Mitch McConnell has condemned Trump’s actions as he insisted the president “provoked” the rioters into the assault on the capitol.
As the Senate Majority Leader said ahead of Trump’s impeachment trial, the MAGA mob was fed lies and was provoked into the riot that turned deadly and shook the foundations of American democracy.
“The mob was fed lies. They were provoked by the president and other powerful people. 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,” McConnell said in Senate on Tuesday.
“But we pressed on. We stood together and said an angry mob would not get veto power over the rule of law in our nation.”
McConnell’s attack on Trump represented one of his final acts as the Senate Majority Leader, whereas the Republican lawmaker will become the minority leader once two freshly-elected Democratic senators take office.
Following the change of power in the Senate and Trump’s departure from the White House, McConnell will take place as the Republicans’ most senior figure.
While it is not yet clear how the Republican will vote in the Senate impeachment trial, only a few Republicans, including Rand Paul, Lindsey Graham, and Tom Cotton, have so far made it clear that they will not vote to convict Trump.
McConnell’s comments come shortly before Biden’s inauguration and shortly after President Trump made history as he became the first president to be impeached twice.
With 10 Republicans backing the Democrats’ efforts to punish Trump for “incitement of insurrection,” the impeachment was the most bipartisan one in US history.
According to the reports, the House voted 232-197 in favor of impeaching the President over his alleged role in the insurrection that took place at the US Capitol.
Among the ten Republicans who turned on the President over his actions were Wyoming’s Liz Cheney, New York’s John Katko, Illinois’ Adam Kinzinger, Washington’s Jaime Herrera Beutler, Washington’s Dan Newhouse, Michigan’s Fred Upton, South Carolina’s Tom Rice, Michigan’s Peter Meijer, California’s David Valadao, and Ohio’s Anthony Gonzalez.
“There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution,” Republican House Number 3, Liz Cheney, previously said.
Responding to his second impeachment, Trump called it a hoax and compared the Democrats’ efforts to hold him responsible for the events at Capitol Hill to a witch hunt.
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Replaced!