After a mob stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 in a deadly attempt to overturn an election President Donald Trump falsely claimed was stolen, Republican lawmakers leveled some of their sharpest criticisms of Trump since the “Access Hollywood” recording surfaced of his past comments bragging of groping women.
sdfsd: https://magicseaweed.com/User/Profile/1578473/
https://magicseaweed.com/User/Profile/1578479/
https://magicseaweed.com/User/Profile/1578483/
https://magicseaweed.com/User/Profile/1578487/
But like the GOP condemnation following the “Access Hollywood” scandal, outrage in the wake of the Capitol riot simmered as impeachment proceedings wore on. GOP critics who issued their strongest condemnations of Trump in the days and hours after Jan. 6 softened their stances while others doubled down their criticism of the former president.
sdfsd : https://magicseaweed.com/User/Profile/1578490/
https://magicseaweed.com/User/Profile/1578493/
https://magicseaweed.com/User/Profile/1578496/
https://magicseaweed.com/User/Profile/1578497/
https://www.vlive.tv/post/1-21320033
Despite many disavowals of Trump’s post-election behavior, just 10 Republican House members voted to impeach him and seven Republican senators voted to convict.
Many of those Republican lawmakers who backed off their criticisms of Trump questioned the constitutionality of impeaching and convicting a former president or argued Trump’s actions did not meet the legal standard for incitement. They also accused Democrats of being opportunistic in their condemnations.
Here’s a look at the statements top Republicans have made about Trump’s culpability in the riots since Jan. 6.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell
Among those voting to acquit was Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who had left open the possibility he might vote to convict for weeks before Saturday’s vote. Despite his “not guilty” vote, McConnell directly blamed Trump — after the attack and again after his vote — for inflaming the angry crowd that stormed the Capitol to try to overturn the election Trump had falsely told them was stolen from them.
Jan. 19: “The mob was fed lies,” McConnell said on the Senate floor. “They were provoked by the president and other powerful people. And they tried to use fear and violence to stop a specific proceeding of the first branch of the federal government which they did not like.”
Feb. 13: “There’s no question, none, that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day. No question about it,” McConnell said after the Senate vote. “The people who stormed this building believed they were acting on the wishes and instructions of their president.”
Yet the minority leader also consistently argued a post-presidency impeachment trial of Trump is unconstitutional, despite himself stalling the trial until after Trump left office.
House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy
Though House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., never supported Trump’s impeachment, he did initially push for a vote to censure him a week after the attack. But just over a week later, he denied Trump had incited the mob.
Jan. 13: “The president bears responsibility for Wednesday’s attack on Congress by mob rioters,” McCarthy said on the House floor during the Jan. 13 debate over the vote to impeach Trump again. “He should have immediately denounced the mob when he saw what was unfolding.”
Jan. 21: “I don’t believe he provoked it if you listen to what he said at the rally,” McCarthy told reporters, adding that Trump should remain an important figure in the GOP.
“Every former president still has a role within their party,” he said. “This president brought a lot of great success. He brought people to the party who hadn’t been involved before and he should continue to engage in that way.”
**Jan. 24: **”I thought the president had some responsibility when it came to the response. If you listen to what the president said at the rally, he said, ‘demonstrate peacefully,”’ McCarthy told Greta Van Susteren. “And then I got a question later about whether did he incite them. I also think everybody across this country has some responsibility.”
