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Trump supporters overwhelmed security forces and took over Capitol Hill.
” A national disgrace”, “anti- American”, “an attempted coup”, “an insurrection encouraged by the president of the United States.”
The previous expressions collect some of the reactions of leaders of the Republican Party of the United States before the assault against the United States Congress that hundreds of followers of the president executed this Wednesday Donald Trump.
The crowd, who had just participated in a rally with Trump, stormed the building at a time when the parliamentarians were meeting to formally certify the victory of the Democratic candidate Joe Biden in the elections of November 3, the results of which have since been contested without evidence by the current president.
The assault on the building went on for hours and left at least one fatality, a woman who was shot in the chest whose identity was not made public.
Numerous Republican voices, including leaders who have been accompanying Trump in his efforts to promote unsubstantiated questions against the election results, expressed their rejection against the day of chaos on Capitol Hill.
When the session resumed after several hours, Trump’s vice president, Mike Pence, condemned the attack.
“To those who wreaked havoc on our Capitol today, you didn’t win. Violence never wins, freedom wins, “he said.
” When we meet again in this chamber, the world will once again witness the strength and strength of our democracy, even after unprecedented violence and vandalism,” he added.
For its part, Chuck Schumer, the leader of the Democratic Party in the Senate, considered that this Wednesday will be remembered as “one of the darkest days in American history.”
Image source, Getty Images
The slogan “stop the steel” (“stop the theft”) with which Trump ism has questioned the November elections reached the offices of Congress.
” This temple of democracy was violated,” he added.
” This will be a stain on our country that won’t be erased so easily. A final, terrible and indelible legacy of the 45th president of the United States, “he said in reference to Trump.
” Banana Republic”
” This is how the electoral results are disputed in a banana republic, not in our democratic republic,” the former president said in a statement. George W. Bush, the only living Republican ex-president, who referred to the events on Capitol Hill as a “sickening and heartbreaking sight.”
“ I am dismayed by the reckless behavior of some political leaders since the elections and because of the lack of respect shown today towards our institutions, our traditions and our rule of law, “Bush said without explicitly mentioning the current president.
Image source, Getty Images
The hard way, Trump supporters made their way onto Capitol Hill.
Senator Lindsey Graham, one of Trump’s great allies since his arrival at the White House, called the attack “a national shame“and asked that those responsible be punished.
” Those who carried out this attack must be identified and prosecuted up to the maximum consequences contemplated in the law. Their actions are repugnant to democracy,” he said on Twitter.
” I support peaceful protests but not violence and destruction,” he added in another message.
Kevin McCarthy, the leader of the Republican Party in the House of Representatives, described what happened as “very anti- American.”
” I couldn’t be more saddened or disappointed by the way our country looks right now … E This is not the American way. This is not protected by the First Amendment, “he added, referring to the constitutional rule that protects freedom of expression, freedom of assembly as well as the right to request the government to repair any wrongdoing.
Even the senator Ted Cruz, who is part of a dozen Republican leaders in that House in favor of challenging the certification of the electoral results, distanced himself from the assault on Congress.
Image source, Getty Images
Senator Ted Cruz, who backs Trump’s unsubstantiated challenges to the election, also criticized the assault on the Capitol.[encriticóelasaltoalCapitolio
” This assault on the Capitol must stop now. The Constitution protects peaceful protest, but violence – left or right – is always wrong and those who take part in it harm the cause they claim to support, “he said in a message on Twitter.
” An attempted coup”
Some Republican leaders went beyond condemning the assault on the Capitol and directly pointed to Trump as responsible for the events.
The senator Mitt Romney, who was a Republican presidential candidate in the 2012 elections, pointed out that what happened this Wednesday was “an insurrection incited by the president of the United States.”
AdamKissingerr, a Republican member of the House of Representatives, went one step further and called what happened “an attempted coup.”
“What we all saw today on Capitol Hill is not the United States standing as a beacon of freedom and hope for the world. The attack on the Capitol was an attempted coup with the aim of annulling the election of a duly elected president, “he said.
” The current president incited this coup, encouraged it, and did little to protect the Capitol and the Constitution. I raise my voice to reject this chaos and to condemn the president for allowing it to happen,” he said in a video posted on his Twitter account.
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Eddie is an Australian news reporter with over 9 years in the industry and has published on Forbes and tech crunch.
