gag.