In opening remarks marking the Senate’s return from recess, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on Tuesday took aim at President Trump for the mob he “fed lies” to that ultimately culminated in the deadly insurrection at the Capitol earlier this month.
After noting that the Senate “reclaimed the Capitol from violent criminals” during its last session, McConnell excoriated Trump for inciting his supporters ahead of the breaching of the Capitol on the day of the joint session of Congress’ ratification of President-elect Joe Biden’s electoral victory.
“The mob was fed lies,” McConnell said. “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.”
McConnell doubled down on affirming a “safe and successful” for Biden and VP-elect Kamala Harris’ inauguration on Wednesday.
Minutes after the House made history and voted to impeach President Trump for the second time last week, McConnell urged the Senate to focus on ensuring a “safe inauguration” for Biden and rejected the idea of a Senate trial happening before Biden takes office.
McConnell has privately seethed over Trump’s incitement of the mob that stormed the Capitol last week and left five people dead.
In light of reports that he and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) warmed up to the idea of punishing Trump for his actions leading up to the deadly insurrection at the Capitol, McConnell issued a note to his Republican colleagues last week saying that “while the press has been full of speculation, I have not made a final decision on how I will vote and I intend to listen to the legal arguments when they are presented to the Senate.”
.@senatemajldr on the U.S. Capitol Attack: "The mob was fed lies. They were provoked by the president and other powerful people." pic.twitter.com/QIeviyHkl3
— CSPAN (@cspan) January 19, 2021
